A time to reflect on old relationships

We attended a reception for a newlywed bride and it was a chance to meet many of the groom's family who happened to be our in-laws from two sides.the bride was cute and so were her mom and sisters.

The biggest surprise was seeing the groom's sister ,a person I value and respect,she was in Europe with her husband(business 2 year trip) and was due to come in a couple of weeks.My next surprise was seeing my uncle's ex-wife,a woman I love so much,still as graceful as ever and as funny as ever,she sat next to me practically the whole evening.Of course my neighbors were there too.

Upon meeting about twenty to thirty family members I knew personally(or thought I knew)I found out that my knowledge was in reality a very superficial one.You know you visit people on occasions and you talk and discuss some issues and you keep meeting them in family parties and get-togethers,you laugh with some and have arguments with some...then you see : I know so-and-so,she is so sweet and the other one is alttle uptight,so-and -so is a very flexible person,the others are very or too formal...etc......taking in mind that I do have a very bad judgement when coming to character.

I really do take people at face value...if they are cordial and amiable,usually that is enough for me.Apparently it doesn't work that way, there are other things to consider and think about.

The funny thing though(or is it the sad thing)is that even if I get hurt I tend to forget and still be friends with some or think that some are nice but misunderstood,or didn't have a cahnce to show the good side..

In the end I always get hurt by the ones I get attached to emotionally or by those I have done good to.So yesterday after saying hi's and hellos and how-do-you-do's I sat back in my seat chatting some with my auntie and one of my neighbors,and noticing things about some people i THOUGHT I knew and thinking of how far i would go to help and be there for...the people I have thought for the past ten years to have been people of special status whether relations or friends...I have been cheated again and again...I have been robbed of my feelings,I have been swindled of my time,time I could have used for my immediate family .

My problem is that when i give...I give and when I like somebody I give with heart and soul....and some people are just there to take and take and take...I mean all I expected in return to my goodness was some care and some asking about when down,to remember me when they have happy times...
No,only in their sorrows and when they need a shoulder to cry on,only during their needs and otherwise you are but a fleeting memory!!

I will give you two of the ten examples I have seen in this one night:
1)I invited to my daughter's wedding some in-laws of ours, 7 women from the same family because they love to attend weddings and parties together(close-knit family),in doing this I had to(not invite) some of my neighbors,since the number I was inviting was according to the number of seats that were reserved at the wedding hall,so far so good?They held two weddings during the past year,and neglected to invite me,yesterday what was their apology??Oh sorry we completely forgot about you!!Notice when they have a newborn I run with my gift and say congratulations,if they are in sorrow I go and visit to give my condolences...etc
2)Another relative was sitting nearby,we haven't seen each other for over a year,she was sick and I did all the visiting,also I was there in all her griefs and happiness,she invited me to sit at her table,but I couldn't leave my aunt nor my neighbors and I am OLDER than my relative ,so I invited her to my table since I had a free seat nearby,she just looked at me and her stare went blank,and for the next two hours we each sat at our tables busy or acting busy lol!!

*Of course other people(relatives)in the wedding did some more stupid UNINTENTIONAL mistakes and disrespect...and now I have the proof that some of my neighbors are the best in the world...they have been my friends for 20 years for good and bad :)

Just spilling out my feelings here,sorry!!

Eid is over!!

This year Eid was very nice...my mom was here,my kids were all here(one studies abroad),my aunt returned just in time from Jeddah,and alhamdulillah everybody is in good health.We had a newcomer (my cousin's sister-in-law)very nice lady...new blood...lol!

Cold came suddenly right after the Eid Dinner I gave on the third day.
Everybody enjoyed the food...at last nearly everything was homemade...the trend here is to get food from restaurants for every invite...but this year we decided to do our cooking at home..there were eleven men and fifteen women in all, and of course four lovely children.
I did an easy menu so I could cope...the men's roast leg of lamb turned out beautifully,


(this isn't mine its from the internet but mine was very close to this :) )



there was also roasted chicken,russian salad,folded pizzaz(my daughter),two chocolate cakes and a fruit cake(my cousin's),macaroni with becahmel....and other yummy things!!
Anyway that is all and I hope all the eids will be nice and quiet...we do tend to have some stir in some Eids by some stir-loving people...lol!!

Happy Eid

My children came and had Eid breakfast with us and these are the grandkidos with their Eid clothes....










After breakfast we went outside and the kids had fun playing
bumper cars.

Life goes on!!

This is the building ,owned by my in-laws,I have lived for four years there, and had two of my kids(one 29 and the other 26,mashallah),I have seen good and bad days but c'est la vie!!







Well I guess nothing lasts in this world...here it is being destroyed because of lack of maintenance and the great salt content in the area...you see this land was originally part of the sea and was buried to be used for building!!


What makes me feel good is that the new building behind is getting a lot more sunshine now!!

New car.........

Azouz received his first real car...it goes forwards and in reverse too....and it has a radio with five channels, wow just like dad's....

You should see how happy he was when he received it..as soon as he got on he said where is my brother call him?!

I love his love of sharing mashallah even when we give him candy he says where are Hala and Aboudy's candies?!
Sorry!!The pics were not so clear as he received the present at night and since they were too excited to stop long enough for me to catch the photo!!

At Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaast

I finished Azouz's hat on the same day and we all went out to the garden and the kids played with the swings and slide!!

Winter hath come

I have promised my grandchildren winter hats .....and I have finished two and a half so far.The older one of them(poor thing) is the one who was so enthused about the hat and until now his, is only halfway done!!
Today inshallah I am taking the half-finished product with me downstairs and will inshallah finish it today in front of him.....If I don't deliver??well he won't believe me any more :(

Characteristics in people is a mistery

I don't understand human nature any more...
You make friends during your life ...you take them into your heart,your home...you help them ...you nurture their love and give them care...but always those you give most hurt you most!!

I remember my uncle's saying now!!
No,I won't say it for fear of returning the hurt......

Not to be so sad...mom always said to do good and throw it in the sea...it will come back...true from not the same people you did good to but Allah will give it back through others...not that I waited for the return for whatever I did....

I helped many friends throughout my life and did get rewarded with bad from them but on the other hand Allah sent me others to whom I have never helped...in fact I barely knew them and they stood by me during my bad days...

Ella chavez .......this post is for you...I know you have been hurt by the nearest and the ones you helped most,but don't worry my dear u will get other people who will stand by you and return your good !!

Barbecue

My cousin invited us to a wonderful barbeque yesterday...we stayed outside with three of those kids and I told them not to run around for fear of one of them falling in the huge empty swimming pool and the poor guys just felt soooo bored so I told my cousin's daughter to play a game with them its called "my sheep" translation of "ya ghnamaty"...she would walk in front of them and they ,in single file follow whilst she calls (oh my sheep) and the should answer baa baaa but that was in vain they did follow but no baa baas were coming except from me!!My aunt said they were walking in a silent protest lol!!

In the afternoon we had tea ,pastries and some nuts ,then some coffee and a beautiful date coffee-cake (home-made),in the garden,I was feeling so depressed that day but mashllah with all the hardwork my cousin was doing to keep everybody happy,one couldn't help but feel better all the time.
All in all we had fun ,my cousin as always made lovely food for dinner,her barbecue mix was amazing and the grand finale was the most beautiful cake adorned with nuts and fruits,maaashalla she outdid hereself this time!!

In the end it was time to go home and the kids doned their winter caps for the night was cold!!

Long time no see!!

I haven't been blogging for the past week ,trying to find a way to write an arabic blog I tried to on blogspot but the words and the sentences sometimes did funny things so I found this new arabic blog site and I have been working on it recently,its about marriage and how to make it succeed...I have started from the roots of the problem which is why do we marry..I hope I can go on and complete this project cause its important to all the new generation!!


New arabic blog

Friendship of a lifetime

My dad and my father-in-law have been friends since they attended school in Madeenah munawarah ages ago,then they married two sisters which made their relationship even stronger ,then a couple their children married, resulting in having joint grandkids....to make a long story short ,these faithful brothers stayed in touch and with old age it was hard for them to see each other that often-one living in theEast and the other in the West!!
So my dad being the younger of the two decided to pay his brother (who was suffering from a stroke lately)a surprise visit....

Mashallah between them they have four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren and of course each has more grandchildren from their other off-spring!!

Camels.... camels.... camels!!

These camels we passed by as we returned from jeddah its the camel souq on Makkah road!!


White camels somewhere between Tayef and Riyadh.....


Black camels between Riyadh and Alkhobar.....

Old buildings in Jeddah!!

OLD and NEW!!
New cars...old houses in Jeddah,and in the back a building of a more modern version!!

Beautiful door.....this woodwork isn't appreciated any more in the modern society!!



This photo is of the old jeddah...the windows used to have these beautiful lattice wooden frames so women can observe the street without having to wear hijab....

Baby's first visit to the sea

Thanks,Rosy pink dreams,this is me

Which Disney Princess Are You?
	You are part Ariel. You are beautiful but impaired. At times you are naïve. Still, your innocence and good heart make you sought after and loved.
	You are part Cinderella. You are hard-working and never complain, however, your trust is sometimes misplaced and people sometimes take advantage of you. Still, you are beautiful inside and out, and one day you will realize it and find true love.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Gloomy.....after the baby and mom went home :(

Well,everything has an end, and my daughter left to her house yesterday taking the baby and his sister,to go back to her husband and her own apartment.
It's too quiet now in my house...I miss them sooooooooo,especialy the sound of the baby crying..I think I must pay them a visit this afternoon(just to check how things are going...heheheheh).

Net catch!!

Isn't this beautiful!!

Sea treasures

We spent the weekend on a new beach and since the sea there was very deep we found a lot of driftwood,shells and dry sea creatures......

On the first day the weather was beautiful,the next day there was a storm and so the waves were very high,my kids had a very bad experience with the high waves,my son had to take the fishing-net with his father in to the deep and the waves were overwhelming.My daughter went in to swim with her father and the high waves really got her and she nearly drowned,but alhamdulillah they got out and swam in the mini pool.

Educated kids!!

We were all sitting and talking last Friday after lunch...when the kids really started making so much noise we couldn't hear each other so I got them their tiny books and asked them to read a little....hehehehe READ!!
Couldn't let this pass without showing it off :)

The big event....shaving the baby's head!!

In Islam it is one of the sunnahs(doings of the Prophet,peace be upon him) that the newborn have his hair shaved,and the weight of the hair in silver be given to the poor.So the uncle shaved the hair and the father will take it to the goldsmith to be weighed.





More about the newborn in Islam:
http://www.geocities.com/widwidwid/newborns_in_islam.html

Busy with potty training!

My nearly three-year-old grandaughter is having a hard time dealing with the new baby and potty-training simultaneously.......
So her mom and I did a search and google and we found this:
exactly her behaviour :)

Q

My three-year-old will have nothing to do with the potty. She's in pull-ups but treats them like diapers. I think we goofed because for two days we put her in panties and she only had two wet accidents. But she was afraid to have a b.m. When she finally did, it was in her panties and she was obviously ashamed. We weren't angry, but frustrated and she knew it. Now she will only go on the potty when she feels like having a candy, which we give her as a prize. I don't want to force her to try. She just cries. Can you help?



to see the rest read here:
http://www.wholefamily.com/aboutyourkids/child/toilet_training_8_qa.html

Baby's first visit to the doctor

All dressed up and ready to go see the doctor.......alhamdulillah he returned from his visit and the doctor said all is well.

I bought a cute baby doll with diaper,potty,bottle,pacifier,pyjamas and socks..it laughs and cries....Hala was sooo happy with it...but as you see the jealousy is still there!!

More about the newcomer!!

Well this baby arrived at 9:45 pm,Wednesday 11/7/2007being so gracious as to wait for his Grandpa to arrive from Alexandria,you see this baby is a cancer and seems to like to have a grandoise entrance!!
During his delivery his grandma was with him(moi)and his grandpa and great-aunt(who was also inside for two hours giving the mother moral support)then she joined grandpa and zee proud dad waiting outside,joined later by zee great-uncle of the same sign (cancer)!!
His mother asked me to take a picture of his feet this is how baby chose the picture to be!!



After his first bath,he was so happy and slept for so long!!


Very happy sister with new brother...did I say ..ehem happy?
Well she was sick all day while her mother was having the pains...and when she saw the baby she stayed three days not wanting food,poor thing and she couldn't bear her mom's smell,everytime she got near her she would say:"I don't like the way you smell!!"
Of course not, she smelled of fresh baby's scent!!.. heheheh that's life my dears!!

Newcomer......welcome..ahlan wasahlan

We have a very welcome and long-awaited for newcomer...mr Bilal,new grandson,here you see him the moment he arrived and then the first formal picture,he looks so much like his sister.

Weather progress in our trip!!

What started as an innocent ordinary rainstorm....




Turned into this fullscale sandstorm and rainstorm simultaneously!!
Which caused us to run for cover...ther were tens of trucks and cars with us in this gas station...under the trees here you can see the actual movement of the trees that is why the picture is so blurry we weren't even driving we were waiting by the fence and trees...what you see is the movement caused by the strong winds...because of the darkness the sand waves on the road didnt show here!!

Stormy trip

My sister came from abroad to visit and had no time to come over to Alkhobar, she only had ten days and wanted to do Umrah ,go to Madeenah munawarah and visit with mom and dad ,and the whole family lives in Jeddah,so I went to see her and the whole clan.
The trip was sandy from the day we set forth from Alkhobar through a sandstorm and as we returned we were caught in a rainstorm ,including lightening and....surprise a sandstorm as well!!I mean have you ever been through such a weird thing??SubhanAllah,it was raining and we could see the lightening at the same time on the road in front of us we could see the sand in waves...the cars became red with sand the front windows were all wet,the side windows were all covered with sand!!
we had to stop at a gas station for fear of being carried away by the storm...it was a minnie hurricane in fact, and it was in the middle of no-man's land
500 kilometers from Tayif and 500KM away from Riyadh at a place called Thulam(darkness)!!

Crocheting and then some!!

I found this great filet spread and the nice thing is the explanation is in arabic!!
http://www.wahatulislam.com/ar_crochet/

Crocheting...again?!

I have registered in this arabic forum and I was writing somethings about how I learned crochet and all the ladies there kept asking to see my work...I did post a picture of my previuos creations...but thye wanted some new stuff plus step-by-step photos....seems I will finally start to make something for my grand kids...never did make them any thing in crochet...hmmmmmm....may I need to go shopping for some nice colorful yarn.
The stuff in the photo belongs to my kids they still have them as keepsakes:)

Our shop on the internet

Since our shop is in not a very shopping area...we decided my son and I to make some internet selling so we made a couple of advertisements on some known forums and inshallah we will be getting some more business.
Looks like the internet is really the way to do anything you need,buy,sell,get to know people...etc.
I've noticed the younger generation are the ones who really are reaping the benefits of the internet...I'm not doing bad either....chuckle!!

MY love for the sea......

Flamingoes..I love them standing,I love them flying showing off their beautiful red wings,and I love them drifting away casually when you try to get close....

My favourite place, a small area on Abqaiq road called Gurayah,I love the color of the sea there and the solitude...


No wonder I love the sea.....I was born in a sea-side town,Alkhobar...my childhood was spent an Alkhobar and Beirut,both great sea-side cities.






The fishermen were getting their wire-nets (gargour,in arabic)ready for fishing but were held back by the fog...lucky me,just in time to catch this nice photo!!


MY next favourite sea-side spot is a small town called dareen half-an-hour drive from Dammam,this I took at lowtide......


Some seagulls hitch-hiking in the fog in Dammam...


Flamingoes in Alkhobar corniche:


The marina in Kuwait city:


Sunrise:


Dareen again...hi-tide...