Black Forest Pancakes

On Sunday I went to see my sister and luckily she has a cherry tree in her backyard. She gave me a bag of cherries to take home and I made my favourite breakfast with them; black forest pancakes. I first saw these being made on tv on a show about a bed and breakfast and this is the recipe they featured. I couldn't find the exact recipe from the show but found this one which looks just like it and tastes out of this world.Enjoy!

Unimagined - June Book club pick

June is not over but I think there was only one reader this month and she has finished reading this book and I as well so let's start the discussion.

What did you think about his time in grade school, in high school and in university?

What did you think about his job choice?

What was your impression of his family and upbringing?

How would you compare his islamic knowledge to the author of The Faith Club?

What did you think about his descriptions of his travels and his description of his time in Scotland?

These are just some ideas that came to mind.

Stripes and Belts

Today we did our testing in Tae Kwon Do and my second and third and fourth son and third daughter all got GREEN belts. My fourth daughter and I got stripes. She got a black stripe for her roundhouse kick and I got all 5 of the stripes (red, yellow,blue, green and black). My teacher said I was doing well for a such a short time. Insha Allah you will still be reading this blog when I get my black belt, right? Right? :) My fifth son sadly didn't recieve any stripes this time as he hasn't been too serious about TKD lately. For my master I got this book as a gift (although Bruce Lee taught Kung Fu and not Tae Kwon Do).

Leap Frog Letters

When I heard my granddaughter running around saying the alphabet and each letter's corresponding sound I was really impressed. She is only 3 afterall. My  first daughter told me she learned it all from the Leap Frog Letter Factory video. I promptly went out to buy it and now my 3 yr old and 5 yr old are running around doing the same thing. My 3 yr old also asks me what sound each letter makes and I say it to him. The funny thing is he already knows the answer so I guess he just like to play with me or verify his information. My second daughter tells me these are big sellers where she works and the parents have rave reviews as well. What I like about this video is that by teaching the sounds of the letters it introduces them to the next idea which is reading.

Iris Gift

The other day my neighbour asked me if I wanted some flowers because she had too many growing in her yard and had to thin them out. I said I wasn't sure and she said if you want some, get back to me. I couldn't think of where to plant them so I just let it go. Well last night she just showed up and gave me some irises. I was tired from TKD so just left them to plant today. Off I went to the dollar store to get some small fencing so the kids would not play in my new flower bed which is an old spot where dh planted tomatoes before. So next to my deck are some new irises. They have no flowers on them though. They're just clippings. You can watch this to see what I mean. I don't even know what kind of irises they are, gonna have to ask.

Mama's Steamer Trunk

Widad has captured the feelings of a convert like me and which she is, so exquisitely in this short tale. Please take the time to read this and comment. These are the types of stories that need to be written and read by both muslims and non-muslims.

Perfect Play House

I've been looking through playhouse images on the net and my 4th daughter wants nothing but castles but I stumbled upon this one and I love it! Can you guess why? Dh loves the plans in the Black and Decker book in the Amazon ad.

Time : A Precious Gift

http://www.dhikrullah.com/downloads/lectures/shareef/Time%20A%20Precious%20Gift.MP3Just wanted to share this with all of you.

Jazakullah Khair -Terimakasih

Just a few days ago I received these lovely books for Quran learning which are being used in the schools in Malaysia now. 10 years ago there was only Jawi learning so I am impressed that the gov't has introduced Quran reading in the regular schools. A fellow blogger sent these; Bin Gregory who is an American convert who lives with his Malaysian wife and children in Sarawak.

Jazakullah khair

Alhumdullilah in the last little while I have recieved some lovely gifts from bloggers and readers and my daughter. May Allah reward all of you. Your thoughtfulness brightens up my life. The jilbab I got from a reader, a sister I met on facebook Sis Elysia.  This jilbab is so perfect;its light and airy and fits me perfectly. I wear it all the time. The scarf is from my daughter. She noticed I favourited it on Etsy and then secretly sent it to me. How nice is that? I've always wanted a silver hijab but could never find one. Yesterday I wore it for the first time to my husband's graduation. This is the 3rd graduation from a postsecondary institution for him.  In the background you can see the arabic letter and number blanket I ordered from her for my baby daughter. You can order one too if you like.  The Islamic book I won from Muslim Homeschooler.

Geography

My daughter has finished Canadian geography quite some time ago so she's been reading Countries of the World Malaysia to learn about her fatherland. For example she learned that Malaysia is part peninsula and part island.

A day in the life

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be a raised muslim. Wouldn't it be grand?  I also wonder if they ever give a thought to how it feels to be a convert. Would they be willing to walk a mile in our shoes for even one day. This is how it would be. They would wake up and instead of thinking of all the people in their family they could call or spend time with they would realize that that doesn't exist. So fine  they would think, I'll just call a friend. But wait I lost all my friends when I converted. Fine I'll call all my new friends at the mosque. But wait, no one at the mosque talks to me because I'm not from their country. Ok I'll just make friends with non-muslims, piece of cake. Oh dear they think I'm a terrorist or oppressed or just plain boring because I don't drink etc or they are super religious and want to convert me back! Ok, I'll spend time with my hubby and kids...ahh yes I can have this but only this unless I'm  a male convert whom no one will allow thier daughters to marry. Could you do it? Could you live our lives?  I'm just writing this as a reminder to those who have forgotten converts or never gave them a thought. Please reach out to a convert.

August Book Club Choice- Ramadan

I'm getting ahead of myself but since summer is such a busy time for most and because Ramadan happens in August this year I'm posting this early. August's pick is apropos; Ameenah's Ramadan Diary. I've had my eye on this book for awhile and this is the perfect excuse to order it, insha Allah. Happy early Ramadan Mubarak.

Summer Fun 2010

Are you looking for something to do this summer in Canada? Why not go to a National Park for free on July 17th? On July 18th  try Muslim Day at Canada's Wonderland. Or check out festival and events in Ontario including Muslim Fest . This month why not go to Muslim Heritage weekend? Have fun this summer, halal fun!

July Book Club pick - 10 Things I Hate About Me

Insha Allah you are all enjoying the book of the month for June. To prepare you for July I will announce the next book now. It will be 10 Things I Hate About Me, written by the same author as Does My Head Look Big in This. I actually ordered this book from my kids' scholastic order. Hopefully you can find it at your library or bookstore. Or order here through Amazon.

Halal Trip

Recently the founder of  Halal Trip contacted me about their new service. It seems to be similar to Crescent Rating which I mentioned in an earlier post. You can check to see what others thought about different places they visited including the hotels they stayed at and the restaurants they went to to see how halal they actually were ie do they have halal food, do they serve alcohol etc. Their blog features different mosques to visit and tips for different countries too, including Malaysia.  Happy trails!

Here is the press release.

halaltrip.com (http://www.halaltrip.com), an online directory of worldwide Muslim-friendly hotels, has recently launched to public. Users can easily rate businesses helping to create the most transparent travel source for Muslims. Each hotel profile includes information whether alcohol and Halal Food is served and if woman-only facilities like pools and other wellness activities and a prayer facility are offered.

"We want to be the leading online source for Muslims planning their holidays or religious trips. halaltrip is a strongly Islamic based free web service providing honestly researched information on Halal travelling. Ratings will be daily examined based on a fair and faithfully set of criteria. This is an underestimated market as we are reaching out to more than one billion people", says Founder Karim Saad.

Internationalization coming soon

Currently halaltrip is only available in English but will be multi-lingual within the upcoming weeks. "Internationalization is our next big goal! As soon as possible we are going to launch an Arabic and a Turkish version", forecasts Saad.

Despite the worldwide economic crisis the so-called "Halal tourism" is still on the rise. The World Travel Market Report (WTM) called this special segment of travelling an "untapped field not only for Middle and Far East but also for Western Europe".
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Haute Couture meets jilbab.

Imaan collections located in England, a company I've ordered from once before, offer jilbabs like you 've never seen before. The colours and designs are so unique.They have something for everyone, trendy, business and party styles. Right now they have a few jilbabs with native american embroidery, how refreshing.  The outfit I got from them a few years ago consisted of an almost ankle length pink top with embroidered flowers and wide legged cotton pants with a flower garden design. One of my favourite summer outfits. The prices are not the cheapest but if you're looking for something special this summer for say a wedding or for eid then check them out.