Chocolate Mints In a Jar

Friday’s Five: Egyptian Women and Biographies

jessyz — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:26:56 +0000

I am still researching Egyptian women but here are five I found interesting and would like to read more about.

Saheir al-Qalamawi
Rania Elwani
Shajarat El Dor
Doria Shafiq
Hoda Shaarawi

The moral of the story is …

jessyz — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:50:54 +0000

In a land far far away in a time long long ago, there was a country. That country was beautiful and rich. The soils were rich, anything sown in the land would grow and be fruitful. They had one character flaw; someone should always be blamed. So instead of planting their land the farmers would squabble all day long on whose fault it was that the neighbor’s cows wandered into their fields. Was it the farm boy’s fault or was it the farmer’s wife’s fault. They would go on for days on end, for they were very skilled in arguing, they had had years of practice. So the land was not farmed and the people did not have any food to eat. They started to blame the king because of their character flaw. The king made a new law and said that anyone who blamed anyone would be jailed. The people were happy but they could not stop blaming each other, for it was in their nature. Many of the young able bodied farmers ended up in jail. Still, people did not farm the land because they were either in jail or complaining that the men who could farm were in jail and started to blame the king. The king canceled his law. People complained and blamed the king that spring had passed and that they could no longer sow any seeds. The king jailed people for complaining. Things got worse. A neighboring country tried to attack them but they got lucky and were saved.
The king died and another king came, the people complained and blamed the new king. The new king blamed the old king. The people blamed the old king and the new king. They thought if the new king died and they got an even newer king things would change. So they prayed all day long. They did not farm the fields, they did not work, they did not do anything except pray, blame and complain.
Finally after decades of praying they got a new king. But things had gotten so much worse and the people were still poor so the people blamed the newest king and the newest king blamed the people for their laziness and they all blamed the dead kings.
Things did not change, but life will go on.

Something totally random

A trip into designing the perfect ipod case

jessyz — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:20:18 +0000

I am a procrastinating perfectionist. That is a weird thing to say right?
Anyways, Chikapappi (check out her blog, she’s very interesting but not blogging as regularly as she used to or as I would like her to) said she wanted an ipod case. To be honest so did I. I throw my ipod in my bag, sometimes I am a good girl and put it in the zippered part so it won’t get scratched. Designing something isn’t easy. I wanted something I could use without having to take the ipod out of so that ruled out sock style case thingies. I tried crocheting it and leaving a circle open. Do you have any idea how hard that is? Didn’t think so. After a gazillion attempts I decided not to do it that way.
I came up with three ideas and tested them out.
I am still not 100% satisfied.
I like the idea of a flap for easy access, and I also like the felt because I feel that Mr. Ipod is safe and cozy.
But there is something missing.

So it is back to the drawing board for me.

Introspection

jessyz — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:45:05 +0000

“And,
when
you want
something, all the
universe conspires
in helping you
to achieve it.”
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
“Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.” Bertrand RusselI went shopping today. Some people enjoy shopping, I am neutral. I do enjoy browsing books, shoes and handbags but clothes don’t really excite me as much. The world was either conspiring against me or totally trying to help me. Everything I liked was in a size 8 or 10. Since I am neither of these, the universe was either telling me to become a size 8 or telling me to go have a sandwich. I didn’t get a sandwich.
Why do we gravitate to certain styles? Almost every item I picked had a distant cousin in my past wardrobe. It was either a similar color or style to what I already own and love. Do we like familiarity? Do we enjoy the feeling of safety? Are our preferences part of our past, present and future? Are they part of our DNA? Is our sense of style part of our nature or nurture? I think in my case it is more of my nature, otherwise I would be wearing florescent track suits which are apparently quite in at the moment.
Every shop had different music playing. Sometimes I stopped, slowed down and listened and some music just had me running out the door. Do they ever think of what they play? Has anyone ever composed music specifically for playing in stores or different store types? That could be a huge market niche.
Have you ever noticed how some mirrors make you look amazing and others just make you look frumpy, even though neither are in a house of crazy mirrors? Shouldn’t they manufacture special mirrors for store fitting rooms?
Some people were shopping with their friends and some were alone. What does it say about you if you need someone with you? What does it say about you if you are always on your own?
How many of the smiling sales people were unhappy today?
How many felt tired or homesick?
Yet they were all smiling and very helpful.
Do you ever wonder about people who you only meet once and will probably never meet again?
I went into Virgin. I thought I might look at the books and gadgets. I didn’t want to buy anything but I got lost inside. Not just inside the store, but inside my head. I looked at all the books. Did I want to read fiction? Not really. Might I be interested in a biography? Yes, but I wasn’t in the mood to buy anything, I just wanted to look at the world from inside my head and then look at my inside from the world outside. I saw the self-help section. Lots of books, do we all need so much help? Do these books work? I moved to the children’s section. Colorful, funny, interesting and educational. Lovely books. Memories. Ramona The Pest, Dr Seuss’s books and lots of others. If only life could be as colorful as a child’s story book. For some reason when I read books meant for children I can hear myself narrate it in my head using all the funny voices I can imagine. I daydream some more. I get out of Virgin feeling happy and content. Bam! Cinnabon is right accross Virgin. The smell of the freshly baked cinnamon buns torture my senses. I can hear them calling my name and tickling my nose. I remember the universe and its conspiracy with the size 8 dresses and I walk away.
I go into a store and look at handbags. I wonder who will buy them, what will they carry and where will they go. Do the bags care? If they did, what would they want to carry? Where would they want to go? Does it matter? Should it even matter to me? I think of my own handbag. It was an impulse buy so many months ago, when I decided I would change my life. I got out of my comfort zone and bought something that appeared on the outside so different from what I would usually buy. But is it really that different? It is black and practical, yet it is funky and interesting. Maybe that is who I really am but I just don’t know it yet.
I walk around some more and find myself in front of the fountain. I love watching fountains, I love watching water even if it is still. Still water runs deep. Am I not like that? Who am I? What am I doing with my life? What have I chosen and where will all of these choices take me? Does it matter?
Friends are sharing coffee and brunch in tables around me. Some are laughing, some are sad, some are working and some are sitting alone. Tomorrow the scene will be the same but the actors will be different. There’s a young mom with a crying baby probably six months or so, I look at her and smile and tell her that everything will get easier. She relaxes a bit, smile backs and looks grateful. Her baby stops crying. The world does not stop and neither should we. We are always on the move. Even when we are very still we are moving, growing older and thinking.
I am back in my car.
I sit down and think, I start the car and put it in reverse. I learned to drive more than 10 years ago. I realize that now I don’t think about it anymore. It has become a skill that I can do without thinking. How many other things were really difficult but are now part of our daily routine? Should I turn on the radio or should I find my iPod? I decide to do neither I am really enjoying the conversation in my head.
I take the long route home because the sun is shining and I feel serene.
I am back home and I am totally alone again. I realize that I struggle with my own demons on many days but not today. Today they have chosen to let me be. To just enjoy the world as it is.
I am grateful for that and I thank them.
Tomorrow we will fight another battle, but not today.

Something totally random

The Budget Clutch (or the Money Organizer Clutch)

jessyz — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 08:01:37 +0000

Old way of doing things

I use the old fashioned tried and tested envelope method to keep our monthly finances in order. Only problem was that the envelopes get pretty scruffy pretty fast and they kept getting caught on the zipper and I had to fold the money so they fit in the small pouch I had. Standing at the checkout counter trying to get money out and getting everything on the zipper happened once too often so I decided to do something about it.

I crocheted my own clutch and cut out card tabbed dividers and labeled them.

The clutch is very simple. I didn’t line it because I thought it would be too bulky.

The tabs make it much easier to get to things and because it is wide I don’t have to fold or unfold anything and have easy access to the bills at any time. It also makes saving receipts in the right place easier.

You can also use it for coupon organization, receipts, or anything you would like to organize in an easy to carry clutch.

The New Cute Way of Doing things

How to make one

This isn’t really a pattern but more of a simple how to.

Chain 30.

Single Crochet on both sides of the chain to start a round (60 sc)

At the end of each round slip stitch into the first sc, chain one and turn.

Keep going until the height of the clutch is right for your currency plus the height of the tabbed dividers.

To make the fold over part sc 30 then chain 1 and turn.

Work another 10 or 12 rows with 1 decrease at the beginning of the row. If you are going to use a button leave a button hole in row 8 or whatever looks right for you.

Finally sc all round to give it a cleaner look.

The tab dividers can be downloaded here.

I used the Sweet Butterfly from Ravelry

Friday’s Five: More things I would like to learn

jessyz — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:19:43 +0000

Chop onions like a pro
Japanese
Juggling
Learn Japanese
Ventriloquism

Something totally random

Seven it is

jessyz — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:12:29 +0000

I was tagged way back in February by Neisy but I was too busy/lazy to do it. Today I’ve been staring at the screen for the last hour and going through my drafts but still came up blank, so I thought why not, it just might break the block inside my head

I like sitting in the dark.
I am very bad at doing nothing, even when I am doing nothing, I am doing something.
Nothing pisses me off like being underestimated.
I think that most people don’t really know me.
I feel like I am in a cocoon/metamorphosis phase in my life, I am just hoping that I eventually turn into a butterfly
I still can’t figure out how to use the dryer properly.
I would love to open a community center for women and children and teach everything like arts and crafts, cooking, conversation skills, child raising skills, … etc. Everything a woman or child might need to know in life.

Since most people have already been tagged please tag yourself and scream “I am it I am it” and run around like a crazy person then sit down and do the tag.

Something totally random

Buyology

jessyz — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:18:17 +0000

Next time I shop I am going to cover my nose and use ear plugs, not sure what to do about visual advertising though.

Give a Book Away

jessyz — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:58:18 +0000

{Note this was in my drafts folder dated February 10th, but totally forgot about it}

I was tidying up the bookshelves and saw the copy of The Alchemist which I gave to my husband when we were engaged. I asked my friends what book would they give to their significant other. I got some interesting answers (The Alchemist, What Life Taught me – Galal Amin, War and Peace and Have a Little Faith).

{Until this morning when I saw Ola’s post on Cinnamon Zone}

I love the idea.

So why don’t you give a friend a book that might be useful.

Who would you give a book to and what would it be?

Monkey Cake

jessyz — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:45:58 +0000

Exactly 2 years today I woke up at 9 am feeling tired and in pain. I got ready to go out to breakfast. I was in Egypt and my husband was on vacation with me and was going to take me out to breakfast then drop me off at work. Instead I went to the hospital, had an emergency C-section and met Lulu for the first time at around 6 pm. That was when my whole life changed. Two years have gone by really quickly. I read somewhere that the days are really slow but the years go by really fast. That is exactly who I feel right now.

She was born with jet black hair, dimples and(which are gone except when she grins really hard) two birthmarks one on each thigh. She was also born with a very interesting personality. She is determined, curious, talkative and bubbly. She was wrapped in her baby blanket and an outfit I had picked out with my husband months earlier. She was much smaller than I thought babies should be. She didn’t do anything except sleep, eat, poop and cry for the first couple of months. I didn’t do anything except feed, wash away all the poop and cry while dreaming of sleep (just kidding it wasn’t that bad, but I still do dream of sleep). We decided to be friends. She didn’t ask and I didn’t offer but I think I am determined to be friends anyways. It is still a long journey but I am grateful.

With out current monkey obsession (diapers and crochet monkeys) which was probably caused by watching too much Curious George, I felt that a monkey cake was the perfect gift. I wasn’t planning on having a party anyways. My husband and I were planning to celebrate quietly just the two of us at home with a cake and a gift. When my sister in law said she was going to drop by Friday and celebrate with us we decided to make pizza as well and get balloons as well. She loved the cake and woke up this morning asking for monkey ‘tata’ which is Lulu speak for chocolate. And she spent 10 minutes pointing at it and saying monkey monkey when she first saw it. I baked it Thursday morning while she was out at daycare and hid it in the top utility drawer so she wouldn’t see it. I also made rolling fondant for the very first time and tried a new chocolate frosting recipe because the one I love uses chocolate chips and I didn’t have any. The fondant was much easier to make than I thought and turned out beautifully. The whole cake was a success. It took about an hour and a half from start to finish including baking and decorating so I guess it was easier than I thought it would be.

Lessons learned when making monkey cake:

Make sure you have all the ingredients.
Wash the dishes as soon as you are done with them. Chocolate, butter and marshmallows are not easy to wash off when they’ve dried onto your bowls.
Be confident when rolling fondant, if you don’t like what you have you can always start all over.
I think the next time I make this I would probably make the frosting the first thing and I would use my chocolate chip recipe. It usually needs to sit in the fridge for an hour or two but it tastes better and its texture is way better.
Do not lick too much batter.
Take lots of pictures. It is a fun process.
Write down your favorite recipes. I send most recipes to my email but still lose them sometimes, so I have a notebook filled with successful tried and tested ones. I also write down a recipe on large post its and stick them on the wall while I am cooking so I don’t have to look for it while my hands are all covered in sticky stuff. If a recipe passes the test it gets copied into the notebook.
Make sure you have a serving plate that fits. Unfortunately I didn’t the ears make the shape of this cake difficult to fit on a regular plate so I just covered a try in foil. Next time I would probably cut out a peice of cardboard and cover that in foil and then in pieces of wax paper so I can just pull them from under the cake when I am done so the whole thing would look cleaner. I know it does not matter but I really care about presentation. I tried to tissue off excess frosting but it still looked a bit messy.
I have an awesome cake recipe but I was afraid that I would not have enough time so I opted to use cake mix (Betty Crocker’s Chocolate Fudge Cake) to be honest I think my cake is better and next time I probably would just use the recipe but it still was a wonderful cake, so don’t be afraid to take shortcuts and use a little bit of extra help.
It is best to do this while little people under 5 are out of the house or at least busy doing something else.

Lessons learned when having little Lulus (who sometimes behave like little monkeys)

Sometimes you have to remind yourself that you are in control. I sometimes need to tell her in a loud clear voice “I am your mommy, you are my daughter, I am in charge”.
Making a fool of yourself in a public place to make your daughter laugh is totally underrated, everyone should do it at least once a month. It is liberating to act the way you really want to as if no one else existed and it is fun too. Kids are a great excuse for that.
It is sometimes really hard deciding what is best for your kid. Keep trying.
It is sometimes really hard doing what is best for your kid. Try harder.
Sticking to what you have decided and started doing is even harder. Keep trying harder.
Keep track of milestones, if a child is very late at reaching one, go see a doctor.
It is always OK to seek a second opinion especially concerning doctors. Sometimes it is even critical.
ALWAYS find a little bit time for yourself. There is an Arabic proverb that say, he who does not have something can not give it (فاقد الشيئ لا يعطيه) so in other words a mother who is not happy and healthy can not raise happy and healthy children.
Finally, it is never really a destination with kids, it is a journey, so make sure you pack lots of snacks, diapers, books, pain relievers and a positive attitude.

Happy birthday to you Lulu and happy giving birth day to me too.

Chocolate Mints In a Jar

Friday’s Five: Egyptian Women and Biographies

Similar Posts

The moral of the story is …

Something totally random

A trip into designing the perfect ipod case

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Introspection

Something totally random

The Budget Clutch (or the Money Organizer Clutch)

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Friday’s Five: More things I would like to learn

Something totally random

Seven it is

Something totally random

Buyology

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Give a Book Away

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Monkey Cake

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