Be not afraid of Greatness...

Reading 100 books this school year?

2011-10-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about a challenge that would be really good for me this year.
Apart from trying hard to manage my time very well and being super duper organized I was thinking about a challenge of reading at least 100 books this year. I know it's very difficult! But I will do it! :)

Minimalism.

2011-08-23T14:25:00.000-07:00

Hello again,
I have been absent for such a long time! I feel like there is just toooooo much in my head and it feels like I need to clear everything our and start from the scratch.
I am decluttering my closet and desk trying to make my room minimalist and I think that this will help me clear my mind and learn something really important that I absolutely need to learn; focus on one thing at a time.
It is sometimes hard to throw away things that you feel the urge to own, because we are so overwhelmed in this world of consumerism. We are the children of the "I can't get enough culture" always trying to keep with the Joneses.
Anyway,
Let me go back to my decluttering session! :)

Hello again!

2011-07-03T06:10:00.000-07:00

So, exams are over! I have also found a job! I still have one last test to sit for on Monday; Russian test and then I will be able to work on the network project, masters preparation and other things! :) See ya! Until then! :)

Not knowing...

2011-06-30T09:41:00.000-07:00

I think that my problem right now is not knowing what goals I should fix for myself! There are just too many things I want to accomplish! Too many things I want to change! Too many things I love and I don't seem to make up my mind about what is really important! I also lose motivation so easily even about things I really really want to do!

Finding a job.

2011-06-26T13:54:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about a way to spend my time effectively and wisely this summer, and I can't think of a better solution than to find a job. This week, I will go job-hunting, I will also start working on the project and sign some papers for an organisation. I really want this summer to be interesting! Half the year has already passed, and I haven't achieved a lot of what I thought I would. It's ok! It will still be available for next year anyway! :)

Back one more time!

2011-06-19T02:45:00.000-07:00

I have been absent for a very long time... There has been ups and downs and I have been struggling with the odds as one good teacher of mine said. I have succeeded at one goal finally: I got my B.A!! Yeey! But I am not particularly happy. When my baby gets his M1 then I will feel real happiness!
I have been thinking a lot about the goals and realised that I just can't do them all and that some of them can not be "planned" or "anticipated" they just happen...
So again, there will be a change in my goals list! Don't you just hate that??!!
I also need a lot of motivation! So I have decided to do the things I really really need or I really really want to do!
I am using joe's goals, habit forge and start a resolution to make things work! I want it to be fun, exciting, fulfilling and not just an obligation or a thing I must and have to do! It is about needs and important desires! :) My baby and I will have to decide on the list of goals we want to fulfil now, and I will post them shortly after! Oh one more thing: I realised that I really don't HAVE TO write on the blog daily, so it will probably be kept weekly! That's quiet reasonable and realistic!
Cheers!

BACK AGAIN!

2011-05-29T03:36:00.000-07:00

The first part of the exam is over! I can get some rest and resume my goals now! I have been thinking about a way to really really really lose weight because it is my number one priority right now+school!
Eating only salads seems to have worked for many people, but it is hard and probably unhealthy! I really don't know! I will see some books at the American corner this Wednesday since I am going there for the public speaking competition! I am so excited about it! I have already prepared my speech! But Oh God! I forgot! I have lost all my files in this computer!!
It's ok! I am very positive about it. I really want to give it a chance and see how it goes. If there is still some hope for this country, I really want to see that on Wednesday. My speech will be mostly about responsibility and freedom and how it take perseverance, self-confidence and discipline to move ahead and make our country a better place!

Closed for Exams.

2011-05-13T14:18:00.001-07:00

Operation: simplify: part one : cleaning my room and closet!

2011-04-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

Task one is now complete! I went through my clothes and decided to give away a large number of items that I don't need! It wasn't really that hard, because I don't usually buy things I don't need and I am very happy with the results!
My room now is clean, well organized, simple and smells nice! I can't have enough of it!
Here are some pictures for ya:

I have separated winter, spring, summer clothes, and pants, skirts and shirts and home clothes! Now I have a section for each which makes finding the items I want easier.
Ok, you might wonder what are those pants and why are they hanging?

When I was going through my clothes, I tried every single pants to see if they fit and if I still like them! All of my pants which didn't fit last year did this time except for this one!! It is brand new! Ever since I bought it it didn't fit and I wanted to keep it hanging and look at it everyday to remember one of the reasons why I want to lose weight:
WEAR ALL THE CLOTHES I LIKE!!!

This is simply...my bed!
That's me over there when I was a kid! :)

Last summer, my library broke down and almost killed my little sister. I still didn't buy a new one so that's how I am keeping my books now!
Those hands were made by me and my little sister and the painting and the picture are mine.
See the clarinet over there?? Oh it's in it's bag-pack! That was a gift from my good friend Steve!

And finally, that's my desk!
Mmm, a bit messier of course!

Breakfast ideas: part one!

2011-04-17T10:10:00.000-07:00

~~Here are are couple of some really cool ideas for breakfast! I hope you like them:

- Let's start with my breakfast today:
Organic milk coming straight from a lovely free cow+ one egg+ two leaves of lettuce+ one croissant (pain au chocolat actually)
Not very very healthy! I could have replaced the egg with an organic home-farm egg and the croissant with a slice or two of homemade cake!

I also had this beautiful banana! :)

And finally, I finished with some chinese tea without sugar! Yummie!

That was my first breakfast ideas! I think that it's good as a start! Don't you?
Here comes my second idea:

ORANGE & BANANA MILKSHAKE:
Cut one banana and one orange into slices and put it in a mixer with some milk!

And there you go!!!

ENJOY!!!

Week In a few lines!

2011-04-17T09:42:00.000-07:00

Hey!
I am learning more and more everyday, and finding the right path little by little! This week was a very busy one and I have learned a lot of things!
First, I have realized that we are still ages behind when it comes to making a real revolution. Peoples' minds are still the same and are unlikely to change, you will be looked down upon when they don't get what they want even if you are doing your best. That's why I have decided to fight only for those I believe really need to fight for!

I have realized that eating out is not totally bad if we make wise choices and replace certain foods with healthier ones!
In my country, there is a famous sandwich called "maqloub" that comes with fries usually, and is made of cheese, salad and tuna, or chicken or salami.
I have decided that eating it from once in a while and replacing the fries with salad and sticking to the tuna, cheese combination is a great deal! I would still eat a tasty meal out and keep it healthy!

There is another wonderful sandwich that I can eat when I am out! It's a "chapati" from El Kasbah! I haven chosen to buy it with cheese, tuna and eggs and of course harissa and some olives! This is a good choice too I think!
Otherwise I can just buy some cheese and bread when I feel hungry and don't have time to prepare anything!
Coming: Breakfast ideas: part one
Operation: simplify: part one

One very unique week!

2011-04-09T04:31:00.000-07:00

This week was my first in real activist action! I strongly believed in the cause of evaluating students in the most fair, just and honest possible way.
I stayed faithful to my eating habits and found alternatives to the popular fast food market: I can eat outside with slight changes and keep it healthy!
I have made a complete change in my objectives list reducing it to the minimum, basic and most important goals! :) I feel very happy at the moment and I am becoming more and more in peace with myself, my country and the world! More details to come...
~~Hugs and love~~

April Day One: Getting ready for the new month!

2011-04-01T14:22:00.000-07:00

Last month was not a success at all, I didn’t start well and probably it is because I planned wrongly.

I am hoping to learn from my mistakes this month, plan better, act better! I need to think more about my objectives and figure out how can I make them all work. I also need to reduce my hours of internet. I have to say that Bonzai Aphrodite inspire me in this. Well, it was her objective for the last month, and I should have followed it too! But it’s ok! It’s never too late. J

I also have to study more and read more. The Internet is a real waste of time, and I need to see how many hours do I really need every day. The essentials, nothing more. I waste my time playing games, watching silly videos, I open a lot of pages at the same time and don’t even get to finish reading them all. I have to download yoga videos . I have my own computer now, and this is going to make it a lot easier! J

Oh, one more thing, I think that knowing how to start is really important. This link from ZENHABITS says a lot about it. I am going to start on Monday, so this will allow me time to think and organize myself more. Two whole days for that! So, I better get started!

~Hugs~

Gafsa here we are!

2011-03-29T03:28:00.000-07:00

So, I am posting this a bit late. We arrived to Gafsa on Sunday.
I can't really follow a diet here but the good thing is that I never get to eat fast food or manufactured food. My grandmother never eats anything which is not 100% bio and natural.
I am not doing any progress in my goals, and I think it's because I spend too much time wasting my time! I need to organize my time more and be more committed to my work.
I have been busy these last days working on this page on facebook.
I think there are all the necessary explanations there! I am really outraged because of the injstice that we have to go through at University. This is probably the project I am going to further work on. I have talked to a friend about making an organization and I had the idea of making an organization of the defense of students and pupils./
I have to check all the administration and legal crap. This month is almost over. I haven't achieved much but I still have 9 months to finis what I started! :)

Internet & Uni problems!

2011-03-25T13:56:00.000-07:00

This is so frustrating! I haven't been myself lately! I have drifted away from my goals, and my beliefs and principles for a couple of days: main causes: getting unbelievably low grades, and having Internet problems again! I know, Internet is very important to me! It is the vehicle that allows me to reach my goals! If I don't have it I will neither be able to post on my blog, nor find the information I need to achieve whatever I want to achieve! As for studies, I have been working on something, it could be my goal for starting a project, but we will see now! I will write an entry about it in due time! So far, I am waiting for the week to end to start over AGAIN!
The good thing about this week is that I stayed faithful to my diet plan: I didn't eat any sandwiches but I have done some serious mistakes! Oh! Forgive me!!! I have lost 2 kgs(4.4 pounds)!!! This is great!!
Next week I have to move to a new phase! I am thinking about taking it more slowly and not chaging my eating habits that quickly! Now that I have reduced my consumption of fast food and manufactured food, I can move to the next step: eating 3 times a week of that only! I hope I will be able to do that! Eating anything cooked at home is ok for now even if it is not totally healthy, at least it's healthier than a sandwich or a pizza!
Anyways, I have to read more and write more! I have to make a program for this last week during the break!
~~Hugs~~

Week 3: Day1 Fog and fries.

2011-03-21T08:55:00.001-07:00

So, today I allowed myself to have some fries, no more for the week! I am not going to have anything unhealthy anymore today! I am allowed to eat something unhealthy in two days, so it's gonna have to wait!

Now, I have to look up scholarships and jobs in the USA and Canada, but I don't feel like I am going to find anything big really. There is always the fullbright scholarship but it seems out of hand, and it is very competitive, but who knows! Ahhh! Nothing is clear! Nothing!

Welcome back!

2011-03-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

Hello again!

After a whole week of absence here I am! I have been very sick and had no Internet connexion but now I am back! The holidays started and I really hate that! I am gonna have to keep myself busy these two weeks so they end quickly! I hate holidays! I really do hate them! Ahhh! Anyway, during the first week we are going to take Russian classes, so it's not going to be that terrible, but the second week is certainly going to be very hard and very lonely :(

We are going to visit my two grand mothers... I never really liked being around family members, they are really annoying and they always want to have a say in things that are none of their business. I don't get along very well with them, I have different interests and a different philosophy.

The goals remain.

2011-03-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

I have realized that the goals are not too many for a whole year, I just need to keep myself balanced and not get obsessed or consider them as a burden but as something that provides me with pleasure. These goals are my choice only and I want to follow them because I want to improve myself. So I am keeping them and keeping the challenge high!

Harsh flu break.

2011-03-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

I have a terrible flu right now so I am not going to follow the diet for a while I need to eat normally and rest until it goes away! I am thinking about reviewing my goals because they are probably too much! I am going to reduce them. Some goals I have mentioned can not be achieved in a short period, it takes years to learn how to do them like for example learning to love unconditionally. I want to do so many things and achieve a lot and I forget that we can't do or have everything and that we have to make choices and prioritize. So what are my priorities in the list of goals?

Week 1, Day Four: Days are too damn short!

2011-03-10T11:36:00.000-08:00

Days are too short! They just end so quickly and you realize you haven't done half of the things you wanted to do! You find yourself stuck in the traffic four hours and a permanent feeling of boredom never leaves your side! I think that the problem is with organization! I feel tired at around 9 Pm and have to go to bed at 10 to be able to wake at at 5 Am! That's good as a starter but I have to learn how to organize my day much better! I have already learnt how to organize my things and stuff so it is not going to be very hard now!

Week 1, Day Three: The healthy diet plan!

2011-03-09T12:10:00.000-08:00

Hey!

I have finally found the rudiments for my healthy eating plan! I have tried changing my eating habits overnight and in a couple of days gave up, simply because I pushed it too hard! One very important thing to do is to start slowly and let the change occur gradually. What I am doing right now is allowing myself to eat something or tow which are not really healthy everyday so that I don't feel the pressure of not being able to eat most of what is available on the market. My progression would hopefully be like this:

Week one: Everyday

Week two: Day after day

Week Three: 4 times a week

Week four:3 times a week

Week five: 2 times a week

Week Six: 1 time a week

Week seven: week after week

Week eight: Once a month

=> Keep that going until I feel ready for the next step which is not eating anything unhealthy at all but allowing myself to eat one meal out per year! Make that a feast or something! This is the idea of my good friend Hana! She has been doing this for ages!!! She has really encouraged me into switching to a healthy diet!

Now what I did is cut down all processed food and fast food, not make my primary meals consist of that but just have some of it occasionally. I am thinking about making a junk food day once a month. I would choose a mini pizza or something similar! That would really encourage me into going further and not feeling deprived and suffering!

Week 1, Day Two: Part Two

2011-03-08T11:33:00.000-08:00

I have prepared tomorrow's lunch! I cooked some escalopes in water and then turned the water into soup as a diner with a small slice of whole grain bread. Now things are getting clearer! I don't care about what others think, and I don't care if I am not perfect, at least I am trying as hard as I could! Tomorrow morning I will be able to practice yoga and meditation since I have already prepared the hardest part of lunch. I forgot to ask Dad to buy some lemons!!! So I guess I will eat a raw salad! I am thinking about adding something else to the menu! Maybe some eggs or something? Anyway! Enough talking about food right now!

So, I have figured out a way to organize my goals more effectively. I am going to classify them into three categories: the regular, the habits/morals and the long-term goals. The regular goals are the ones I need to follow on a regular basis like reading or practicing yoga, the habits/morals goals are goals which are related to how I view life and how I behave in certain situations for example beating laziness! and the long-term goals are resolutions I have taken the oath to fulfill this year and which can not be achieve in one month but in a long period of time (Duh !)

Here is my classification:

*-The Regular Goals:

Practise Yoga and meditation daily

practice sports

read and write daily

Play the guitar and make music

write on the blog at least monthly

Rise early

Learn to be sufficiently organized

eat healthily

Start a dairy of dreams,yoga,food

*The habits/morals:

learn to love unconditionally

learn to love myself and accept my limitations

Be who I am without fear

Learn to be patient

Learn to be sufficiently organized

Beat laziness

Have my own style

Help others

make my own beauty products

Go back to painting,writing poetry and make some photography

Learn to be supportive

be honest

Learn to be considerate of others' feelings

learn to control my anger

be grateful for what I have

Be charismatic!

*The long term goals

start a project

start writing a book

Do great at school

Learn more in philosophy

learn more in politics

Learn more in history

Have the level 1 at Russian and register in the level 2

learn to write very well (especially in Arabic

find a scholarship or a job abroad

Be more engaged politically

learn to lucid dream

Lose weight.

~~~~

What I am going to do now is update this old list:

1. learn to love unconditionally

2. learn to love myself and accept my limitations

3. Be who I am without fear

4. Learn to be patient

5. Practise Yoga and meditation daily

6. Lose weight and eat healthily

7. practice sports

8. Play the guitar and make music

9. read and write daily

10. write on the blog at least monthly

11. Learn to be sufficiently organized

12. Beat laziness

13. start a project

14. start writing a book

15. Do great at school

16. Have my own style

17. make my own beauty products

18. Learn more in philosophy

19. learn more in politics

20. Learn more in history

21. Have the level 1 at Russian and register in the level 2

22. learn to write very well (especially in Arabic

23. Go back to painting,writing poetry and make some photography

24. Learn to be supportive

25. be honest

26. Learn to be considerate of others' feelings

27. learn to control my anger

28. be grateful for what I have

29. find a scholarship or a job abroad

30. Register at a summer class of languages

31. Be more engaged politically

32. Start a dairy of dreams,yoga,food

33. learn to lucid dream

34. Be charismatic!

35. Rise early

Week 1, Day Two: The day of family attacks

2011-03-08T10:20:00.001-08:00

Today was relatively successful compared to yesterday. I was able to prepare something decently good and eatable but the problem was that it was really not delicious! That's probably what you get when you don't know how to cook healthily yet you try! Haha! You just go to the extremes and just cook almost raw food which tastes like nothing. I did some omelette and baked potatoes in the oven. Tasteless, doesn't keep you fill but which I consider as a progress because it's way better than the sandwiched and fast food plates.

Today, was a hard day because I received a lot of criticism from my family, they laughed and were certain that I would give up soon and easily. It was hurtful and mean, and I am profoundly bothered by this right now... I just wish to run away...

It is hard to cope with all of this while you are trying so hard. I feel hungry and tired! I woke up at five A.M again this morning and they don't try half as hard, yet they just criticize and everybody pretends to know everything about it! Ok Ok! You're great! You know everything but please just leave me figure out my own way! I am learning and I want to do it alone, if I need help I will ask for it from the people I believe could help me!

Week 1, day 1: Failed rice with lentils and onions!

2011-03-07T12:01:00.000-08:00

The idea was to prepare this recipe, but the rice I used was just terrible! I didn't turn out well! Reema and Jimmy bought pizzas and I took two small slices from them! I didn't have dinner but I had a huuuge lollipop and some Leben! I love it!

Anyway, what I have learned from this is that I should make a whole menu for the week and follow it and not be tempted by anything outside of it! I will try this again tomorrow!

I didn't practice meditation and I am reading a couple of pages from Moon Palace right now.

How would I evaluate this day? Well, it was not very successful but I am not going to give up!!

March's goals!

2011-03-06T11:28:00.000-08:00

These are this month's goals after modification:

-Learn to love unconditionally

-Eat healthily

-Look for jobs/scholarships abroad

-Learn to lucid dream

Be not afraid of Greatness...

Reading 100 books this school year?

Minimalism.

Hello again!

Not knowing...

Finding a job.

Back one more time!

BACK AGAIN!

Closed for Exams.

Operation: simplify: part one : cleaning my room and closet!

Breakfast ideas: part one!

Week In a few lines!

One very unique week!

~~April~~ Day One: Getting ready for the new month!

Gafsa here we are!

Internet & Uni problems!

Week 3: Day1 Fog and fries.

Welcome back!

The goals remain.

Harsh flu break.

Week 1, Day Four: Days are too damn short!

Week 1, Day Three: The healthy diet plan!

Week 1, Day Two: Part Two

Week 1, Day Two: The day of family attacks

Week 1, day 1: Failed rice with lentils and onions!

March's goals!

April Day One: Getting ready for the new month!