I made about 4 of these, they’re double faced and completely addictive. A perfect sweet and easy project for gift giving or hoarding all to yourself and little ones:)

***

I have news for you few but loyal readers, I am officially going back to my original blog. I miss it so very much and I have made peace within to go back to my usual space. I am ready to start up again. This was nice, it was a good vent and a good trial, but I always felt something missing. So this will be my final post for this space, if you wish to continue following/ reading or just randomly stopping by and checking on me. You will be able to find me here.

Oh and one more thing– If you’ve been reading from the start you’ll know that this is a secret blog of sorts, so please please if you decide to leave me a comment on my original blog ( which is always a treat and much appreciated on my end), don’t mention this space, you’ll help avoid complicating my life more than it already is.

I KNOW!  very james bond-y of me, I am silly this way!

See ya;-)

Peace.

We decided one day of Disney was more than enough, we followed our family’s passion, triggered by our amazing man, and  drove some more until we reached a true haven– the Canaveral National Seashore. One of the many things I admire about this country is the love and preservation of nature. Florida in it’s unusual nature is a definite place to stop by and visit for any nature loving person/ family. It has amazing unusual birds that I have never seen before, creepy, yet beautiful vine and moss covered trees, and a mix of evergreens and palm trees. So very unusual.

We stopped first by the beach and then took a dreamy-like hike. We were englufed by creepy vines and fern covered branches. We walked until we reached a truly captivating place called the Mosquito Lagoon.

It was record breaking cold for this time of year ( thank goodness) so we were able to enjoy the peace and quite of the place full force. the beach on the Lagoon had no sand like your usual beaches– instead it was covered with millions of tiny little sea shells.

There was a big hill– where a tree grew on top. We learned from a park Ranger who stopped by to casually collect a historic shard of indian pottery,embellished by native drawings– explained that this is the natives version of what we call today a land fill. Only instead of our usual toxic junk, it was filled with millions of sea shells ( their native food at this time). Neat huh!

(Photo taken by phone hence the poor quality, nonetheless still worth showing: this is what we saw pretty much all along the Tennessee highway– frozen water falls, gorgeous!)

And this is how we ended our road trip. We drove back for another two days and were welcomed by a nice warm homemade hearty soup and bread. ( I was smart enough to think of our return and froze up some soup and bread. It’s been almost a month since our return and I am still quite pleased with myself.)

And peace.

Background::

My three year old ‘s favorite shows are NOT Disney shows. We do not own a TV so we are fortunate enough to be able to filter what we want our daughter to watch.

Among her current favorite shows are:

Dora the Explorer ( Nickelodeon production)

Charlie and Lola (  bbc production)

Totoro the movie ( studio Jibli production)

Kiki the teenage witch( studio Jibli)

They Might Be Giants ( independant production)

Fom Disney she knows Wall E and Winnie The Pooh, among some randomness here and there.

So the Disney visit was more or less for me ( to fulfill a silly childhood dream of mine)

Here’s a little scenario of the very first ride which was the ” it’s a small world ride” ::

Based on the much appreciated advice of our fellow hotel residents, we took the 8:30 am shuttle to Disney, and successfully beat the crowds for most of the rides. We meaning: me and my friend who came along with her three year old daughter ( Mei’s best friend). I was husband-less and with two little ones. One of which was mostly strapped on my chest (along with a well packed backpack on my back) as I struggled with a giant jogging double stroller to close and mount first on the shuttle then to dismount and open, and repeat two more times for the train ride.

We arrived on the Dreaded Disney island by 9:15 am and I was already exhausted. As I entered the Disney world and all the specially designed enticement– I couldn’t help but hear this song being played over and over in my head. Don’t you think it’s the perfect soundtrack for Disney, eh?

The Ride::

So I parked the stroller, strapped Grabby to my chest ( meanwhile she decided to nurse, so up went the carrier cover and over draped my headscarf– I’m pretty good at multitasking!)

the cars ( for the ride) were moving slowly on the tracks along with a moving floors next to them– the plan was to unstrap the backpack and throw it on one of the cars, then quickly place Mei next to the bag and then hop right next to her in time– simple?)

So the first part worked as planned– backpack in place… I look next to me for Mei’s turn, but she’s not there. I look back to find Mei sitting on the floor, tightly holding her knees to her chest and refusing ( may add profoundly) to hop on. Meanwhile the car along with my backpack continues moving towards the entrance of the ride.

Great!

I run full speed in the wrong direcion of the moving floors, snatch a screaming kicking crying Mei, meanwhile Grabby bites me!  I scream as I  shove Mei and myself along with an attached biting Grabby in the intended car. Right before the entrance of the ride, a ghostly figure appears for a second ( I am assuming security) and asks me if Mei is ok to go. I yell “YES!”

Darkness.

Moments later…

*Deep breath and release “Mei look we are inside the book!”

Mei’s eye’s widens.

The rest of the rides there were some more screams… Giggling screams that is!

Peace.

I am currently struggling with the season blues. I’ve been hit hard, after my sickness– over four days at home with a nose stuffed with tissues to try and plug the gushing mess. I know I probably shouldn’t be sharing this but you need to know how hard a sickness can affect one– not only physically but also mentally. My skin ached, my ear drums felt like they were going to burst. My head was going to explode and fall into a million pieces to say the least– all this and I still had to nurse, and take care of a house full of sick people. I must say I was hit the hardest, so baba came to the rescue despite his own misery.

Mentally though was the most challenging. It’s been frigid outside, the kind of fridgidness that makes one scream as soon as the cold wind air hits ones skin. You peak out and you see squinting faces, and rushing feet hurrying to their cars or the warmth of their homes. And it snowed and it snowed and it snowed some more. Only now all the pretty holiday lights are gone and all you see are sad abandoned snow covered remnants of what stood once in full gleeful glory.

Today dear friends is indeed deep winter in this little nook I call a blog. A hard white, harsh winter. We will allow this only today though. Then tomorrow the sun will shine, and the snow will glow and turn magical again. The wind will sing and dance instead of howl in solitude, and I will enjoy the warmth of family and the arrival of the girl’s sweet little cousin. We might stay indoors for some warm meals and hot drinks or we might go and disturb some white fluff with our tubs ( sleds) and squeal and giggle and forget how much sometimes the stark season can be quite the challenge.

Hope you’re having a challenge-free season.

Peace.

But if you are here to give a miserable mama some companionship and join her indoors. Away from an ongoing winter storm, that probably by this time has accumulated respectable amounts of snow– snow( may I add) that will not see this mama’s bundled up self for some more winter activities. Then please stay, and while you’re at it make your self comfortable, may I suggest a nice big cup of hot cocoa, it is known to make this blogger very happy indeed.

Don’t worry I won’t pass on my germs. These germs are exclusive you know, so no worries dear sweet sweet readers.

My Adventures should continue soon. Meanwhile here are some of my favorite Etsy shops and tunes.

Etsy:

I’ve been asked to share some Boy friendly shops: here’s just one to get you started. I love their printed T’s and onesies:

Oh Bananas

Wafiaa This one is Muslim oriented prints and such

Palumba Natural toys

Cocorico Clothing ( some which are totally hijab friendly and reasonably priced)

The black apple Art and prints ( my favorite Etsy shop yet) one of her creations hangs in my first born’s room.

Tunes:

Here’s a-not-so-happy-song but is great for mellowing down with. I do love this band ( and this song so very much)

Peace.

If you don’t believe me then you should experience it for yourselves. If you are a U.S resident try visiting the arab world. And vice versa. Then come back here and leave me a comment with your experience. Too cumbersome and time consuming. HA! then you have no other choice than to trust me.

Anyhoo, back to our documenting…

The drive from Chicago to Orlando is all in all about twenty glorious hours. It took us two days, and several rest area/bathroom/stretch your legs/calm down freaky babies/nurse stubborn baby refusing bottle stops. You would think all this allowed me lots of captures– na-ah. I did manage a few of change of land scape ones from snowy grounds to pine needles covered grounds.

And a few more::

( it was so trippy seeing giant green trees, and walking around without wearing a thousand layers–I mean the day before I was bundled up and staring at ice covered windows, you know what I’m saying?)

We arrived around dusk time, stopped for some mexican dinner and watched a whole lot of birds nesting for the night. It was a full moon, and taking this photo getting so near to this pond ( and being in crocodile infested FL an all) made me less than interested to perfect my shot. I mean a crocodile was about to come up from lurking under the water and swallow me whole people. I know– there are like hundreds of birds just a step away, but still these things have wings… I on the other hand have legs. hmm wings VS legs? You do the math!

Finally we made it, we managed a plunge in the hotel pool before this::NICE!

Annnnd peace!

So I was apparently gone longer than anticipated. We hit the road a week ago, leaving behind us sub-freezing temperatures for the hope of warm tropical weather. It was warm in comparison, yet it was record breaking cold weather in FL this year. We brought our chills with us I suppose. We did manage a one day plunge in the pool before the temperatures decided to take a plunge with us. Oh-well!

I for the very first time in my life visited the dreaded Disney Machine. It was a pretty intense experience… more about that later.

Today, you can join me on the beginning of our road trip from Chicago/IL to Orlando FL.  I’ll be sharing and documenting our past week on this space with you, so come along…

Photos in order::

Ice crystals on our living room windows– This was taken right before we left for the road.

Snow filled grounds– This photo was taken in anticipation of new snow-less grounds.

Goodbye Chicago.

The sun was glistening from the beginning of our trip– a very smooth start indeed.

See you tomorrow.

peace.

(Scenes from our weekend :: me and the girls had fun making snow angles in our yard)

As for me and the gang, well we’ve been doing some serious winterizing over our quarters, and how can we not, it’s been snowing all weekend and we now have respectable amounts of snow on the grounds… I say, let it snow.

(Scenes from our weekend :: oven roasted acorn squash)

I know I disappeared for a couple of days without any warning, but this is a special time of year, so I figured why not extend the vacation a little longer and see you guys in a week or so? meaning, yes I will be disappearing for one more week. But I hopefully will be back with some fun stuff to share. And if not, then I’ll try my bestess to take a photo or two… deal?

Anyhoo, without further ado * drum roll* here’s a very snow filled bench Monday ::

Happy Bench Monday!

See you in a week ( God willing)

Peace.

Here’s a little snippet from wikipedia, for the novice fava bean eater

In Egypt

Fava beans are a common staple food in the Egyptian diet, eaten by rich and poor alike. Egyptians eat fava beans in various ways: they may be shelled and then dried, bought dried and then cooked by adding water in very low heat for several hours, etc. They are the primary ingredient in Ta`meyyah (Egyptian Arabic for falafel), and Egyptians have made deriding Levantine felafel (made from chickpeas) as inferior something of a national sport. However, the most popular way of preparing fava beans in Egypt is by taking the mashed, cooked beans and adding oil, garlic, lemon, salt and cumin to it. It is then eaten with bread. The dish, known as ful medames, is traditionally eaten with onions (generally at breakfast) and is considered the Egyptian national dish.

You can also read this NPR piece about it.

know enough now? Good. Shall we proceed?

If you are of the fussy type– you can by all means buy your beans dried or fresh (if you can find them) and dry them, then soak them, then rinse them, then cook them over very low heat for over 8 hours, then mash them,  then dress them up in some salt, pepper, oil and lots of cumin, then follow the recipe below.

But if you want a quick health-ish fix, then start from this step :

Ingredients:

Pre-cooked and peeled fava beans (Buy this brand and no other If you can find it at your local Arab store– “California Gardens” precooked and peeled fava beans. Or do the above prep. first.

2 table spoons olive oil, or butter

1 big tomato- chopped

1 small onion- chopped

1 small bell pepper- chopped

Half a bunch parsley- chopped ( and a little for garnish)

2 eggs

In ( preferably an non-stick) skillet, add your oil and toss in your onions and cook until soft and translucent ( don’t over cook) for about two minutes. Then open your can, and dump the contents of the whole thing in your skillet– stir it with the onions, and let cook for a couple more minutes.  Stir-in your parsley and tomatoes and cook until your veggies wilt a little.

Now, here’s the fun part– make a well in the middle of your skillet and break inside it one of your eggs, then carefully spread all the egg whites in the mixture, also scrape the top of the egg yolk very carefully not to pop the yolk ( I don’t like wobbly thingies in my eggies!) and incorporate it in your cooking beans. Repeat this step for the second egg.

That’s it you’re done, add your garnish and serve with warmed pitta bread. ( btw I didn’t have parsley or bell peppers on hand)

Unrelated,

Today was my first ( and my daughters first) EVER sledding experience. One word… WEEEEEEEEEEEE!

( This is my first winter in this country that I am neither pregnant nor with a new born. PHEW!)

And peace.

Back when we ( meaning me and the American husband) lived in Egypt, I used to come home to stacks of Kraft mac ‘n’ cheese, and boxes at-a-time of chips A’hoy chocolate chips cookies( btw– these imported products at the time were not easily available, and came at a very high price.) I didn’t understand the need for ones comfort food in a foreign place until I came to this country. ( The funny thing is: shortly after we settled in our new place here, Me and the significant other went grocery shopping I was so excited to find tons of Kraft mac n cheese and chips A’hoy cookies. I  enthusiastically pointed them out to my husband, and he stuck his finger in his mouth mocking a gagging expression:” Junk!” he remarked. I was left baffled, but didn’t utter another word.)

The first three months, I must say were the most challenging. After the excitement of all the sight-seeing, and finding/furnishing a new place– I found myself  left with strangeness all around. All this and I am very comfortable with the language ( I was raised speaking English in my household, and went to English speaking schools taught by American teachers, plus I visited the west before and even lived abroad* in an arab country though* for a while) to the extent that people will stand in-front of me trying to figure out which part of the U.S I’m from. I wonder about less fortunate people, like refugees– forced to leave their loved homes to strange countries, where they neither speak the language nor understand the culture.

Four years later, I still get the homesickness attack– especially after not visiting Egypt for over two years now. Don’t get me wrong– I am very happy and comfortable living in the U.S ( All praise to God), and when people ask me if I would consider going back, I find it hard to imagine. I have grown used to how things work here, the order, traffic rules (especially!), the way people engage with one another, for example: I used to think all sales people are fake. Putting on their fake smiles and formal voices while helping me find what I needed ( I no longer think that, I find it very polite and refreshing to have someone smile in your face and act professional.)

All this and till  this very day, I stop in the middle of my tracks and  wonder. ” what the… where in the world am I? who are these people? why do these building look like this? the streets? the language? where did all the normal looking things go?” Then I snap back into reality… right, has it been almost four years already!

I got side-tracked as usual.

what I am trying to say is comfort food is a good thing. It helps the lone lonely “home-sickly” loner to port into a familiar zone, with familiar things ( albeit just for the pallet, yet still)

So be it Kraft Mac n Cheese and Chips A’hoy boxes, or luckily in my case Egyptian food doesn’t depend on the junk food so much. On the contrary, it likes to lend itself to the labor intensive kind.

So recently I have been making and feeding myself first and my family second, all things Egyptian.  The other day I made “Qulqas” which translate to taro-roots, and I shamefully admit that It was indeed my first time making it– it was everything I wanted to taste. A little bite of earth, with a lot of garlic mixed in broth, topped over Egyptian short grain white rice, mixed with “she’riah” or the kind of short noodles Americans use for chicken noodle soup.

This particular dish is not at all labor intensive, which was a plus.

Stay tuned for a recipe of my national food– “FUL” or cooked Egyptian style fava beans, tweaked by either my mom or dad ( they argue over this recipe’s credit till this very day. This should tell you something, really!)

Yesterday was the solstice everyone! The longest darkest night of the year. Glad this is behind us now. See there is hope yet, plus lets spread those prayer times a little, eh?

Peace.