Assalamalikum,

insha'allah everyone is ok. Its been a busy day today... first of all I woke for fajr alhamdulillah then at 9am I went for my laser treatment and I can tell you my legs hurted more today than the previous 2 times Ive been. She said sometimes it takes a few goes for an area to react but what was strange was that my underarms have reacted really well to the treatment alhamdulillah. So my next appointment is when I come back from my travels back to UK, I thought this was the best way fiancially as really I should have got it done the week before I leave. Insha'allah it will be ok.

While I was there my stepdad called my phone twice which I thought was strange but then I thought it was something about my mums bday (shes 50 in a few weeks) and we are trying to organise a little close friends thing. So he left a message and while I was turning myself over I listened to his message, it was weird.. cause when he initially rang I thought somethings happened to my mum, but then I pushed that aside and told myself to not be so negative. Ladies... Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) told us to trust our gut, my mum has been taken into hospital and they didnt know what was wrong with her. So Ive been on pins and needles all day waiting to hear news, shes been for tests, scans, given drugs to ease the pain subhanallah.. in the end they sent her home around 1830 (she had been there since around 0900) after a CAT scan told them she has a kidney stone. And also that she has not just 1 cyst on her ovary, but 2... I dont know why they didnt see this before. She has been booked in for her hysterectomy the day before I leave for UK but Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) knows best. Insha'allah she is in safe hands.

So my friend arrived for a visit from America.. dont want to say her name, dont know whether she will allow me I havent seen her for a few years so it was good to see her again alhamdulillah. Shes staying at mine tonight and we are goin to do some chillling tomorrow insha'allah, its funny she asked if there was anything I wanted to do and she told me when we used to get together we would always do something islamic even if it was just checking out the islamic shops. That made me smile, to think that thats one of the things she remembers abotu our get togethers and not something nasty or horrible alhamdulillah.

Anyways, Im nearly finishing work soon... just not got a lot to do which is why I wanted to get all this written down and ask for your duaa for my mum and our family, and for a safe trip home for my friend insha'allah. If youre home when youre reading this sis... I had a really good time, but I do miss you loads

Fi amenallah

Truly the most merciful

Salam girls... alhamdulillah, he truly does help you in your hour of need. So I found out a few weeks ago that I had been invited to the christening of the little boy whos mum ticked me off the other week. I didnt particularly want to go but I thought, there aint any getting out of this.. so Allahu alim, whats planned is planned.

Let me explain a little about my work hours before I carry on: so I work mondays-fridays 3pm-11pm however we have started to provide weekend coverage, this entails someone out of the 2 departments involved coming in for an 8hour shift on saturday and sunday and being on call for those two days too. With these 2 days worked you can take them off in the near future, usually ppl take them off the thursday and friday of that week because 10 days straight is a long time to work. I had intended on using them for my holidays in October as I am flying out on the wednesday, we pick the weekends we want to work and usually it works out as once in around 3 months

So... I just by chance look at the timetable to see when Im next working which I thought was in October, to find Im actually scheduled to work the weekend of the christening, the christening being on the sunday at 1030am.. so Im like, oh I cant work then.. and changed it to the following weekend. Then I went home and thought.... I dont really think of what Im doing when at work and I realised... here is my chance to have a legitimate excuse to not have to go to the christening ALHAMDULILLAH so the next day, I changed it back to that weekend and I told my mum this weekend that I was scheduled to change. She was obviously upset and apparently I was too (this is what she told the lady) so I told her I would try to sort it out.. so looks like I dont have to go to the christening after all... Thank you God

Bent?? Curved my dear! Curved!!

Im sick to death...

.. of people looking at me funny when I call UK home.

Assalamalikum girls, so this weekend I went to my mums.. today we went to see her friend, shes part of a family from UK.. just had her 4th baby here (the rest back home) and have been over here for prob around 4 years now. They have just moved into their 2nd house $400K Its a lovely house masha'allah on about 3acres of land. It would be something like I would choose, just for the land and location, you could easily sit in the garden and not worry about people seeing you. Of course when I turn up she asks whats with the baggy pants (linen might I add) and the long sleeved top, 'arent you hot?' i ignore it... i mean come on... are you? so whats the difference?? then she was talking to me later and I told her I was going home for 2 weeks in October and shes astonished I still call it home and asks me if I feel at home when I land there I told her yes, her answer? 'I dont I cant wait until I get back when I land' I told her, well every one is different and she goes, 'yeh but, its so crowded, and so this and so that' subhanallah.. what happened to ppl just having differences of opinions and just leaving it at that?? Then she said to me, I just thought wherever your mum is you would call that home.. Erm... wat the hell??? why??? then shes going on and eventually says, well i suppose thats what planes are for, and phones I remind her... ufff... I spent the whole time with that.. and my mum going on that I look washed out, and i NEED sun, that I used to always have a health glow.. sunbed healthy mum yeh??

im sorry.. i just really needed to vent this. i had such a crappy day arguing my opinions on a long weekend, when i just wanted to be at my apartment and taking in the sun there in a halal way. Then i drive back, phone my mum to tell her im home and she asks if Im coming up tomorrow... why on earth would i drive over an hour to get to my place, to only drive back the next day??! I told her no obviously. I feel bad because I do want to spend time with her, especially since she found out about this op that she has to have.. but when im there i feel so restricted and not being able to be myself and having to defend every decision I make. Ok, im going now... fi amenallah.

Salam girls... yes I know Ive been MIA but Im back insha'allah. Ive just been soo busy lately with little things but I assure you I havent stopped missing you girls and writing my blogs.

So what have I been up to lately? well I just found out last wkend that my mum has a cyst on her ovary (well I knew that) but now the doctors are saying it could be malignant, so please remember our family in your duaa insha'allah. Which didnt start my week off well, Allahu alim.

Before then Ive been busy sewing my little project for a sister in UK at the moment, (see attached pic) and another one that is on the back burner for a friend over here in canada. Ive been working too, obviously.. and this week ive been on funny shifts doing some training during the day. Mon, tues & thurs (today) ive been on days.. so was really tired today as i was working until 11 then in at 8am.

I got a shock the other night.. I bought a camera in april on that buy now, pay 6mths with no interest.. so I was planning on paying it off after the summer and I was lookin at the bill the other night. I saw that the numbers were moving and increasing.. so I started freaking out becuase I have really stayed away from riba since the necessary purchase of my car. I read the front of the bill and it said that my card had been cancelled april 31st (i bought it apr 1st) due to the discontinuation of the credit program. So im really freaking by this point and hardly sleep that night planning to have a go at the ppl there the next day. So after work i go to the place and start asking questions.. she eventually tells me that the increasing number is what my balance would be if i was payin interest, but im not.... erm. why do i need to know then?? I was fuming at the company for being soo misleading but alhamdulillah no interest to pay.. but this month is a toughie financially, got my plane ticket to pay $300, my citizenship papers $200 and my laser $500 yes that last one is my own fault.. but i have saved up the money for that alhamdulillah.

What else have I been up to? Oh yeh... you probably noticed.. I learnt surah al-Qadr alhamdulillah and after chatting with Kate about some sort of routine and stumbling across this I realised that I could be doing some duaa before moving onto the next surah. So scrolling down the screen I saw that we should be saying astagfrillah 3x after every salah with the first duaa mentioned on the page... so alhamdulillah I decided to learn that, 2 days and Im done and incorporated it into my salah. So now I make this duaa, recited ayat al-kursi and then subhanallah x33 alhamdulillah x33 allahu akbar x 34 and i feel much better for it. So my question is.. if im prayin maghrib where there is 3 fard rakah then 2 sunnah rakah.. do i do this after the sunnah or fard rakahs??? anyone??

I also have another situation tomorrow.. I have the opportunity to start work early, which would mean leaving early too probably around 10pm.. but if I did start then, that would mean me missing jummah... so what to do? go to jummah and work until 11pm, or miss jummah and come home at 10pm?? opinions welcomed. JazakAllah khair.

Anyways, thats enough from me, im hot and sticky and need to sit down. Keep in touch girls, fi amenallah. Your sister in Islam, Ammena

The few days just gone

Assalamalikum girls, so its been awhile since I posted a blog in here... my time on 360 seems to be dwindling yet I still manage to do all the other worthless bits of things that I do oh well.. i do still read all your blogs daily and keep up with those close to my heart outside of 360 (you know who you are, masha'allah)

I just wanted to tell you all whats been going on lately, I had a few girls over to mine this weekend. There was supposed to be 3, then it became 2 then 1.. Allahu alim, the 1 girl I went to pick up from mississauga which is 1hrs drive away because otherwise she woudnt get to mine (with girl2) until around 1130 so I picked her up and we got back to mine for about 9 loaded with dvds I made us some spaghetti bolognaise yummy.. and she really enjoyed it, even though it was veggie mince. We started watching Kill bill which was on tv then girl 2 showed up with lots of chocolates.. so we made our selves comfy and watched happy feet (heehee, loved it) catch & release (dont bother if you havent seen it!) then we started to watch the Queen girl 2 got bored and we decided to watch Bride & prejudice instead (bollywood sort of) We stayed up until 6am.. girl 2 drove home (crazy woman!!) and we slept until 1230 we chatted a little got ourselves ready and girl 3 showed up for the day... and to my shock she wasnt wearing her hijab But what can you say? we talked a little about it, then i went off to get sorted and she told girl 1.. I dont think she hid her feelings very well cause girl 3 was quite upset.. We drove over to the veggie restaurant (Zen gardens) and girl 1 pulled her to the side and talked about it.. they seemed ok after that.. So we ate with another friend and her son and chilled and chatted and had some laughs... then I took them on a little tour of Cambridge... we tried to get into a church to look at the stained glass windows... but the doors were locked. Then they came back to mine and we went all grown up and serious.. talking about life, my future marriage insha'allah and all bits, they left at around 730pm. I miss them loads, especially girl 3, shes been my life line practically since i moved out on my own, shes going travelling for awhile frm sunday so shes coming over to stay at mine tonight and leave tomorrow. Which im soo excited about... we prob wont be up until the wee hours but we will be doing some serious chatting and pondering.

Well, I suppose I should probably go back to work No rest for the wicked heehee... keep in touch girls. Fi amenallah