yeaaaaaaaaa..okkkkkk

Assalamu Alaikum,

Its Monday once again. I dislike Mondays because of the fact that I have school for 4 whole days after that AND J has work and, consequently we hardly see each other.

Its been awhile since I've written...so I guess I'll rehash a little bit. Well, Ramadan was pretty cool. We prayed at NASA Musallah the whole month. It was just me, Leslie, and a few (4 aunties)....everyday. A few days, we had more people, but for the most part not too many. Then, the last Wednesday, Khatm-ul-Quran at Masjid Abu Bakr. That was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO awesome and intense. The fundraising was long..but we raised A LOT. Alhamdulillah. Then, my dad, Br. Rodwan, and a few others did speeches. Afterwards, we finished the prayers, and last, but definitely not least, was the Dua'a. It was really good, and I understood almost all of it.

Then, on Saturday, we had our Iftar at the Masjid. More peple than we had expected showed up in the end. We had Chinese food from Halal Wok...and surprisingly, there was almost enough. Only like 3 people didn't get food. We stayed for Isha and then went to my mom's. The same day, Zohra, Steve, Rowen, and KT Mamoo had all arrived. From South Carolina and Chicago.

Sunday night, we stayed up ALL night making gifts for J's co-workers. We (me n Bapee) made almost 200 cookies, all flower-shaped, and then we put them in the glass bowls, and wrapped them with cellophane. They were so cute.
The next morning was Eid. We still hadn't slept and it was time to get ready for prayer. I ended up falling asleep while J was in the shower, and woke up to find him dressed. He wore a black kurta and white shalwar. He looked extremely HOT. I cannot get the pics to work.... lets give it one more try:

After prayer, we went to his office and gave the people their cookie gifts. Then we went to my parents.' My gift for J had arrived. All 10.8 lbs of it. So, I let him open it in front of everyone. He loved it, I'm glad. The rest of the day, we went to Kemah and sold tickets. We had gotten us a discount group rate, and they weren't willing to sell them for us. SO, it was slightly boring. But, the way I see it, we probably got the 'Ajr for those 500+ people who we helped get a discount. In sha'Allah.
At night, we went out to eat at a Mexican Restaurant with J's family. MIL paid, so that was tight...free dinners are always tight. Thank God he didn't get asked out this time!! :)

The next night we went to Dimassi's with my parents, siblings(and Steve), KT Mamoo, and the babies. My dad paid. So more tightness. (pplthtdsagreergay.)

This Thursday was hectic. In between runs to Men's Wearhouse, Dillards, etc..we had dinner and J surprised me with an awesome card, Lindt chocolates, and a blue rose.
Friday was G's wedding(Js twin bro). It wasn't really fun, and I had a pretty bad time. I never knew such mean people existed, but now I know. Oh well, what goes around comes around (which I saw proof of :). And, after all Allah (SWT) IS al-'Adl. I know they'll deny it, but whatever. Afterwards, we went and hung out with Omar and Nora for awhile.
Saturday was errand after errand.. Then in the evening, we got to "house-sit." That was sooooooo much fun. :) And, yea, the house came with a Jacuzzi.... :)

I have like so many tests coming up. A make-up and 2 other tests. Siiiiiiiigh. I need to study.
In other news, me and J have started working on a new theme for the house, but it won't take effect until I'm finished cleaning. But, its so awesome. J wanted to buy new couches, because someone decided to get the same ones, but I convinced him otherwise. So this is a middle-ground compromise project. And, then we saw the couches and they aren't tooo similar. Like everything else.
Also, we've been looking at apartments. We found a spectacular complex off of 288 right near J's office. We instantly fell in love with the place. But, the prices are a bit high. As much as a house payment in Clear Lake. They are extremely nice, though. Much nicer than Village on the Lake or Seven Palms. We're going to rethink this whole thing in about 4.5 months and see what we want to do. Some people are saying "its too far!!" some are saying "go for it!!" while others are like "just get a house at that price!!" I don't know. I don't really want a house just yet. Its too big, hard to manage, and plus, we're leaving the country in 2 years, in sha'Allah, so we'll have to sell it anyways. We will see.

Well, I'll be heading out now. I have to warm up dinner for J...he's still at work and is hungry.
Until next time.....
WalaikumAssalam.
Peace Out!!!
-Amna

Well we've scanned the sky and we've sighted the moon.....

Assalamu Alaikum,

Actually, we haven't sighted the moon yet. But, tonight, in sha'Allah. When we were small we'd always run outside at Maghrib time with our mom and try to find it. Twas fun... Now, there's like a huge ordeal about it. Whaddaya expect...all these bitter, power-hungry, American-Muslims.

Anyhow, I'm quite excited. I can't wait till Ramadan starts. I love that feeling of holiness, unity, everyone striving for the same thing. (Almost everyone.) I remember last year, a couple of people decided to destroy the month for the rest of us. Alhamdulillah, I'm not part of that crowd anymore. I've decided that I have much better things to do with my life, much better ways to spend my time, and much better people to hang out with.

Anyways, back to Ramadan. My favorite parts are Suhoor, Iftar, Taraweeh, and the Qiyams at the end of the month. Suhoor is fun because you wake up at an unheard of hour, and everyone else is also awake. Its not like when I wake up to study and J is snoring away. This is going to be our second Ramadan together, but our first one living in our own house. Last time, we were staying with my parents. So it should be interesting. And, for Iftar, we're going to eat at my mom's, my mom-in-law's, or at the Masjid. Except for a few days when we'll be hosting Iftar at home.
One of my favorite parts has always been the Qiyams. I used to have an annual Qiyam at my house, but now I'm kind of re-thinking it. After the last one I had, in July, I don't really think I want to do one anymore. People are extremely unappreciative and rude, and so, I just won't have one "open to the public." That way, I won't have breakfast food to feed 15 people just sitting in my pantry for months. And, people leaving at 2 am. And, lets not forget, still others complaining about the size of my house. Or my cat...who, needless to say, doesn't like them much anyway.

Ooooooook. Enough of that venting.

We had Al Maghrib the last 2 weekends. It was an awesome class. I learned a lot about Zakah, but most of the other stuff I already knew. It was interesting though, and the instructor always managed to keep my attention, which is not always the case with most of them.

I got some new shades finally. DKNY's. They're pretty nice. J and I went and got them on Monday. Here's a pic:

Anyways, I'm gonna go pick up the dry cleaning now...Bay Oaks Cleaners. They better be good, because I'm sick of every other one in this area. I always get back J's shirts and they're perfectly pressed, yet stained. Siiiiiiiiiiigh.
And then, off to decorate the Masjid for Ramadan. That should be fun. yay.

Ok, until next time.
Peace.
Walaikum Assalam.

P.S. Oh yeah...here's my results for the Gross quiz. BTW that says 28%...dunno why its miniscule.

You Are 28% Gross

You're a tad gross, but generally you're a clean, hygienic person. No one can be perfectly clean all the time, and it's better to be human than a neat freak.

How Gross Are You?