The Other Side of Me

It's always been said that whenever you feel sad you just need to think of a few of your favorite things and then you won't feel so bad... I've been watching The Sound of Music for all my life and I have always loved Maria's song to the Von Trapp Children to make them feel better. It has always worked for me, the song and to think of my favorite things. So here it is, with lots of love to Salzburg =)

1. The morning walk to the mosque with everyone smiling 2. Eid Prayers 3. Kahk, especially if homemade 4. العيديه 5. The celebration of finally being able to have your morning coffee 6. Fireworks + بمب 7. The zillion year old Eid songs 8. سعد نبيهه 9. Eid clothes 10. Strangers smiling at you an greeting you 11. Family visits

It is the smell of Friday mornings, of coffee droplets inside the coffee machine, like a soft spring rain. It is the aroma of energy, of fitting a hundred activities in just one day. It is not the same smell of the every morning coffee, not that smell that forces you to wake up to go to school, not the smell of running late. It is a fresher odor, to match the freshest of all mornings. It is a stronger one, for a stronger relationship with the family. It is not too bitter or too sweet, it is odor of perfection for a perfect morning. It is mixed with the smell of homemade pancakes. The smell of home, of a family breakfast, of a laidback day. It is the smell of all the energy put into making it with love. It is the mouthwatering smell of childhood, of honey and strawberry jam, of nature, of maple syrup, of a far away land, of chocolate syrup, of joy and festivity,  of sugar, of simplicity. It is the weekend scent....

Here are some of my top favorite quotes, mostly from books, that I "try" to live by =). "Fall seven times, stand up eight" "For every cloud there is a silver lining" "It's the little things that make life" "There is a way to be good again" "When spring comes, it melts the snow one flake at a time" "It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting" "When you want something all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it" "God has prepared a path for everyone to follow. you just have to read the omens that he left for you." "All things are one" "Your eyes show the strength of your soul" "The truth shall set you free" "When you close your eyes you can be just about anywhere you want to be" " Start each day with a grateful heart. Focus on the positive aspects of every person you encounter. E...

This post is a collection of things that cheer me up, if you ever feel depressed try one or two of them they might work =).... Remember those days back when we used to have inboxes filled with colorful forwards? I got this one ten years ago, yes ten! And ever since it's been hanging in my room and always will. It's lovely give it a read This oldie was played in my school reunion three years after we graduated. It was one happy day, it felt so good to be there again, and it felt even better to know that some of my teachers still remember me. They played the song while showing photos of us from KG to high school. It's a wonderful memory, but even if you don't have a memory connected to it. Once you here "Those were the Days" you'll remember your good old days =).   Milkshake! Nothing makes me feel happier. I'm sure no one needs a recipe, but just in case here are some   Hallmark cards. As my favorite forward says, sending cards to peop...

Dear soul mate, We were in the same place yesterday, walking the same streets, chanting the same words, seeing the same faces. We might have even passed by each other, our eyes might have met, but I haven't seen you and you haven't seen me. It's enough for me to know that we were in the same place, fighting for the same cause, wanting a better Egypt. It's enough for me to know that you are one of the million positive faces who protested together as one yesterday. I don't know you and you don't know me, we haven't met yet, but we will meet someday, you'll find me and I'll find you, and from that day on we'll go there together, we'll be fighting together. We'll do everything together. Our power will be doubled together. I'll keep searching for you and you'll keep searching for me, and someday soon we'll be together. My dear, I don't know where you might be today, in another city, in another country. But I know someday you...

Sometimes I open a new post and decide to write whatever comes on my mind, to let my fingers connect directly to my mind and do all the work without me interfering. Then when the minute of publishing comes, I never publish it. My thoughts are always not connected, I always run from one idea to another, from one memory to another and I don't reach any conclusion. This is one of those times, I'm writing what's on my mind, and if you're reading this, then note that I've published this after my head exploded of thinking whether to publish it or not. Yes, it's one of those insecure moments.... I'm stuck in two worlds, and hiding from my own little world. I'm stuck between the past and the future, never giving myself the chance to think of the present or enjoy it. Some people live for the moment, I'm doing the exact opposite, I'm living for anything other than the present moment. I sometimes wonder what happened to me? Why am I doing this to mysel...

August 28, 2001. This date is carved in my memory, even now after 10 years I still remember all the lessons I've learned from that day, the day that has made me a better person, the day that taught me to appreciate life. I never thought I'd share this with anyone, but after ten years, I think I'm ready to share all what I've learned that day, maybe it can be useful to someone. Maybe I'll help someone learn something without all the mess and pain I went through. It was a car accident, but it wasn't just that, for me, it was the experience of a lifetime. I'll leave all the ugly details of the accident off this post and any other post, there is no need to depress anyone. Let's just say I was in the USA, I had my family with me in the car, and I got seriously injured. I was taken to a hospital all by myself while everyone was taken to another hospital, at that time I didn't remember seeing anyone after the accident. I'll leave how I learned anything...

I haven't felt Ramadan at all this year, with all the politics and people dying all around the world, no one is happy anymore. The celebrations are not here, how can we celebrate when our revolution is fading away? Anyway, I'm writing this as a trial to cheer myself up and feel the Ramadan spirit that is definitely in the air, I just can't feel it. Most of the things in that list I'm doing this year too, but not enjoying as I used to unfortunately. Taraweeh prayers in my favorite mosque among neighbors that I only meet in Taraweeh, but who never fail to be the friendliest people around. Or even my late night Taraweeh at home. المسحراتي the one who says اصحى يا نايم واحد الدايم instead of just banging his tabla, would be even better if he calls children's names. The race of finishing Qur'an before your friends, although I'm kind of slow and I only finish once, but I probably work harder on it than those who finish it twice, and for that I'm proud. T...

God's always sending tests our way, and if it means anything, it's that God loves you and wants to teach you something new. He will still love you whether you fail or succeed in that test. And it's not actually about failing or succeeding, but rather the lesson that you'll learn from every experience if you look between the lines. If you fail, it won't be the end of the world, it might be that God is reminding you that things don't have to go always your way and if they don't then it doesn't mean he loves you less, or he won't give you what you think you need. It only means he's teaching you many things. You might have failed so he can teach you than you're not always right, that you don't always know best. You might have failed so he can remind you how good success tastes, because if you never fail, you'll never know how good it feels to succeed. You might have failed so he can remind you that you should never give up, that failing ...

Bittersweet goodbyes Seeing people celebrating the last day of exams Even better, seeing seniors celebrating their final final A day off after a long long long tiring depressing week Believing in something and doing your best to get it done Getting that thing you've worked hard for done Getting ready to start a brand new life Showing your true feelings without being scared or shy Making a mistake, facing it, and fixing things And above all, the love of family and friends

I'm very happy that I was able to cheer some up with last week's list of blessings , so without further ado, here's this week's list of blessings, and it's pink, as it always will be. Making people happy. Smiling to yourself for absolutely no reason you know of. Being in love,  not just that partner-kind-of-love, but being in love with yourself, being in love with life, being in love with your family, being in love with your friends, being in love with your country, being in love with your job, and of course, being in love with your partner if you have one. Finishing up a semester of hard work. A day that would bring sweet memories of how hard you've worked on something years ago, and how good the outcome was. Being strong enough to say exactly how you feel without being afraid of the consequences. Making new friends, and discovering how awesome they are. Family memories. The sea. Revolution Graffiti. And I said it last week, and I'll say it again...

In this life of ours, each and every one of us has two options: either live a happy life, or live a hard one full of depression, tears, fighting and losing people and things. The choice is ours, and will always be ours. It's normal to have problems, we all do, we all have complications in our lives, but it's how we react to them that makes all the difference. We have two options: cry over our problems and try or not try to fix them, or be strong enough to face them with a smile and try to solve them. I know whoever is reading this right now would say that life isn't always that easy. Well, it's not easy, but how is depression going to make it any easier? In fact, being happy, being strong, being positive, being resilient, being optimistic would make life so much easier. It would make solving your problems much easier. It's OK to get depressed at times, but it's not OK that you don't fight the depression and work as hard as you can to be happy again before yo...

Thank you 2010 for the happy moments and the lessons learned. Thanks for making me more optimistic, for making me see the filled half of the cup. Thanks for making me enjoy the good stuff and learn from my mistakes. Thank you for giving me more strength, for making me accept whatever comes and work on making the best out of it. Thank you for making me learn that God always does what's best for me, for making me learn that nothing, or noone, should be taken for granted. Thank you for letting me know that I should only  judge after I try. Thanks for reminding me that I always need to work hard if I want the best. Thanks for reminding me of my duties toward my country and my family. Thanks for making me more independent, for making me think of people's feelings, not only mine. Thanks for making me stronger, for making me one year wiser, for giving me the ability to love deeper, for making me think outside the box. Thanks for letting me do what I love most, for proving to me that n...

1. To finish my master's ba2a!! 2. To enjoy life 3. To do more housework 4. To keep loving my job =) 5. To have a social life and see more of friends 6. To be more organized 7. To eat healthy food 8. To keep blogging my thoughts =) 9. To read a lot more 10. To do more good

Sweet sweet memories... Memories that are added to every year. Memories of many many Christmases, happy memories that make me love what we Egyptians call winter even more. Decorated Christmas trees that sit by windows, by shops and in malls. Christmas carols played everywhere. Red, white and green , the colors of happiness, the colors of love, peacefulness and nature. Thank you my dear Christmas for drawing a smile on my face =). I've been blogging for a year, and it's been awesome. My first post was about Christmas, about the colors of happiness, about my colorful memories of 22 Christmases. On my 23rd Christmas, I have the memory of my first and favorite blog post to add to my long list. Thank you Google for giving me the awesome Blogger, thank you for giving me the chance to speak my mind, to say whatever I please, to show the other side of me. I simply love you...

I've been depressed lately for many many reasons, but God always brought little things my way. Little things that made me enjoy life. Simple things, that make me believe I'm loved. Loved by those around me, and loved by God. Little things like a soft breeze running through my hair. Simple things like a smiling face. Small things like hard working students who really want learn. Tiny things like a call from a friend. These are things that make life. That make life what it is. That make life as wonderful as it is. That make us enjoy the good of life and live with the bad.I've been granted a lot of these small things this week, just when I was in a great need of them. Today, on the very last day of this very bad, exhausting week, I'm nothing but happy. Oh and grateful too. Grateful to God, for taking good care of me. Grateful to my family for supporting me. Grateful to my friends for being who they are. Grateful to the weather for making me smile every time I walk in the ...

I wanted to write this on my birthday, almost two months ago, but that's life, at least now I've got the time to write it..... Birthdays are fun aren't they? For me, birthdays were fun until I reached 20. Until that point, I always had some birthday to look forward to; before I turned five, I was looking forward to using all the fingers of my hand to say how old I am. Before I turned ten, I was looking forward to a two digit age. Before I turned 13 I was looking forward to being a teenager. Before I turned 16, I was looking forward to my sweet sixteen, to being a young lady. Before I turned 20, I was looking forward to the best year of my life. I was looking forward to being an adult, an independent person, a reliable one. I was looking forward to some extra freedom, to a new life, to being wiser, to having more responsibilities. If I know one thing, it's that I was right to look forward to this year, it was certainly the best year of my life . Then I turned 21...

I'm not a kid, I'm not a sassy girl, I'm not a blond, but my favorite color is pink. Since when was it OK, to classify people according to their favorite color? If pink is a girlie color, then what's a boyish color? Black? I know some girls who love black... I keep wondering what's wrong with pink, why do people jump to conclusions about someone just because they love pink too much for them to bear? What's the relationship between liking pink and being stupid? Pink is not a girlie color, it's just a color, just like any other.... In fact, I don't like pink just because it's a nice hue. Pink means a lot to me, there are many reasons why I love it. Pink is the color or happiness. Pink is red and white, love and purity. Pink is somewhere between the warmth of red and the coolness of white.Pink is right in the middle of anger and peacefulness. Pink is strength with the limit of kindness. My favorite color is pink, I love the purity of life, I enjoy s...

For 18 years, I've been going back to school. On an autumn day, just like today I'd be enjoying the very last of my summer vacation. On a day like this, I never felt bad or depressed. Going back to school was always exciting for me. Ever since KG and up until my very last year at my dear GUC. Yes, I loved school, no matter how hard it was at times, or very boring at other times. How can't I get very excited about it? How can't I look forward to buying my new uniform (no matter how ugly it was)? How can it not be fun to receive my new books? How can I not like to go on my back to school shopping quest? How can't I enjoy picking all the new name tags and copybook covers (that's in primary of course =D) ? How can't I be wanting to meet my new teachers and see how they're like? How can't I think of all the new things I'm going to learn soon? Why would I be depressed if I'm going to see my best friends for eight hours everyday? How can one not w...