Snowboarding for the first time at 30

One word “Ouch!”

I really love warmth, and the ocean, especially a warm ocean, but since I have neither warmth nor an ocean, I decided to embrace my adoptive Canuck-ness and head for the snowy slopes… ok, it was more of a slight incline that a real “slope”, but you know… whatever.

If you’re crazy motivated like I am, and would like to try snowboarding, I have compiled a list of ‘stuff you should know’

1) It HURTS, and not only because you fall a lot, but also because you will have to get into very odd positions (no, not those kind of positions!!), for example, you will have to bend down to buckle on your snowboard, then flip yourself over, with said snowboard attached to your feet, then push yourself into a standing position without falling flat on your face

2) You will fall a LOT

3) If you’re taking a lesson, the 7-12 year olds will surely kick your old ass!

4) Make sure you’re taking a lesson, because there is no way you’ll be able to figure out anything without help

5) Make sure you take along some equally incompetent friends of like age, so you can all laugh at with one another, and also so you don’t look like the lone loser trying to reclaim your youth

6) You will sweat, a lot, and no, that does not mean your should wear shorts, but it was actually quite surprising that it was not cold

7) Even if you’re sick, you’ll be so scared of falling, that all that adrenaline flowing through your blood will cause you to feel pretty darn “not sick”!

8) You’ll eventually manage to stay off your butt for longer than a second and then you’ll realize that going down a hill on a snowboard makes you go FAST, and I mean really fast, which is both terrifying and extremely freeing

9) As soon as your 2.5 hours are over and you’re walking your snowboard back to the chalet, you’ll have this amazing feeling of accomplishment (haha), and say things like “wow, this was fun, we should do it again!!”

10) But once you remove your boots and have to raise yourself up off the bench, you will realize that your legs are really sore and then, as you are dragging yourself back to your car, you will be saying things like, “damn, are we old or what?!”

11) Coffee, Chai, Hot Chocolate, (I opted for French Vanilla Cappuccino, yum!)... seriously required once you’re done, not to warm up necessarily, but to comfort your bruised ego, ummm, among other things

12) Once you get back home, all you’ll want to do is vegetate but every time you need to get up to pee do stuff, you’ll be saying things like “holy crap, my butt hurts!”

Life

I love to watch cartoons, I really do, even before I was a parent, I was a big “Saturday morning cartoons” fan. Even after I was married, while my husband slept in, I enjoyed some of Disney’s finest! I love the innocence of shows made for little kids, the way that every problem has a wonderfully simple and obvious solution, the way that by the end, everyone is happy and everything is as it should be. You have to appreciate the shear simplicity of life from the eyes of a child, uncomplicated, fun, full of wonder and adventure, we should all keep living like that, no?

When I thought that I wanted to go back out to work recently, I think I really wanted a mental escape, I wanted a break from my thoughts, I just needed to get back to a sense of normalcy, I discovered (thanks to all of your much appreciated advice) that I really love the opportunity that I have in being home with my kids. I remember that one of the things that I hated about the corporate world was the lack “real” purpose and I vowed when I left that I would do something really worthwhile with my life. If I could, I would volunteer to be a part of Unicef, or as an international aid worker, my heart really belongs with the people that suffer in this world, but since I can’t exactly physically help in Darfur, I decided to do something for those less fortunate a little closer to home.

Life is a journey, it surely takes us on unexpected paths, at times it serves us the most staggering trials, but I think if we live with mercy, compassion, and faith, we don’t really need too much more. You know, if you’ve felt love from a child, you’ll know that it’s the most sincere, most genuine, perfect love there ever was… if we live our life loving like this, I am sure the world would be an amazing place.

I’ve stopped watching the news, for the sake of my sanity, but sometimes I can’t help but read about it and I just feel mentally drained, perhaps like most other Muslims like me here in the west, I don’t really have anything to say on the topic, I just wish that people (all people) would learn that anger gets us no where, and revenge is a ridiculous notion.

Hope you a happy new year my dear friends.

I surely have the most kick ass birthdays!

So, I woke up this morning and had breakfast served to me, all my favorites of course, french toast, over easy eggs, fresh strawberries, chai... it was completely lovely. Then, I had a plethora of gifts, you know, things I really adore and drool over! And as if that was not enough, some fairies came and cleaned my house for me, and my husband took care of the kids so that I go to a spa!

Who believed that???

Actually, 2 of my sick kids spent the night with their grandparents, the other sick kid went to bed at 2am, I woke up before anyone else, as usually, got some work done, made myself breakfast, ate alone, finally when my husband got up, we took my youngest to the Emergency, waited and waited, then left, finally got to my mom’s house, was greeted by one sleeping kid and another really sick one, home-made cake (because no one remembered to buy yummy cheesecake for me!), although I did safely eat my weight in fruit cake.

Yes, my friends, just like my birthday last year, when I spent 7 hours in the hospital with my sick husband, I am again caring for sick members of my family! Don’t you just wish you were me!!

30 today

How old are you?

I tried to come up with a list of 30 things, but I was drawing a blank, I am just hoping to stay sane.

Happy non-denominational, all-inclusive, secular holiday to everyone!! Don’t you just love my “political correctiveness”!

Please also kindly take the time to read, Finding Allah on Christmas Day on Nisaa, contributed by the lovely Suroor.

PS. My kids are sick AGAIN!

Clearly parents with young children will find pretty much anything amusing

Last night when I got home, I saw this on the dinning table.