And this Eid, feed the children

Dude on the street: Hey! Salaam-u-alaikum!

Me: {dammit, he had to pull out the salaams!} Walikum salaam

Dude on the street: So, hey, can I have a minute of your time?

Me: Umm, ok…

Dude on the street: Well, what we are is Canadian Feed the Children have you heard of us?

Me: No.. is there some handout or something?

Dude on the street: No, that’s why I need a minute of your time, we don’t give out anything.

Me: Hmm, ok dude, get on with it then…

Dude on the street: So… we are bla bla bla and we do bla bla bla

Me: Uh huh, and what do I need to donate? Is there a website of something?

Dude on the street: Well, yes, but then I don’t get any credit for it if you go on the websites.

Me: Hmm, ok, fine, let’s do it.

Dude on the street: Ok sister, it will only take a minute.

Me: Umm Hmm

Dude on the street: Name, Address, Year of birth, Credit card

Me: You do realize it’s cold right?

Dude on the street: Yes. Where are you from? Like originally?

Me: Trinidad.

Dude on the street: So, ok, we’re all done, and now you’re an “everyday hero”!

Me: Wow! I feel so special now!

Dude on the street: You know, that’s why I love West Indians, they always give me a hard time.

Me: Oookk…

Dude on the street: Alright, Salaam, Eid Mubarak! Are you going back to work now?

Me: Ya dude

Dude on the street: Ok, well, I have to stand out here in the cold all day!

Me: Ok, you have fun with that then!

Like 2 hours later…

Dude on the street: Hey! How’s it going Shazia?

Me: {Oh, dude remembered my name?! Slightly creepy!} Hey, I am doing well.

Dude on the street: On a break?

Me: Just getting coffee, but sorry, none for you.

Dude on the street: Hahaha, ok, see you… [his voice trails off in the distance]

Me: {dude, I am like 20 feet away from you, stop talking now…)

Disclaimers: This is sort of what happened, except that the “dude” actually seemed like a really nice guy, and I apparently cannot say no to anyone who asks me to donate – I may not be able to afford food, but rest assured that if you ask me to donate, somehow I will not be able to say no, it’s a sickness! But, I just thought the incident was funny.

Eid Mubarak everyone!

And if you don’t do it already, consider making a monthly donation to a needy child!

Stuff you should know about my past week

I have learnt how to use a drill in a big way! In fact, I’ve spend the entire weekend “putting up stuff” and “assembling stuff” in my house, stuff like, for example, shelves for the kids, and a table-thingy for the kitchen.. and when I say “table-thingy”, what I mean is a table top that we hinged onto the wall, and when I say “we”, I mean my sister and I, so, umm, we’ll see how that little project turns out!

My dear friend suroor wanted chicken, and so I told her to throw some things together and when she showed the photos, the people were intrigued, and begged for the not-so-secret ingredients, so she named the thing Shaz-e-Suroori, shared it on her blog, and then all the people rejoiced! Yay!

Is it just me, or is this dish possibly the most yummiest thing that you’ve ever seen?? No offense to the aforementioned “Shaz-e-Suroori”!

It’s going to be Eid soon, and as such, I found myself at grand ol’ Walmart seeking out toys, where I came to the obvious conclusion that Transformers are to my kids what She-Ra dolls were to me!

Behold!

Finally, if you’ve noticed that my site is pink, read the tagline that says pink for october and wondered “what the hell does that mean?”… Well, October is breast cancer awareness month, and to remind everyone about staying healthy and supporting breast cancer research, my site will remain pink all month! Now go forth and make sure you know how to check yourself and maybe even donate!

My weekend

As my sister and I were exiting the electronic store, the alarm went off, we both looked back at the cashier and she waved to us to go…

My sister: Why do they have alarms if they don’t even take it seriously?

Me: Perhaps they look at the type of people and make a judgment based on that? Two women walking out with an x-box, looking completely enthused about the purchase… prolly nothing to worry about! But, wow, how “profiling” would that be?

My sister: It was sort of a rhetorical question.

While watching Dora with my 2 year old, she and Boots were singing with a new friend…

2 year old: Mommy, who is that?

Me: Um, Dora’s friend.. do you have a friend?

2 year old: No, I have you!

At the grocery store I decided that I should buy cheap frozen chocolate cream pie…

My sister: Why are you buying that?

Me: I dunno. I feel like I need it.

My sister: Huh?

Me: I just do, and also, I need to eat it all, by myself.

My sister: O.K. Well, I’ll pay for it then, you already look like enough of a loser if you intend on eating that by yourself!

And with that, I am going to be taking a short blogging break, so I’ll see ya next week, have an awesome time without me!!

Speedlinking & some very talented peeps

Ok, is it just me, or do these things look totally yum-a-licious!

A great history lesson on hijab and written wonderfully well – truly a must-read!

Not a lover of cake, but I do like orange-flavored stuff, and seriously, cake baked in orange skin, umm hi, how cute is that?!

And while on the subject of cake, iPhone cup cakes, again, how cute!

Now making a life-like bug out of glass is just beyond talented!

And finally, how totally cute, although I think Heather Bailey’s fabric is really yummy!

Beneath it all, life does rock

If life was like this train track, I would not complain about the coarseness, the coldness, the unattractiveness, but instead I would focus on the one flower and find beauty in it.

Life fills me with awe sometimes, the happiness, the sadness, the anger, the hurt, the frustrations – all of it – I am often left speechless when I ponder everything that I’ve been blessed enough to have experienced. Even at times when life seems overwhelmingly bad, I just know that it makes me the person that I am, and that without it I would be somehow lacking.

Sometimes at the train station, as I am waiting by the tracks, for some reason, I feel this sense of serenity, the crisp air, the flawless sky, the gentle breeze, it’s almost majestic. Just like the path that we’re served in life, although it’s never always the way we anticipated or even wanted, or always beautiful, it’s somehow just right for us.

So, no matter what’s happening in your life, stand in the rain sometimes, look up at the stars, breathe, find beauty in everything, love without expectation, and be at peace.