A Rose ... pour vous ...

Assalaamu Alaikum :)

To keep my mind off of the loss of my beloved fish ... my young cousin and I decided to be creative. It was so much fun that I thought I would share the joy with the rest of my blog-pals. Follow each step and try it yourself! I know you'll have the time *evil laughter*

~ * Tissue Rose * ~

Step One:

Get yourself a 3 ply facial tissue

Step Two:

Using the corner of the tissue, separate each of the tissue pieces from one another

Step Three:

3 pieces completely separated

Step Four:

Stack each of the pieces back on top of one another

Step Five:

Bring each end together as a half from the center

Step Six:

Take one corner and overlap a bit on top of one another right until the end

(like you would do if you were to make a paper fan)

Step Seven:

Like so, it should be scrunched up in this fashion

Step Eight:

Twist the bottom to make a stem

Step Nine:

Now the concentration is on the rest of the soon-to-be rose! It is time to make the petals so begin to carefully separate each of the tissue ply's from all sides (bottom, middle, top)

Step Ten:

Here's another view of where you should be going with this. Use your imagination, make it work so that the petals begin to resemble a rose!

Step Eleven:

Try to join each end together so that it is more circular (may be a toughie)

Step Twelve:

There is the finished product! Now don't tell me it looks like a scrunched up tissue ball *grr*

Really, it's a lot of fun working on this. My cousin walked in on us making these and she was really impressed and thought it was quite cute. So she wants us to make them as decoration pieces for her wedding next year, insha'Allah. Aww. I will use coloured tissue paper with those of course, and make it more creative and attractive ;)

This is my life. Alhamdulillah.

~*Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Illaihi Raji'un*~

Assalaamu Alaikum ...

Blinky

June 3, 2005 - July 9, 2006

I'm still in denial that you have passed on but ... insha'Allah we will meet again :(

I miss the days you would give me attitude ... I miss the days you would get excited to see me because you knew I brought food for you ... I miss ... oh, I just miss you *cries*

New Path leading to New Beginning

Assalaamu Alaikum :)

Date: Friday July 7, 2006
Time: after Jummah salaah
Location: IMO (International Muslim Organization)

We arrived a few minutes late for Jummah salaah and quickly rushed in to catch the khutba given by Imam Hamid Slimi. As his voice was echoing off the walls, my mother and I parted from my father and brother and headed straight for the women's section. Alhamdulillah, so many women were seated, listening and absorbing in what the khateeb had to say. It was actually difficult to find a place to be seated because the area was close to being packed but my first priority was to find my mother a chair so that she would not have to be seated on the ground. Due to her condition, she would be in great pain if she had to. We walked straight to the other end of the room, all the while I was trying not to step on to any of the sister's hands or feet or any children. Unfortunately, all the chairs were taken and my mother decided to just stand against the wall. I didn't want to disturb anyone so I quickly took a seat inbetween two young sister's, the one on my left gave me a warm sweet smile. It was nice. I looked over at my mother to check up on her and just then, a woman got up from her seat and offered it to my mother. I could tell my mother was refusing but the sister insisted and gave her seat to my mother. Subhana'Allah, the kindness of strangers.

I had heard this Imam speak before and really liked the way he would deliver his message. It left a positive impact on you and he was able to relate his topics that could be understood by today's young generation. He was speaking of how Muslims come to a point in their life where they need to re-energize themselves in terms of their Deen and feel that closeness once again. So he used the example of how the navigator page for the internet sometimes breaks down when there are just too many other distractions ( ie. popups) and therefore, the page may slow down. In order to get things going again, an individual would have to "reload" the page or "refresh" it haha He used this analogy in relation to a Muslim's need to "refresh" themselves if they encounter a time where they begin to put so much importance on worldly things and less on their Deen. It is all about balancing the two ... only then will we reach a beautiful aakhirah, insha'Allah.

Finally, the time came. The Imam made an announcement after prayers, indicating that there is a brother who is ready to take the Shahadah:

"I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, the One, without any partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger."

It was a very special moment. To witness a new brother enter this beautiful Deen of ours. But this moment was more special for us, our family. This new brother will be marrying my cousin in the near future, insha'Allah. He is a very kind and humble individual and has been studying Islam for a couple of years now. He was introduced to Islam by his cousin, who is a revert himself and now, he has decided to take that very important step ... to become a Muslim. It really was a great moment for us all and we make du'a that Allah Swt will always keep him on Siraat-ul-Mustaqeem, ameen.

O Canada ...

Assalaamu Alaikum :)

No, I do not consider Canada my father. It is my daddy's birthday today as well as our lovely country Canada's :)

May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala always bless my father with good health and a long life filled with love, happiness, success and Deen ... ameen!

My dad is getting pretty old and alhamdulillah, the things he is capable of doing at such an age! I can only pray that I can be just as active at his age too, insha'Allah. I'm going to make a cake for him but since I was not smart enough to buy ingredients beforehand ... I'm going to have to wing it somehow. Eep. It better look splendid and scrumptious!!

It's tradition for our families to gather at Chinguacousy Park to watch the fireworks in the evening. I rarely visit in the daytime with all the activities but maybe I will try to do that this year. I just want a piece of that HUGE Canada Day cake that they distribute ... never get there on time! D'oh! It will also be the last day my cousin will be here from New Jersey *sigh* She is heading off for home Sunday morning ... I can't believe a month went by so quickly. Her children were oodles of fun ... I was so happy that I was able to spend some time with them. It makes me sad knowing that I don't have the opportunity to watch them grow up. It's okay though, I have their cousin's to watch teehehe

Hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend, insha'Allah. May it be a safe and happy one :D

EDIT:

Here's the cake that I tried to whip up ... I had to work with a vanilla cake mix, cool whip and sprinkles hehe ... tasted yummy though *phew*

And I wanted to show the group of roses that are about to blossom insha'Allah! They'll bloom into a bouquet ... awww ... I'm so excited! Hopefully I will remember to take more pictures of it as the days progress ...

Without Flash

Flash was used so that the stems would be visible