It's a New Day

Assalaam Alakium sisters!

Happy March! I feel every month should be a fresh new start. Ideally, we should all set goals for ourselves and try to attain them before the month is up. Islam teaches us to be productive and constantly learning. Well, as I thought about this post I realized I should discuss some of my goals, past and present. 

If you've been reading this blog for the last month or so you know I started blogging again late January. Being that it was almost February when I started again I gave myself one goal; to write 50 blogs in the month of February. I didn't quite get to 50 but I did come pretty close, the last week of the month brought a lot of lack of motivation. I kind of "fell of the wagon" so to speak in terms of this blog and with no real reason. 

I don't want this blog to be an obligation for me, I want to enjoy writing and sharing my thoughts with the world. That being said, for the month of March I'd like to make a promise to myself first as well as the rest of you. If there is ever a time I don't have anything productive or just lack motivation to write, I won't. Simple as that. I value quality over quantity. So kicking off with that promise here are a few of my goals for this month:

1. Write productive, thought provoking posts. 

2. Focus more on the content rather than the number of posts. 

3. Do at least one "mini series" regarding converts and Islam

4. Write whenever I can, how much I can. I don't want to limit or force myself to write 2-3 posts per day.    

Those are just the goals I have for this blog this month. InshAllah, in the next few days maybe I'll write a post on other goals I have. 

What are your goals for the month of March?

Do you set goals for yourself often?

Quote of the day: "A goal without a plan is just a wish"

Have a wonderful day!

Wasalaam,

~Hijabi Butterfly~

Back At It

Assalaam Alakium!

It's been a full four days since I've written a blog, bad I know but I haven't had the motivation. The Writer finally started a blog and wrote his first post on Sunday night. I'll link it below if any of you are interested. 

Did any of you participate in the challenge? I said I was going to do it during the weekend but ended up not even thinking about it! InshAllah, I'll try it again. For those of you who have no idea what I'm referring to take a look at my last post and you'll understand. =)

Currently, I'm doing some research at the library and I'm planning out a few mini series' to post while my aunt is staying with me next week. She'll be staying a week so I want to have some posts pre-planned to keep this blog active. Any ideas for new posts or mini series, please leave your suggestions in the comments below. I'll consider each topic and try my best to deliver. 

I didn't have a plan for the post, I just wanted to check in and let you all know I'm still around. Try to be patient with me as I learn this blog thang and develop a voice for this space. 

Link to The Writers blog: http://philasify101.blogspot.com/ (Great for you male loved ones)

Take care.

Wasalaam,

~Hijabi Butterfly~

A Challenge

Assalaam Alakium ladies!

So KnewU didn't turn out very well, no one showed up for the class so I've got some extra time to write this post! As I was sitting here waiting for the Writer to finish up I thought of all of the things I am grateful for when a little light went off. 

I had the idea that whenever you have a few minutes to spare, jot down all of the things you are grateful for in your life on a piece of paper, your phone or a special notebook. At the end of the night thank Allah for everything you've written down. You can also bring the notes with you before prayer and after praying thank Allah for it then as well. You can never thank Allah enough. 

InshAllah, I'm going to try to jot down all of the things I'm thankful for this coming weekend. Saturday and Sunday, whenever something pops in my head I'm thankful for, I'm going to write it down. At the end of the night, before I sleep, I'll thank Allah for it all. =)

So here's the challenge! I challenge you all to write down all of the things you are grateful for in one day. Pick any day you'd like and throughout the day just jot it all down on a piece of paper. And at night, make sure you thank Allah for it. 

If you complete this challenge, please leave a comment below sharing how it worked out for you. Did you remember to write things down? Was it refreshing to turn to Allah and thank Him for everything? Did it help you become more mindful of all the things you have? Share whatever you like and pass this challenge around to your friends. 

Have a great night and inshAllah, I'll post a recap on Monday sharing my thoughts on the challenge. 

Wasalaam,

~Hijabi Butterfly~

Happy Birthday?

Assalaam Alakium sisters!

I knew waking up this morning I would have to give my aunt a call and wish her a happy birthday. None of my family members are Muslim and birthdays are a HUGE deal for them. Both my mother and my aunt share the month of February as their "birth month" yes, the entire month is theirs. 

Come every February, they talk up their birthdays and remind us all how many days remain until the actual "day". It would be pretty hard to miss one of their birthdays by how they await this month. They usually do the same things each year and try to make something really special just for the two of them. 

Being a Muslim, it's hard for me not to think they are going way overboard with the whole thing. I try not to express this to them because I know it'll hurt their feelings so I say my simple "Happy Birthday" and send a card with a gift and leave it at that. Now, before you start saying what I'm doing is participating in the whole "birthday" thing, I want to lend some advice. 

If you are a convert and your family members are not, you still need to respect them and strengthen the family tie. In Islam, family, especially the mother, is an extremely important relationship. If you find yourself not wanting to participate in things like birthdays and such, then don't, just be as respectful to those family members who do. A birthday is a good chance for you to show your non-Muslim family member that you still care about them and wish them well. Imposing your beliefs on them, especially during a special day of theirs, is not going to come off very well. You have to remember that you are now the face of Islam to them.

I have come across a difference in opinion on "celebrating" birthdays in Islam. Some scholars say yay and some say nay. I encourage you all to do your own research and come to an intelligent conclusion. I must add though that whatever celebrating you do make it halal. I don't see the big deal if you go and have dinner with some friends on your birthday as long as what you are doing is halal. 

Side note: I know a lot of Muslims are misguided when it comes to the whole "halal" word and I intend on doing an entire post on what the word "halal" actually means. So take tuned for that. =)

So go have a piece of cake, just make it halal marshmallows in the fondant!  

Have a wonderful rest of your day. I'm off to work then the KnewU class tonight. InshAllah a recap of the class will be up tomorrow. 

Wasalaam,

~Hijabi Butterfly~

A few links to check out on the whole birthday thang:

http://chillyoislamyo.com/is-it-haraam-to-celebrate-birthdays/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF5i-6eMxMU

5 More Minutes!

Assalaam Alakium ladies!

Good morning! I hope you all will be proud of me when I say I actually stayed up after fajr prayer today! Whoot! After some whining to the Writer that I didn't want to get up, he finally got through to me and I got up. I kept saying "5 more minutes". haha You know five minutes turns into an hour when you fall right back to sleep. How does that happen really? That extra hour only feels like five minutes and if you are hitting the "snooze" or in my case the "dismiss" button you really aren't getting any extra sleep. What's the point of falling asleep to only be awaken 5 minutes later for the next found of creative sounds.

 Good thing that didn't happen today because I needed to work out early, there is no other opportunity today. This is the first time this week that we've actually stayed up after fajr and got a workout in before work. It feels great to just get it out of the way. I know if I would have given into my five minute thing I would have been writing how I didn't get up yet, again! And how many times can I write that without seeming like I'm not even trying? 

Thursday's are super long days for the Writer and I, more so for him. Tonight is the second session of the KnewU: KnewBorn class at the Andalucia Center here in Houston, Texas. I've wrote about it before here but for a quick little overview; it's a class geared towards new Muslims and teaches the basic tenets of the Islamic faith. Of course, anyone can come new Muslim, old Muslim, non Muslim doesn't matter, it's a judgment free zone. =) 

InshAllah, I plan on taking notes like I did for the last session so look out for that in the next few days. I'll try to get the notes up tomorrow inshAllah. Oh yes, tomorrow is Friday! Happy day! =) You know those weeks that short of just creep on by, well this week is one of those. 

Have a great morning and inshAllah I'll be back with another post this afternoon. 

Wasalaam,

~Hijabi Butterfly~

My Passion for Tea

Assalaam Alakium ladies!

How has this humpday been for you all? I just finished up with work and just came to to the library for a bit before I pick up the Writer from work. I think I may have started an obsession of sort...nothing bad, I think. When I left Barnes and Noble to head for work I realized I didn't bring a fork with my lunch so I instantly had the thought "Go to Starbucks, they have forks!" haha 

Can you tell I'll try to work things around in my favor. I could have easily went across the street from my job and gotten a fork but Starbucks has been on the brain since the weekend, so I gave in. I had a few dollars left on a rebate card so I figured I could use that...oh and I had a buy one get one free coupon hahaha, it just gets better and better right? To make a long story short, the coupon wasn't valid on the drinks I wanted (teas and frapps) so I tried something new, and it was AMAZING! 

Isn't it beautiful! haha

After researching around on Starbucks' website for a new drink I decided on the Shaken Tazo Passion Tea Lemonade. Yeah, it was pretty amazing! This is what may have started my obsession. I only got the tall/small and after drinking it all I wanted to go and get another. Don't worry, I didn't. But my mind is already telling me to go again tomorrow. This isn't good for a person who is trying to budget! I made a promise to myself that I would allow myself one small drink per week. Yes, only one. Coffee and tea drinks are highly addictive for me so I need to have some clear limits. 

After getting the drink of passion I went off to work and ate my lunch, with that much needed fork remember the one I just had to get from Starbucks. Here's a picture of my lunch for today. I had the Lean Cuisine tortilla crusted tilapia with southwest rice and a fruit cup.  

So yeah, the actual food part of my lunch doesn't look as pretty but in all fairness it was equally good Alhamdulliah. A lot of prepacked fish meals are kinda dull but this one is pretty good just don't overcook it. 

If you go to Starbucks, what is your favorite drink?

If you don't go to Starbucks, what is one "fast food" item you can't resist? 

Have a wonderful afternoon!

Wasalaam,

~Hijabi Butterfly~

Book Love

Assalaam Alakium ladies!

Good morning! I got sucked into The Hunger Games last night and stayed awake until I was finished with the book. Needless to say, I didn't get up again this morning to workout. I guess that means I'm going to have to workout when I get home tonight. I hate working out at night, I'm way more into the morning thing. 

This morning I'm at Barnes and Noble, yes, again. I enjoy the atmosphere here. It's so quiet and helps me be more productive. When I walked into the store today I immediately grabbed the second book of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire. I haven't been into a book this much for a long time, it's exciting to take your mind somewhere else for awhile. 

I also have a sense of guilt because I know I've been spending way too much time reading The Hunger Games while I could have been reading the Qur'an or some other Islamic book. I try to make time to read the Qur'an everyday, but I have to admit some days it just doesn't happen. I have an app on my phone with the Qur'an and that helps a lot. I feel better having the Qur'an at my finger tips but without having to carry the actual book around. I get nervous when I carry the Qur'an around in book form. I'm always scared I'm going to get it dirty or drop it on the ground so having it on my phone helps. 

I've been meaning to tell you all about a book I came across at the Islamic bookstore this past weekend. It is called The Metamorphosis of a Muslim! Can you believe it, that is my little slogan for this blog. I was thrilled when I seen it. It's a book on a converts story to Islam and was around $10 at my Islamic bookstore. The book is probably around 100 or so pages so should be a quick read. InshAllah I plan on picking it up next time I'm there. 

Look at this awesome bookshelf!

As you can probably tell, I love books. I try to prevent myself from going crazy and buying a bunch of books at one time so I get a chance to read each one, but sometimes it's just so hard. Also, having an actual hard copy of the book on a shelf seems more "real" to me than having it in Kindle form on my phone. Don't get me wrong, having it on my phone is super convenient but I love being able to look at a shelf of books and find something that is right for me. 

Have any of you read The Hunger Games? If so, what did you think of it?

What books would you recommend, Islamic or not?

Articles of Interest:

http://johnshore.com/2010/08/18/evangelicals-and-muslims-both-love-jesus/

http://theletteredwayfarer.wordpress.com/2011/08/11/why-i-love-the-prophet-muhammad-so-much/

Enjoy your day!

Wasalaam,

~Hijabi Butterfly~

Every Muslim's Must Have Item

Assalaam Alakium lovelies!

I'm always shocked when I hear or notice that a Muslim does not have an Azan clock or prayer clock in their home. It's such a vital piece of my home and keeps me on track. I know some of you use your phone as an Azan clock or simply just know when the prayer times are but despite all of that I still feel that having an Azan clock is completely necessary. 

When I first started learning about Islam and started learning how to pray I would hand write all of the prayer times down on a piece of paper. I began to memorize when each prayer would come in and I still usually know when the prayer comes in within a few minutes. It's a part of my life now. I plan my day around prayer times. Alhamdulliah, I have a job that is flexible with me so I can shape my work time around prayers. If I need to run errands I will wait until the next prayer is due, than go, of course if it's two hours away I'll go but you get the point. 

The thing I love most about having an Azan clock in my home is that it keeps me in touch with Allah. If I'm deep into a television show, reading or whatever it may be, the second I hear the Azan I try my best to stop what I'm doing and listen. It's also encouraged to repeat what the Mu'aththin (the reciter of the call to prayer or the prayer clock) says. There are du'as you can say after the Azan is called as well and this is also strongly encouraged. 

I have this one!

Having an Azan clock in your home will also help you in getting up for fajr prayer which is probably the most neglected prayer of the day for a lot of us. It's tough getting up early even more so if you don't have a type of alarm clock to wake you up. This is where the Azan clock will be super handy. I highly encourage you all to try and buy one. You can purchase a simple one for $20, I have this type or buy a fancier one for more money. One tip though, make sure before you buy the Azan clock that it has your city pre-programmed into it this way you don't have to manual adjust the times and it will change on it's own on a daily basis. Super, super handy!

This one is way more fancier, it includes a remote!

So go out and buy an Azan clock, it will be a great investment, trust me. Do any of you NOT have an Azan clock in your home? If so, why? Do you live near a Masjid and hear the Azan from there? Please share below. 

Have a great afternoon!

Wasalaam,

~Hijabi Butterfly~

Routine

Assalaam Alakium ladies!

Good morning! How's your morning been? It's just another Tuesday over here. The Writer and I were slow getting out of bed so no after fajr workout for us. Instead, I got up and made him breakfast, dropped him off at work then went to go workout. 

When I pulled into the parking lot of the gym I noticed it was packed full of people! The gym I go to is never like that and I have to admit that for a second I thought about just turning around and going home. I have no idea why that thought crossed my mind maybe I just wanted to give myself an excuse not to workout. I went in anyway and completed 45 minutes on this cross trainer type of machine. It's awesome because it's kind of a like an elliptical but the arm handles don't move leaving me with a perfect chance to read The Hunger Games. Can you tell I like love this book! I'm about 3/4 of the way through it and can't wait for the movie to come out later next month. Watching the trailer totally pumped me up!

As for the rest of my day it's going to be pretty routine. Nothing exciting over here. The Writer and I live by routine. We like to come home from work at night, eat dinner, talk and lounge around until bedtime. Weekends are spent catching up on sleep, reading and family time. I thrive on routine. When something is thrown out of whack in our schedule it's hard for me to overcome. I often get upset when something pops up out of the blue changing my day around. Structure is my middle name. I know this is something I need to work on and become more flexible especially if we ever have kids inshAllah. 

As for now though, I'll try to be less annoyed when the little things change and thank Allah for everything He has given me. I really have nothing to complain about and when I do, I need to "gut punch" myself and think of all of those people out there who don't have what I have.

A man plans his course, but Allah (swt) guides his steps.


Below is a great video on avoiding extravagance and living simply. Please share any thoughts you have on the video in the comments below.

I'll see you later with another post inshAllah!

Wasalaam,

~Hijabi Butterfly~

Meat....loaf?

Assalaam Alakium girlies!

How has Monday treated you all? We just finished dinner over here and are probably just going to chill for the rest of the night. InshAllah we can wake up early to workout tomorrow morning. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again right?

I left my last post saying how I was going to make a Mediterranean meatloaf for dinner well, let's just say it wasn't really a "loaf". It fell apart once I served it. I think it was a combination of things: the veggies in it made it soggy, I added an egg when I didn't need to, I made it in advance so the liquid absorbed and I didn't add any breadcrumbs. Alhadmulliah, it was good nonetheless though. I'll play with the recipe next time and see how it "holds up" haha okay that was lame. 

The meatloaf wasn't picture worthy but I'll add a photo I found online of it. Here's the recipe. I recommend adding some type of breadcrumbs or crackers to keep it together. 

Mediterranean Meatloaf:

• 1 pound of ground lean turkey
• 1 cup packed chopped baby spinach (I didn't add this since I didn't have any)
• 1 green bell pepper chopped
• 1 zucchini, chopped 
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes instead)
• 1/4 cup peeled carrot
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning 
• 1 package of meatloaf seasoning 
• 2 egg whites (I just used one whole egg)
• Breadcrumbs, enough to bind it all together

Mix all of the above and cook in a 350 degree oven for 55 minutes. Serves about 6. Enjoy! 

Remember, when cooking, you can switch things around according to what you like or have laying around. I hardly ever follow a recipe as is. Don't be scared to try something different or substitute items for things you enjoy. Be creative!

Have a wonderful night!

Wasalaam,

~Hijabi Butterfly~