Post 100

here

here

Trust me on this, there's no escape when it comes to Cairo traffic!
But even that, has some beauty to it; you have the time to ponder, to contemplate, to watch.

I don't know if this will work out, but this is a video of my boyfriend and his band at the SOS music festival.

After having read this, I want to buy that book so bad! What We Carry by Dorianne Laux.

This is, in fact, my 100th post! I am excited! This week I bought a GRE book so I would start studying in order to take the exam and start graduate school, wish me luck, I am doing this at a relatively young age ( I am 21).. But then, he is my inspiration. Well, not to that extent..I am not an overachiever type of person, not anymore. I need time for fun :)

I love how facebook reunites people, an old classmate found me and it sends those sparkles and glitter all over my world! And gorgeous people (Liz and Brian)  from ABC Adventures added me on facebook! I LOVE THAT!

Have a great weekend everyone! I thought I should leave you with some delicacy, books and color!

Here 

 

here 

 here 

 here 

 here

Gratitude-a-day: my blog survived a hundred posts!

Link: The Scribble Project

Inspirational Bulleted Wednesday!

I have a confession to make: the two Taylor Swift songs I have heard on NileFM, I am in love with.
White Horse
Love Story

Check the coolest thing that has ever happened to me in all my blogging life. I am winner number 11. Thank you, very sincere and very heartfelt, thank you. This is what I have won!

here

I've been font hunting at work and it is so frustrating! Everything looks almost the same, except for a question mark here or there..

same source

I think this is intensely beautiful!

link

This is the same bridge today; Kas El Nil Bridge.

here

how beautiful is this?

Apart from the fact that her outfit is perfect, and her hair...and the whole setting...it is sort of heartbreaking....war is. War is the heartbreak of the world. To think that human beings have invented war is such a dissapointment!

So it's mostly pictures today...and maybe some bullets (Since it's Wednesday). My weekend starts tomorrow!!

• my mom turns 44 today, so I am making a card, cooking lunch and buying 44 flowers :) thank you all for your suggestions!
• I forgot my cellphone at home, second day in a row, and I have never felt so liberated (try it!)
• I have a dress on today, it instantly sends feel-good vibes to my brain.
• I'll start my green Moleskine Volant VERY SOON!

I have an endless amount of love within me, and I wish you could all sense it, I wish I could spread it and pass it on to you all.

Writing; here I come

 here

I love this dress, it has such a princess-y feel to it; I think this is how every bride should feel like; a princess.

Yesterday I had started this post:
A lot of things are leaving me in an unhappy mood...

1. The bombing in Al-Hussien district in Cairo last night. Not only will this have a gruesome effect on the Egyptian economy in a global atmosphere of recession...it is also making me feel insecure. I mean, economically speaking, the gains from the Suez Canal have fallen intensely, and not it's tourism..two of the main sources of Egyptian national income.
2. Yesterday, my mother and I went to Alexandria to attend one of the SOS music festival concerts; My boyfriend's band were playing, and we missed it...we drove all the way back because of work today. I was so very sad...
3. My mother's birthday is on the 25th and I don't know what to get/make for her. I am broke!
4. I am also too broke to pay the gym subscription and I am seriously unhappy with my thighs.

But, today, I decided to have more of a positive outlook, because that's when everything takes a turn to the better. This post had writing prompts!

Very pretty pictures here

writing prompts | week 01.
the real you. you got a new notebook? very good. now introduce yourself. use any of these prompts in any mixed up fashion you'd like to get your juices going.

01. describe your daily routine from sun up to sun down. use only nouns.
02. list your obsessions. what do you think about, obsess over, what types of things, ideas, ideals, plans, dreams, and hopes consume your mind? what are you known for? wearing red lipstick? write about that.
03. pick a year from your life. past or future. describe who you were, what you wore, what your problems were, what your biggest concern was, who you spent time with, who you dreamt of becoming, what you watched on tv, what type of shoes you wore, what you ate for lunch. dig deep and rediscover who you were then and who you are now.

 

here

Have I mentioned my love for Keri Smith?

My to-do list includes getting an internet card so I can buy some of the very cute things I find on etsy and online in general...buying my best friend flowers, and make her a "happy 21st birthday" card. And my mummy.

I hope you're all having a great day! I am learning new things here at work and I am loving it. I wish everyone has better things to do than sit at the computer all day (please explore the world around you)

One gratitude a day: morning showers

Weekend post

Yesterday was my sister's 20th birthday;
Being only a year and 5 months apart,we've been together every little part of our lives to separate in university and now, for me, work. Two days ago, we watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, my cousins, sister and I.
I cried my eyes out.

And now my sister, has stepped, along with me, into the twenties. Welcome Salma!

 icanread 

Yesterday, I tried the bread recipe which (I think) I have mentioned here...I ended up needing alot more flour and I ended up leaving it for an hour or two to rise, the bread was DELICIOUS!

I also made brownies.

And I lost my temper... I need anger management techniques...I think it's inner frustration that leads me to lose my temper...to bring my anger out on those I love, hurting them when all I need is their support, really.

here

Anyway, I was with this acquaintence talking about books and politics...Egyptian politics (fyi we ahve had the same president for the past 25 years, I have known no other president but him) and he told me something I found very smart and very interesting.

He said that he uses reading as a way to feed his purpose; he reads his way to reaching a specific goal. Say, if you want to be a leader, read Nelson Mendella's biography, read Martin Luther King's speeches...read and you will eventually, naturally be a leader.

If you want to write, read beautifully written books..

and so on..

How beautiful is that?

 

here 

If you want to be happy, smile.

Dear Blog, You've been missed

I got the most comments on my last post!ever! Thank you
Fist picture is my brother, I LOVE HIM!
Second picture is my best friend and I, she's on the right...some people say we look alike..but I don't think so.
Third picture I lost the source to, because blogger decided to be funny and mess my post up for me.
I had also included a recipe and it wasn't included! (?)
Anyway here it goes:

Bread Recipe (you could make it into pita bread or regular buns)

• 1 cup of yogurt
• 1 teaspoon of dry yeast
• some warm water
• 3 cups of flour

Now you may need to add more flour/water..depending on the stickiness of the dough you get, it shouldn't be too sticky and messy to handle.
Add water to yogurt to warm it up a little, then add the yeast and set aside for a while. Add the flour and mix well, very well.
On your stove top, in a pan, add a patted thin piece of dough, and watch it turn into pita bread :)

I'll modify the recipe into a more accurate one, I just need to do this again!

Sorry for not being able to check and edit this post earlier. My internet connection at home needs to be fixed, I had to wait until I came to work.

Nice Assignment (aka showing off the beautiful city I belong to)

So the assignment was to make a list of your favorite places. I love making lists, and i am very emotional when it comes to favorite places of mine!! It is in these places that I have known happiness, excitment, depression, caffiene and sugar rushes, love, friendship, belonging...music and beauty.

• Korba, Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt. Here is a flickr set of old Korba, a hundred years ago. And here it is today, early morning, when it is still empty. Cairo, as you may all know, is an extremely crowded city. *takes mental note of taking pictures of her drive home*

link here

Down that street, is my favorite cafe; Harris...where the interiors are wooden and the waiters friendly.Go here to watch all the faces of Korba; festivals and such.

• Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt

here

That is a picture of what you see when we take a Felucca down the Nile.. Zamalek is a very peaceful, serene neighbourhood that has this very laidback, yet confident, chic aura about it. I just love walking down its streets in silence. Another Zamalek picture.

• Diwan bookstore; I think it is the wooden interiors that have the effect on me....that of ease and peace. That, of course, in addition to the sense of belonging I get when surrounded books. To the extent that, one day, when I get married, that's where I want my wedding photoshoot to be.

here

• Parts of old Cairo that Mohammed takes me to. Seheimy house, Harawy House....etc. Aren't they just beautiful?

here and more

• Ain ElSukhna, Egypt. I don't think there is anything more beautiful than the Red Sea reflecting the sun; whether rising or setting..with it's low tides.

here

• As corny and cheesy as it may sound, the arms that make me feel at home; Mohammed's and my little brother's...I would never be able to put into words my love for them. They really do mean the world to me.
• Our house when it's calm on a Friday morning, when my dad is here (he works in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
• A relatively speeding car, during the afternoon, with the wind in my hair.
• My best friend's very lived in living room!

Enough for now, right? It's just that I am extremely bored at work. Alone. Again. I thank thee for bearing with me!
Anyway, please make a list of your favorite places and show them to me! And if you have any writing prompts...or just creativity prompts, pass them on?

Only a few pictures today(and a very pink link)

 now have ELEVEN followers! Thank you!

The weather outside is not what I would like it to be; it is windy, dusty and the sun is not out. Now judging from my tan (which I have acquired along the years, I was a relatively fair baby) you can tell I love the sun.
But this here has made my day brighter.

Listen to the mustnts, child,
listen to the donts
listen to the shouldnts,
the impossibles,
the wonts
listen to the never haves,
then listen close to me…
anything can happen, child,
anything can be.
— Shel Silverstein.
from iCiNG


Speaking of the sun, I am very fond of sunsets, even more when they are by the sea. Sunsets have always made me feel happy, warm and blessed. Blessed to witness such an illusion as real as it may look or sound. The sun doesn't go away, it's just that the Earth is moving!

 here

Anyway, it was a few days before we got together last summer, that Mohammed and I watched the most magnificent sunset I have ever witnessed (probably will ever witness) it was bright. Bright and Purple!! We were in Alexandria, and he took me to watch it. Just like the picture, except that it was brighter,and it was the Mediterranean! 

It was then that I realized, that he would never change me, nor the things I like, he would just make them shine more, make them more excuisite! I shine better. I smile wider. I talk more confidently.

We were exactly there, except that being the summer, it was crowded.

 

here  

I uploaded our goofy Valentine's day pictures so, that's us:

 

  never mind the fact that I look stoned, which I am not, I swear! It shows the locket. though!

I hate my posture, I should seriously go back to the gym..and my belly...I could go on forever, so moving on:

I was thinking that, if you want, you should add me on Facebook!

Oh I found a very pink website too! The Princess Portal.

Gratitude-a-day: The yummy brownies I made..and Wagamama

PS: Cheer me up, I hate the weather!

Not much of a post

Hey there!
Please chech out today's PostSecret! I love the postcards this week!
So I am at work with absolutely nothing to do and it is intensely boring. I still have 2 and a half hours to go. I am trying to pass the time but nothing seems to be working. Not even we heart it!!

 

from here  

I am in the office, alone with the officeboys and the senior accountant. There's a workshop about higher education in Egypt and they're all attending. Madame Anais took the day off.

What do you do when you're bored at work? (don't tell me "Watch porn")

PS he got me a locket!!

Today is the Day!

here

Happy Valentine's Day, loves.
Please love yourselves today and everyday. It is only then that this love would shine, and spread to others.
Your love for yourself radiates, it shows on your face, it shows...
Love yourself, it is only then that you could love others.

I made brownies for my boyfriend. And a card. It has a very snobbish looking owl on it, that says "You're owl I'll ever need" on the outside, and " I love hoo" on the inside. And a folded letter on the inside as well. I think it's cute. I hope he thinks so too though.

Again, have a great day!

Award! And some love

I have been given my first ever award! I am so happy....so very amazingly happy! Beyond my ability to show on my dear, dear blog.
Inside the Cabinet of Wonder gave me the award; thank you!
I guess I need to pass this on to four other blogs; I shall pick Afiori (definitely!), It's just how I see things, Thursday afternoons, and Wardrobe Musings.

It is such a lovely day today. Came to work and talked to everyone. I come in first, so every female on my floor (5 and one is not here) found pink post-it notes from me with " Have a great weekend. And, happy Valentine's day! *heart*, Sara"

• One of my favorite poems/quotes:

He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much;Who has enjoyed the trust of pure women, the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children;Who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;Who has never lacked appreciation of Earth's beauty or failed to express it;Who has left the world better than he found it,Whether an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul;Who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had;Whose life was an inspiration;Whose memory a benediction.

by Bessie Stanley 1904

• Stay Healthy (random link, I know)

• And since Valentine's day is almost here, and it's all about love. Some pictures I love (and of things that I love!)

from here, Via we heart it. How delicate is that?

Here, Via we heart it. I love Obama, he's so cute!This is so funny!Here, also from we heart it

I love this. here

this quote

this chandelier

Last, but not least, books!

Have a great weekend(mine starts today!!) Enjoy your Valentine's day. Love yourself. Celebrate your love. Celebrate the life you have. Celebrate. Enjoy. Smile!
I love you. I love everyone and everything.

Belated post

The French woman is like Alain Delon**. The French woman doesn’t take any resolutions. The French woman is. The present is her sole religion. In fact, Joanna, the mystery behind the French woman is that she has confidence in herself, despite all the nonsense she says.

There’s the secret to her indestructible Frenchitude.

From Here

I want to bake these, maybe by Friday..
There was an assignment on the Nice blog (check it, link on the right) that involved leaving notes. I will leave notes to my coworkers tomorrow. Wishing them a happy Valentine's day, since it's going to be during the weekend. Isn't that such a blessing?
Valentine wallpapers!

I went to that Arabic rock concert today, it was amazing! Seriously...I think Arabic is such a beautiful language, even though our Egyptian Arabic barely classifies as Arabic, our slang is so weird.

Need to go sleep!
Till tomorrow, believe in the extraordinary person you are!

Rambles.

Missed me?
I am stuck here at the office... an hour after my 8 hours of work end, because Mohammed has my car...
I don't mind, though, it was a good day..it started out just right!
Even though I had agreed on going to the gym today with my cousin, right after work...meaning, I SHOULD be heading there now, it still is a good day.
Everyone has been asking me what I'll do for Valentine's and I still have no idea!

I wrote this for you made an amazing post today!weheartit via Don't Touch My Moleskine

I was thinking..how many of you people smoke? Please comment and let me know. Because for example, here in the office, 2 out of about 20 people smoke. Both married. Do you think it is, of any way, related? I honestly love pictures of girls smoking.

Maybe I should write a bit in my journal. I miss it. I need to finish it, so I could start a new one; a Moleskine this time...I want one of the new pastel colored ones..
But then, I don't think we get them here in Egypt...yet.

Gratitude-a-day: Coffee from "On the Run" oh and this post

Happy, Happy Day

weheartit

This post here is beyond gorgeous! This is all I need when the sun won't just come out. When the clouds won't give her the chance to.

Yesterday, while I was driving on the road, I lost my right mirror. Just like that, it fell. Of course, I couldn't stop and get it, so now I am driving like a madwoman..

weheartit

Mohammed called me first thing in the morning; he is the sweetest person in my entire world. I always have happy days when he calls me in the morning, or when I see him first thing in the morning. I can't believe it that Valentine's is in less than a week and I have no idea what to wear! Let alone that I don't know how we're spending it! Anyhow, I am making and not buying something. I find that more personal and meaningful.

I want to do this to my hair.

Please have a great day, and smile at a stranger.

Gratitude-a-day:
Finding a parking space!

While waiting for Postsecret...

I choose to not blog over the weekend to compensate for my over-blogging during weekdays. Miss me?
Yesterday my counter hit 2222 and I saved a picture of that on my computer (would have included it but, I am at work)
I also got my hair all layered up last night, and the hairdresser almost convinced me that I should get high and low-lights. I am nearly convinced. Low-lights only. But anyway, I love my hair now; it is all pretty and manageable.
I found a New blog!

"the women came out of a mans ribs

not from his feet to be walked on,

nor his side to be equal

but under the arm to be

protected next to the heart,

to be love"

That is so true!I got it at the blog aforementioned.

This too!FFFFOUND

Also, this video! Not excellent quality, but...it was such a great performance!
Hope everyone's weekend is/was amazing.

Also over the weekend, we went to the beach for a day( Red Sea), it was a much needed change because it was unusually warm and sunny! (in contrast with a gloomy Cairo sky today). And the fact that we went with family made it even more fun (my family is hilarious). Mohammed and I also went for breakfast, yesterday and it was SO pretty! My favorite place in Heliopolis; Korba, AND the sun- felt like Spring!
But then mentioning all that and realizing that I don't have any proper documentation of it; i.e. Pictures, makes me a bit sad. I need a camera. I dare not carry my sister's around with me, she'd bite a finger or two off my hand for doing that.

Conclusion: I need to take more pictures. And I need a camera for that matter. Any recommendations?

Bulleted Wednesday!

• I park further now, so I could walk a bit in the morning.
• I miss my boyfriend; the person he usually is.
• I hate this job because it keeps me away from my brother. My last job was working as a co-teacher at the school he goes to (he's 7 and my best small friend)
• My back hurts from sitting at the computer all day.
• I found "she" today and I am in love, also this amazing person(I can tell from her pictures!); I have been discovering a lot of blogs lately and I am subscribed to a ton via google (reader).
• I love this!! I think I am going to try and make a book like that.
• I found a list of beautiful words and I am going to attempt at writing something using them all:

Like an ingenue, I celebrated his blandiloquent glances, ignorant of their ephemeral nature, when he is in such a state. Chatoyant and glittery and bright, they left me feeling.

I wish he knew, I wish he would realize…and let go of his pessimism, of his realism. Won’t he ever realize that my propinquity towards optimism is not just a serendipitous incident? It is quintessential to my existence; I am the daughter of the efflorescence of optimism. I believe that life is as foudroyant as how the sun leaves the (river) Nile shimmering beneath its rays…

He still chooses to ignore my ethereal, susurrated words. My moment of glory; evanescent, “I love your optimism,” he says, “but I can’t let you into my world; you’ll be hit by reality.” He was afraid, he is afraid my butterflies would die. He called my world a world of butterflies.

Weheartit

• One-gratitude-a-day: The sun is out today! And good coffee from Cilantro (which has gone international!)

itc! and request

Good day? My google reader is bursting with new entries and I love it!

• Get back to the gym!: not yet...I'll try to start tomorrow; if not then then weekend.
  
• List at least one gratitude-a-day: How I took a short walk to the supermarket, and it was all sunny outside the office. Also, Madame Anais! I love her (the very nice lady sharing the office with me who is actually the Personnel and Procurement Associate)
• Pray more; working on that! Progressed actually
  
• Take my sisters and brother out; not yet
  
• Sleep more( try 10 pm- 6 am); slept from 11:30 to 6:30 yesterday; almost!
  
• Limit coffee to twice a day; only one coffee so far!

Please pray for my boyfriend, he's going through a rough time.

Reporting From the ERF:

weheartit

Working Day #7;
I had two assignments to work on for today and I have finished them less than halfway through the 8 hour working day. I seem to blog a lot more than customary, due to my sitting in front of the computer all day, let alone boredom.
Some of you might have noticed that I am taking part in the iCiNG Transformation Challenge! (If not check the right side of the page)
All the links are here:(in Chronological Order)

1. Here
2. Here. The picture is delightful!
3. Here
4. Here
5. Here
6. And Here!

Ok, so I have 28 days in order to do the following:

• Get back to the gym!
• List at least on gratitude-a-day
• Pray more
• Take my sisters and brother out
• Sleep more( try 10 pm- 6 am)
• Limit coffee to twice a day

I think that is more than enough!

weheartit

Today's Gratitude: Mohammed; I had parked my car at a friend's house last night because I was too tired to drive, at 5 am today, he got me the car (having had filled full its tank!)-not to mention that he woke me up to take the keys, haha.

short post

I woke up today with endless hate for work, the concept itself. Why do we have to go to work to begin with? I seriously thought about quiting my week old job...but then. I remembered how bored I was without a job.
So I force myself to brush my teeth, wash my face, get dressed and so on. I get into the car to find that I don't have much gas, let alone the fact that I only have 5 LE on me. As soon as I get here, I give them to whoever it is that helped me park.

And here I am; penniless, cold, bored and indifferent.

I hope you are all having a better day.