a geek? why yes, i am

2010 February 8
by ummsqueakster

Or is it dork?  Or nerd?  Or all three?

I find this hilarious and a great use of 7 and a half minutes

Just as a forewarning, yes, there is music.

the weekly squeaky

2010 February 8
by ummsqueakster

Don’t let that sweet and innocent face fool you.  She was up at 4:30 this morning, demanding food and attention.

thankful

2010 February 5
by ummsqueakster

Alhamdulilah, Allah (swt) keeps putting me in situations to be thankful and remember Him.

While waiting for my bus in downtown Saint Paul, one of my fellow bus travelers was almost mowed down by a jerk in an SUV who thought she could turn without watching for pedestrians.  Alhamdulilah he’s ok, but it left me shaken.   That could have been any one of us.  That could have been me!

As I reflected on the situation more, I thought about my own health and safety.  There are a million opportunities each day to be injured.  Every time we cross the road, we could be hit by a careless driver.  Every time we get in the car, it could be our last drive.   All it takes is one little error, one little slip up on the part of a fallible human being, and we’re finished.  And that’s only scratching the surface.  Alhamdulilah, our food and water are mostly safe.  Alhamdulilah, we’re healthy most of the time.  Alhamdulilah, we have safe places to live.

Alhamdulilah, most of the time we are safe, and for that, we should be ever grateful.

what do my…

2010 February 4
by ummsqueakster

…ring tones say about me (aside from the fact that I don’t think music is haram)?

  • AbuS – I knew I loved you before I met you by Savage Gardens.  Before that it was can you feel the love tonight from the lion king
  • Parents – One Day More from Les Mis
  • Grandma – Beloved by Yusuf Islam
  • Sister – On Wisconsin
  • General – switches between the Throne Room Theme from Star Wars and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue

What do your ring tones say about you?

hijabi maternity wear

2010 February 4
by ummsqueakster

I’ve often wondered what I’ll wear if/when we have children.  Browsing the maternity section at Target, I don’t see too much that will work, especially for the bottom half. 

Now, note to self, remember the Modest Mom.  Yup, that works.

look who “graced” my alma mater yesterday

2010 February 3
by ummsqueakster

Twas the Caged Virgin herself.

Islam critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali draws capacity audience at UW-Madison

In her hour and a half talk, Hirsi Ali stood firm on her controversial views. She said she had once been a devout Muslim, but had since come to question not just how Islam has been interpreted and practiced, but the core of the Prophet Mohammad’s teachings.

“No culture, no religion, no idea has ever been as brutal to women as Islam,” she told the crowd. “It was a special kind of hatred the Nazis had against the Jews. Islam sanctions a special kind of hatred against women.”

More articles

On one hand, barf.  On the other, I’m saddened that they needed all that security.  The “Distinguished Lecture Series” is the same one that brought Pipes to speak when I was there.  Bah.

cat v dog

2010 February 3
by ummsqueakster

This is one of the reasons I’m a cat person.  Yes, I have to clean the litter box, but at least I don’t have to stand in sub 0 weather while she does her business.  And there’s nothing like a warm and purring kitty to snuggle with after you’ve come in from the great frozen north.

No offense to any dog people out there.  I just *heart* my kitty.

alhamdulilah for…

2010 February 3
by ummsqueakster

…our bodies.  Even though we use them, abuse them and neglect them, inshaAllah with a little work, we can start to make them work right again.  What a blessing that our lives aren’t a one off.  Most of the time, we can fix what we’re screwed up, make tawbah, and move on.

I’m busy making tawbah for my earlier bodily abuses.  Yes, I’ll still feed it chocolate and carbs, but inshaAllah on a less frequent basis. 

I’m firmly back into my gym routine, alhamdulilah.  45 minutes of cardio and 45 minutes of weight lifting 3 times a week.  Now I just have to make sure that I get some exercise in the other 4 days I don’t go to the gym inshaAllah.

heh

2010 February 2
by ummsqueakster

The world is a funny place.

In high school, I was debate partners and good friends with a liberal, gay, hispanic lapsed jehovah’s witness. 

We reconnected on facebook, and now I find that he’s a conservative and jewish.  And also, judging from his email that has 1948 after his name, a big supporter of israel. 

No value judgments made at all, but just thinking…my how people change

(which I could also say about myself, although I’m still an opinionated liberal tree hugging democrat, just a muslim one instead of a christian).

a plea

2010 February 1
by ummsqueakster

oh Allah, make the television ugly to my eyes and boring to my mind

oh Allah, make ibadah more beautiful to me than anything else in this dunya

oh Allah, put the love of the Qur’an inside of me

oh Allah, please make my heart like a dove, with the wings of love and fear lifting it up and out of the doldrums that are now consuming it

oh Allah, please put taqwa in my heart and ikhlas as my intention

oh Allah, please, help me

ameen

photo by alicepopkorn