China's got it goooing ooon!

The Harmony express raced 1,100km in less than three hours on Saturday, travelling from Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong province, to the central city of Wuhan. The journey previously took at least 11 hours.




Wooow that's impressive! And would've really helped when I was doing uni in the states--I could've seen L every weekend! ooor day--if she was lucky enough :P I was in Virginia and L was in Pennsylvania--which by drive is like 12 hours or something ridiculous like that!

Click here for the article

Ashora

I just got off the phone with my dad and he told me he is fasting today, I asked why and he told me because of Ashura. I replied, but isn't that for Shii muslims? He told me, that this day has significance for all muslims, because on this day in the Hijri calendar many miracles and important events took place, including Prophet Moses and his followers being saved by Allah parting the Red Sea.

So I decided to look it up some more and this is what I found:

Hazrat Ibn Abbas (Radiyallahu 'anh) reports that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam) arrived in Madinah and found the Jews observing fast on the day of ‘Ashura… They said: "It is the day of great (significance) when Allah delivered Hazrat Musa ('Alaihis-Salaam) and his people and drowned Pharoah and his people, and Sayyidina Musa ('Alaihis-Salaam) observed fast out of gratitude. And we also observe it." The Holy Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam) responded: "We have more right, and we have closer connection with Sayyidina Musa ('Alaihis-Salaam) than you have"; so Allah’s Messenger (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam) observed fast (on the day of ‘Ashura) and gave us orders to observe it. [Sahih Bukhari and Muslim]

Basically, Moses is a Prophet of Islam as well.....

‘Ashura is a day of great historical significance. On this day: Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) accepted the repentance of Sayyidina Adam ('Alaihis-Salaam) after his exile from Paradise; Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) saved Sayyidina Nuh ('Alaihis-Salaam) and his companions in the ark; Allah extinguished the fire in which Sayyidina Ibrahim ('Alaihis-Salaam) was thrown by Nimrod; And Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) spoke directly to Sayyidina Musa ('Alaihis-Salaam) and gave him the Commandments. On this same 10th of Muharram, Sayyidina Ayyub ('Alaihis-Salaam) was restored to health (from leprosy); Sayyidina Yusuf ('Alaihis-Salaam) was reunited with his father Ya’qub ('Alaihis-Salaam); Sayyidina Yunus ('Alaihis-Salaam) was taken out from the belly of the fish; and the sea was divided as the nation of israel was delivered from captivity and Pharoah’s army was destroyed. ‘Ashura is also the day when Sayyidina Dawud ('Alaihis-Salaam) was forgiven; the kingdom of Sulaiman ('Alaihis-Salaam) was restored; Sayyidina Isa ('Alaihis-Salaam) was raised to Jannah and Sayyidina al-Husayn (Radiyallahu 'anh) (the Holy Prophet’s, Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam, grandson) achieved the honor of Martyrdom.1

Worship Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) as much as you can on ‘Ashura. Whoever fasts on this day is like one who fasts all his life. Whoever clothes a naked person Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) will release him from a painful punishment. He who visits a sick person, Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) will grant him a reward that will not be decreased. Whoever places his hand on an orphan’s head, or feeds a hungry person or gives water to a thirsty man, Allah will feed him a feast from Paradise and will quench his thirst with Salsabil (a wine that does not intoxicate). And who ever takes a Ghusl on this day will enjoy excellent health and freedom from sickness and indolence. Whoever provides generously for his family on this day, Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) will be generous to him throughout this year. And whoever applies Kuhl to his eyes will never suffer from eye-sore again, inSha’Allah al-Aziz.2

O’ Allah! Bless us to perform good deeds and gain their reward on ‘Ashura. Make the new year one of unity, cooperation and success for Muslims in this city and around the world. Ameen.

So as you can see, alot of things happened on this day! And although I missed the boat on fasting, I'm going to try to do what I can to be a good person today out of respect for all that has occurred on this day, because it is apart of our history, our religion, our past--it is apart of who we are. (And I'll try to remember next year to fast!)

Pregnant man/woman

I'd like to think I'm open minded---but I just cant seem to wrap my head around this :s

Tracey, now Thomas Beattie just had his/her second child.

Originally a woman, Tracey felt she was meant to be a man and underwent surgery and began taking hormones. Later, as Thomas, he found love with Susan. But their arrangements is a bit odd--Thomas has the children, and Susan breast feeds them.



I reaaaaally dont want to sound like a closed minded hater BUT cmon ....*speechless*....

your thoughts??

Dont TXT while you drive!

Over the weekend an old friend of my family lost her son in a car accident. He was walking to his own car parked on the street when a girl, who at time had been texting, wasn't paying attention and hit him--killing him instantly in front of his twin brother. He wasn't more than 19 years old.

I'll admit that I text every now and then while I drive, in addition to talking on the phone...and from now on I'm going to make a big effort to stop doing that.

FYI: A study showed that people are 23 times more likely to get in an accident when they are text messaging. And I'm sure there are more studies out there that have higher statistics.

So I advice you guys to think twice before you txt, because chances are whatever your texting isn't more important than your life or of those on the road with you. Keep your conversations short when talking and simply do not text while driving--there is obviously no way your eye or your concentration is on the road.

HOOOOOT video ;p

Only Shakira! But lets face it how many of us wish we moved like her and could get away with it?! The song is good the video is hot! It reminds me of Mia Michaels--the choreographer on so you think you can dance---I love it! Chchchchcheck it out!

*click on the pic!

Oxygen Bar

Last week L gave me the evil eye when admiring my manicure and as a result i broke a nail! grrr....soo I had to make an emergency run to a nail spa to correct the problem....

ANYWHOOOZZZ while I was drying my nails I noticed this weird thing sitting on the counter....after some investigating they told me they have an oxygen bar! with four different scents to choose from, all you gotta do is stuff some hose up your nose for a number of minutes and BREATHE....apparently each scent encourages a different mood (ie relaxed, calm, or energetic)


I remember hearing about things like this in the states--but was really shocked to find it in kuwait!....I dont know it seems weird---and you have to do it infront of everyone...hmmm yaaa it is def not for me....

But if your interested, the oxygen bar is located in NSYTLE in alBustan mall, Salmiya.

AVATAR

Yesterday I went with L and B to see AVATAR! and I LOVED IT!

A quick synopsis:

The film follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paralyzed war veteran who gets called to duty on the planet of Pandora. Because of the planet's hostile atmosphere, humans have genetically grown half-alien/half-human bodies which they can jack their consciousnesses into and explore the world in.

On a chance meeting after getting separated from his team, Jake's Avatar is rescued by Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a Na'vi princess, who brings him into her tribe in order to give the humans a second chance at relating to this new environment. Yet as Jake becomes one with the tribe and begins to understand the secrets of Pandora, his conscience is torn between his new adopted world and the wheelchair-bound one awaiting him when the psychic connection to his Avatar is broken.


Things I loved:

-the world of the Na'vi--the way they look, live, feel, their whole world is BEAUTIFUL
-the attention to detail--the landscape, the plants, the animals, even the bugs were soo interesting I loved it!

Things I didnt like:

-I wish the Na'vi invented different weapons than bow and arrows---I wish it was COMPLETELY unique and no similarity to humans
-I wish we saw more of the relationship between Jake and Neytiri

Things I noticed:

-It kinda reminded me of Native Americans...
-The pro-environment tone of the movie....makes you think about helping our planet

All in all: I RECOMMEND IT! and dont miss the obvious underlying message of the film of how we are killing our planet! remember people recycle!! dont litter! save water and electricity! plant a tree! lets make our world beautiful :)---->(wow i sound positive like p0ach!)

Prince William spends night in an alley!

WOW! Prince William, second in line for the throne, spent the night in an alley in London's cold and dangerous streets!

"I cannot, after one night, even begin to imagine what it must be like to sleep rough on London's streets night after night," William said Tuesday. "Poverty, mental illness, drug and alcohol dependency and family breakdown cause people to become and then stay homeless.

"I hope that by deepening my understanding of the issue, I can help do my bit to help the most vulnerable on our streets."

That's amazing!

It really is inspiring what he did. 7amdilla we don't have THAT big of a problem in Kuwait--but don't be fooled there are plenty of people living in horrible conditions in Kuwait that you can help today!

Donate clothes, bags, shoes, dishes or kitchen supplies, toys, food, money...get creative and try to help those less fortunate than you!

And remember to say 7amdilah for what you have and help those in need...

To read the article click on this link

Wire Jewelry!

The other day I was wandering around cnn.com when I came across an interview with Hadassah Lau, a jewelry designer that uses wires for her pieces. I checked out her website and I fell in love with her stuff! I think she is very talented, and if you are looking for interesting one-of-a kind pieces of jewelry or an interesting gift for someone, I'd consider Hadasity Designs....Here are some pieces that I liked:







You can also purchase her pieces straight from her website....

Her website: http://www.hadasity.com

Her blog: http://www.hadasity.blogspot.com/

R.I.P Britney Murphy

I can not express how shocked I was yesterday morning when I heard of the death of Britney Murphy! I absolutely loved her! She was so talented and sweet and beautiful and waay too young to die :(

Rest in peace Britney :(

im here! im here!

i have been craaaaaaaaazzzy busy lately! I have been swamped at work and busy updating my portfolio + CV aaaand I've just started painting (u guys will get to see my first piece when I finish it--yaaay im so excited)!

But now I'm going to try a bit harder to stick to my blog duties!

VAN BUUREN

I LOVE THIS SONG!

and I have to say it---IT MAKES ME WANNA DAAAAAANCE!

hmmmm :s

does anyone else find the name of this burger joint as politically incorrect?