I'm Back!

I Have Been Away For Awhile

Hey everyone! I know, I haven`t posted in a long, LONG time! Well there is good reason, and lots of stuff has happened since then. Let me fill you in!

In Bangladesh

 1.  I am NOT in nursing anymore! Yep! After two years I have realized, it is not for me. It does not make me happy. I am a creative, artistic person, Alhamdulillah! I love crafting, decorating and designing (BIG post on my latest crafts to come! You will LOVE them!). Soooo, I am now doing A business course and working on completing my International Design and Decorating Professional diploma! I love it, Alhamdulillah! I was mean't to do this! I am almost done now and InshaAllah when I save up some money I will start my own design business from home. InshaAllah this will be good for me and my future family. I know that there was a reason I was first in Nursing. It was all part of Allah's plan to guide me to Islam. I was studying in Nursing the development of a baby, and it was when I read Surah Al-Mu'minun, specifically 23:(13-14), I KNEW that Islam is the truth! It was THEN I decided to revert to Islam! Seriously, EVERYTHING happens for a reason, Alhamdulillah! That same Nursing year because of two missed classes in one course I had a 0% on 40% of the course. Although I had 80's and 90's in my other courses and I did very well on the final and practicum, I couldn't pass, and was therefore a year behind. This is the main factor that caused me to rethink my future career plans. This was all in Allah's hands for sure! Thank you Allah! :)

2.  I went to Bangladesh to visit my In-Laws for a month! I got to witness Ramadan in an Islamic country! It was BEAUTIFUL and my Parents In-Law are AMAZING, MashAlllah! I love them so much! They brought us to the most stunning places! I got to pray in the Mosques there! Wow! Could have stayed there forever!

3.  I have some bad news too... Unfortunately, I don't wear the Hijab on a regular basis anymore. I can't explain it, I don't really want to explain it. I love the Hijab, don't get me wrong there, and I wear it almost every second or third days, but there are days when I go without it while still dressing modestly. My faith hasn't faded, Alhamdulillah, if anything, it is getting stronger each day. I am learning to pray five times and day and I am reading Riyad Us-Saliheen. I know this is sad news, but this is what I have decided for now. Sorry. But know that I still believe Hijab is the most beautiful!

4.  That brings me to why I stopped Blogging for a while.... I got some negative comments... I know that when you put yourself out there that there is going to be both positive and negative responses. Alhamdulillah, most are very positive and very encouraging! I want to take this time here to thank each and everyone of the bloggers who have commented! You all have left inspiring, encouraging and heart warming messages that have at times brought tears to my eyes! I want to thank you all! May Allah bless each and everyone of you! It is you all who have left encouraging comments that have made me decide to try to post more, and explain my absence. I took some of the negative ones to heart. I am and have always been extremely self conscious and have had a difficult time as a kid, feeling ugly, worthless and not good enough. I stressed over these things. I got sick, near death sick, and was hospitalized for three months. Allah, gave me a second chance. I don't want to get into that much, but I do know that through it all Allah was with me. I prayed to every night as a Christian. He lead me to Islam and InsaAllah will continue to lead me down the right path. He kept me safe through my childhood, away from Alcohol, Pork and Boyfriends, I have Faith that He is in control of my life and it is Him I rely on. Again, I thank Allah! Thank you for a second chance! So, the reason I left for a while was to avoid negative stress. But I am more confident now, Alhamdulillah. More confident in who I am as a person, and my Faith I have reverted to. :) So, I'll try to be a regular poster! Again, thanks to those who posted nice and encouraging comments! And of course THANK YOU ALLAH! :)

Alhamdulillah for EVERYTHING!

May Allah bless you all!

Baking Brownies (For the first time!)

Jum'ah Brownies

It is FRIDAY everybody! In Islam, Friday is special because we get to go to the Mosque and pray the Jum'ah Salat (prayer) and listen to the Friday Khutba (sermon). Friday is a blessed day of the week and in our house we treat it as a weekly Eid day. I usually cook a special breakfast (if time/school/work allows) and we all sit and enjoy our morning together as a family. Then everyone is out the door and gone their separate ways until we again reunite to go to the Mosque together. Their is a special, peaceful feeling that comes over me when I pray the Friday Prayer with everyone at the Mosque. It is truly beautiful! The rest of the day is family time. We then spend time together home watching movies and playing games, going for walks/hikes, or going to special places such as the movie theatre, a restaurant or shopping at the mall. Khalid and I hope to extend this family togetherness once we start our own family, to have a day of the week everyone can look forward to and cherish. 

Today, as a special Friday treat I decided to make Brownies for the first time in my life! My mom used to make them all the time when I was a kid, along with homemade bread and sugar cookies. I bake a lot, and have made many different goodies, but I have never tried brownies. So today I made my very own low-fat brownie recipe. I call them Jum'ah Brownies! I have to say they turned out amazing! The perfect in-between of fudgy and cakey, with a delicious chocolaty flavor. I will share these delightful treats with you, but don't be upset with me if you end up eating the whole batch in one day... You have been warned, they are tempting once made. ;) 

Jum'ah Brownies Recipes 

Ingredients:

3 med. - Bananas, ripe

.5 cup - Unsweetened Applesauce

1 cup - Granulated Sugar

1 cup - Brown Sugar
 4 lrg. - Eggs  

1.5 cup - Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup - Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened

1 tsp - Salt

1 cup - Milk Chocolate Chips

*Butter for greasing the pan.

*Used a 9x13 inch. pan.

Instructions:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degree.

2.Mash bananas in a small sauce pan and heat over medium heat. Once heated and mushy, add apple sauce and sugar. Stir until combined. Then add the eggs one at a time, working and stirring quickly to avoid the eggs from cooking due to the heat of the mixture. Reduce heat.

Step 2

3.Mix the flour, cocoa, salt together in a large bowl.

Step 3

4.Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
5.Add the chocolate chips to the heated banana mixture, until fully melted. 
5.Mix the heated banana mixture into the dry flour mixture until fully combined.

Step 5

6.Pour the combined mixture into the prepared pan.

Step 6

7.Bake at 350 degrees for about 28 minutes. Until toothpick is inserted and comes out dry. 

Step 7

Enjoy your Jum'ah Brownies!

This one has a homemade peanut butter-ice cream sauce. Yummy! :D
(I mixed 2 tbsp of ice cream, 50g of vanilla yogurt and 2 tbsp of peanut butter together.)