Iftar with Friends

Usually in Ramadan we are overwhelmed with invites to gather and spend iftar or suhoor with our friends or other families in the community. This year is a bit different though since we have been sick multiple times and have exams and other work obligations. We did get an invite we couldn’t turn down, though….

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Treat bags

A really neat thing happened this year. The three Abrahamic religions had an overlapping festive season. Ramadan for Muslims, Pesach for Jews, and Easter for Christians all overlapped and happened at the same time. Ramadan is the longest of these, lasting for 30 days. At the end of Ramadan, we get to celebrate Eid-Al-Fitr. Every…

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SOTM

Sometimes when you aren’t born into a religion, you really feel like you’re messing everything up. There have been many times where I feel stupid, like I don’t know what I am doing, and even like I don’t belong. It’s really difficult to cope with at times. True, I did marry into a muslim family…

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Halfway there

Last year I tried to incorporate as much media as I could find about Ramadan since it was the kids first Ramadan outside of KSA. One favorite we found was Ramadan Moon by Yusuf Islam which says “Now it’s time again for Eid, Ramadan ran with speed.” I feel that so hard. I cannot believe…

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cattitude

Salaam everyone! Today I come bearing a somewhat fun story. It happened a while ago, but I still laugh when I remember it. On this particular night about two years ago, we found ourselves child-free for the evening as our daughter was visiting her family, meaning we had time to do whatever we wanted My…

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Apple Juice

Ya know, I’m finally coming to realize some days in Ramadan are much smoother than others. Some days we pull out the traditional garb and cook up an entire feast, or we go to visit our friends or spend time in the masjid. Other days, however, we sit alone in the Aldi parking lot and…

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Lulu

As many of you know, it’s Mamdouhs first Ramadan outside of Saudi. He was unsure of what to expect but was definitely stressed because the fasting times are much longer here than there. While they’re breaking their fasts around 6, we’re waiting til closer to 8. I know two hours doesn’t sound like a huge…

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Warag eneb

Moving from a hugely diverse area like Riyadh to a small, largely homogeneous area like WV hasn’t been the easiest transition. True, I grew up here and am thankful that I blend in; however, it doesn’t stop me from worrying about my children and husband. Is there enough positive representation of other races here? Do…

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Trial and error

Ramadan this year looks a little different for Mamdouh- it’s his first Ramadan outside of Saudi and away from his family. If you know me you probably already know that I am obsessed with that man, and want nothing more than for him to be happy here even though I know this is probably a…

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رمضان مبارك

Recently while scrolling through my phone to find a photo a took a while ago I stumbled across photos from last Ramadan. It was a bit jarring to think that it’s already been an entire year because it feels like it just happened yesterday and now we are in Ramadan again. (And here I am…

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Throwback Thursday: Saudi Surprise

When Mamdouh and I first got married, we took a short trip to Egypt. It was the first time we had visited, so we wanted to see and do everything. We booked a boat cruise on the Nile River. Mamdouh was excited because the boat we were on had the Saudi flag.