the media

Yesterday, at a gathering of people, I met someone who was said he was aligned with neither the Republicans nor the Democrats, but that from his unbiased point of view, he thought the media was slanted towards the liberal side! I never thought I'd meet any one of those specimens! I laughed a little, and we talked a bit about it, then agreed to disagree. And then we talked a bit about the moral fabric of society falling apart and what that meant, which was not something I was worried about, we decided to avoid topics like that forever more. More than agreeing to disagree, we figured it was safer to avoid it altogether. He actually thought that the news anchors pushed people to bring up points that worked against the conservatives! Wow.

imans' ramadan

Happy Ramadan for all of you out there! Today was the first day of Ramadan (in the US and the UAE and some other parts). Here is a picture that Iman drew for Ramadan- you see the crescent moon (the symbol of Islam) in the sky and in the window (they have a moon with lights (like Christmas lights) in their window). The only thing I don't know is who the third kid is! The picture was scanned in, which is why it is cut off at the bottom (I think).

First day of fasting. Sunset around here is about 7pm. It was easier in the past years because sunset (when you can break the fast) was earlier due to switching back the clocks. I think this year is the first year in a while where we're in the longer time.

I made stuffed grape leaves and went to a friend's for some hors d'oeuvres. And so I had a lot of nice food, but nothing very Ramadan-specific. I will make some stuff tomorrow, I think, to get into the spirit of Ramadan. Some lentil soup- that's one of the key things. It's no fun though fasting while everyone else is going about their normal routine- then you just feel like it's a test. When everyone else is fasting, you feel like part of the community, and then everyone's in it together. Maybe I need to invite people over for iftar (breakfast).

Here's Iman, looking more grown up. She's modeling an outfit she's wearing to a relative's wedding, and she had all of these poses stored in her. She was modeling, most likely after those girls on tv commercials. Still, rather surprising. She's a beauty.

Rawan

So many cute things to see here. Look at that hair! Just like her aunt's. And then we are playing Pretty Pretty Princess, where as you land on the different squares, you get to put on another piece of jewelry. That's a girls' game if there was ever one! But fear not, these girls will not be too girlie- they are surrounded by women who were not ever girlie girls. So, I'm actually glad they are enjoying being girls without thinking too hard about it. But then again, Rawan's only three. There's plenty of time to come up with personal philosophies about who she wants to be.

On the wall behind her are the picures that Iman, mostly, has drawn And they get taped up all over this room. The family room, as it should be.  

confessions

After reading Confessions of an Economic Hitman, I can't stop bringing it up in all sorts of conversations. I knew of the general things discussed here, knew more about the details of things that happened in the Middle East, but it's still very different to have it validated in a book by someone who was directly involved. How much more evidence can you ask for? I think everyone should read it!! Seriously.

I don't talk a lot about my own life events here, partly because they are not so exciting. But also because there are so many aspects to my life, as there are to most, and all of the sides don't get shared with many people. Just the normal thing- I know people in different settings, we talk about certain things, and not everyone brings out the same side. I remember in grad school, my friend Lucia would ask me what I was doing all weekend on my own- she thought I had a secret life. It wasn't a secret, but that's the way it is.

Anyway, it was also pointed out that I don't have a lot of photos on the blog. So, here are some great niece photos!