Weekend = Eyebrow Gash, Tornadoes

So Friday started out pretty slow and relaxing. I woke up at like 1:30 p.m. in the afternoon or so. Disgusting, I know... lol. Last week was exhausting though... That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

Anyways, I chilled in my pj's allll day long till about 7 p.m. when I finally headed to Dearborn and hang out with my sisters like I promised (I took a shower before I left... just fyi). I got to Dearborn, took my half-sisters out to Starbucks with my husband. That was fun. Man they are growing up. I can't believe one is turning 16 next month, and the other 15 in October. Crazy!

So we got to my mom's house, where their mom was (we're a strange ass family)... and my husband started messing around with the older sister. He stood behind the door and scared her and she screamed and pushed the door on him. Not realizing his head was right at the edge of the door... This is the result:


Ouch... lots of blood, and bruising. Today he woke up and it looks like he has light purple eyeshadow on his left eye.... eek.

Saturday was more low-key. Hanging out with Starbucks with one friend, and then moving onto Panera with another.

Today was RIDICULOUS. There were reports of a tornado hitting down in a part of Michigan (Huron Township). Kept me SUPPPERRR busy at work! Woo, I'm exhausted.


Good thing that happened this weekend. GERMANY BEAT ENGLAND IN THE WORLD CUP. I'm not really into sports...but I do watch the World Cup every four years. And I root for Germany because really, it is the closes thing to my mom's country, Austria. Culture, language wise, and location wise. So yayyyy for Germany! :)

On another note, I need to get the hell out of Michigan. LOL. My husband and I will be celebrating our one year anniversary in July, and we originally wanted to go to New York... but because of financial reasons, that ain't happening. I guess I'm stuck here for a while... which is kinda depressing. It's kinda kept me down for a few weeks now that I don't get to go see my best friends, and just go to the place I love...

Wow... My Age Is Catching Up To Me

It's day 4 of my working out and watching what I eat. So far, don't feel too much of a difference when it comes to losing weight (I don't really have a scale, so I wouldn't know anyways). But I'm basing this on how I feel in my clothes. lol. I do think, though, that my metabolism is MUCH MUCH slower than even a year ago. I guess metabolism REALLY does slow down with age.

A year ago, I could lose like 5 pounds in a 2 week period... yeahh.... NOT HAPPENING NOW.

But where I do feel the difference is my ability to do more. For instance, in the beginning my ability to do push ups and squats was a little difficult, but I've uped them each to 30 times :) I admit, there was a strong burning in my arms and thighs, but that's a GREAT THING!!!

I'm about to have a bowl of Total cereal. This past week, I've had nothing for dinner but cereal and salads. So yay for me :) I have also avoided lots of sweets. Another yay for me :) I think I need to pat myself on the shoulder now *pat pat pat*. Let's see how long it lasts.... my diet and exercise, I mean... not the pat on the shoulder :P

On another note:

This week has been very exhausting... Work has been VERY busy. Especially today. We covered an earthquake that originated in Canada (5.0 magnitude) that was felt across the state. Wow, we had lines from callers RINGING offf the hoook at our radio station. Andddd... plus side, I got to go on the Top 40 station we work with and do a report about the earthquake. Woo Hoo! That was awesome.

We also covered our former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. The man is spending time in prison already for violating his probation, and nowwww he's been indicted on 19 counts!! wow... that man is FUCKKKEEDDD.

Let's see what tomorrow brings!

Weekends Are Too Short

This weekend was a pretty good one. Kinda started out dramatic a little, but thank God that didn't last long.

I've been kinda down recently, don't know why. I guess there are just a lot of changes at my job, and people are tense, then there's always financial trouble. It kinda just adds up after a while. Oh well, I'll deal.

I went to Frankenmuth Friday and Saturday with my mom, brother, and husband. It was nice to get away from the Metro Detroit area. For those who don't know, Frankenmuth is this German town about 1.5 hours from Detroit. Very cutesie :) Here are some photos:

Turtle on Cass River (we paddled down the river)

Beautiful Hotel

Love it!

Another hotel :)

We came back Saturday and I went to my friend's brother's birthday bbq. Perffeccttt weather... Can we keep this weather please :) Thank you!

Other than that, I've been bad in keeping up with my new exercise routine. Today was the second time since my last blog... I put my ipod in my ear tonight when I got home from work, did my routine, and guess what, had a SALAD. Just some tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and avocado, with ranch dressing.

I made some tacos for my husband and was soooooooooo tempted to have some, but I refused. So since I was tempted, I had a bunch of nectarines. Now I'm full.

The thing is, I eat so late, so I'd eat a taco if it was like 6 or 7 in the evening, but 10:30 at night... woo! Way too late. lol.

So let's see how well I do with my routine and how much I stick to it over time.

Will keep you updated!

Setting A Goal!

I am sitting here at 11:17 p.m. on my couch eating a bowl of cereal as my heart races at the speed of light. Why is it racing? Well, I just exercised for the first time in like what... a year? lol. Yes, sad I know!

I've finally decided to do something about my recent weight gain... I think not fitting into my favorite American Eagle jeans is what did it. I'm not fat, and when I tell people I want to lose some weight, they laugh at me.. Not because they don't think I can, but because they don't think I need to. But when ALLLLL your clothes are a size 4, and you can barely fit half of them, we have a problem. I refuse to get new outfits.

See, I am at a weight I don't like. I just don't feel healthy. I don't know if it was birth control, or getting married, or just the unhealthy work schedule I have (I get home at 8:30 and eat late), but whatever it is I need to fix it.

I am 5 foot 6 inches, and weigh 139 pounds. A year ago to this date, I was 123. That was a little too skinny for my taste. People told me I looked like a skeleton (I was really sick for a few months). But a short time later, I started putting on the pounds. My ultimate goal is to be between 126-128. That's always been a good weight for me.

And I just feel gross. I gained weight in my butt, hips, and thighs... A litttlleee bit in my tummy area...and of course I got a bit of the love handles going on (of course the LAST place I would gain weight in is my boobs.... go figure). So when I have a problem getting my jeans over my hips, and I have to lie down to close the button and zipper, that's just bad.

So today, I came home, changed into my PJ's, looked at my husband and said ok, I'm doing a nightly routine...

Here is my goal:

At least five times a week, I will do sit ups, push ups, squats, and run in place. (When I get a little more energy, I will run for real... in place will have to do for now).

So tonight I started with 15 squats since I have pretty strong thighs from dancing. 15 sit ups, which are quite easy for me as well... 10 push ups (OMG, tonight I died at like the 4th one. My arms are the WEAKEST part of my body), and ran in place for 2 minutes.

I may have to start with woman push ups, and move onto men... cuz it wasn't working out too well for me tonight.

Slowly, as I get stronger, I will up those numbers... hopefully double, and even triple them. But I need to dedicate myself to working out. I will also eat less for dinner... so I'm not going to bed with a pretty full stomach.

I am aiming to be at 135 in one month at least. Then down to 128 or so in 2 months. So by mid August, I should have hopefully lost the weight I have gained.

ON ANOTHER NOTE:

Whoever said tattoos are addictive was soooo right. It's not even been a week since I got my first one and I already want another tattoo... I'm trying to figure out the design and location and everything.... haha. No worries though, once I do figure it out I will wait a bit before my next one.

Alright, going to lay on the couch and watch some tv before I crash for the night.

Party Time!!!

So even though I was a bit sick and off this past week, I did have an AWESOME Saturday. I hosted a Lia Sophia party. For those who don't know what Lia Sophia is, they sell beautiful jewelry (I wish I could own most of the catalog).

Anyways, I got some sweet gifts just for hosting:


A beautiful ring. I loveeee it.


And an amazing necklace. I'm wearing it to work tomorrow. Woo hoo!

I had a number of my co-workers come, as well as some good friends. Put all of us in a room, and we've got some great times.

On another note, I've been watching the World Cup and just wanted to say GO GERMANY! I don't understand why so many people here are hating on the soccer sport. It is called the WORLD Cup. And unfortunately, I don't think the game/sport is appreciated enough. It's the only sport where 32 nations come together for one reason....

I think this video says it all.

On that note, good night everyone.

MY FIRST TATTOO!!!!

I had an appointment at 6:30 today, and I started feeling a little feverish, even though I was in the city of Dearborn cuz I had to pick stuff up from my mom's house. So my friend and my husband pushed me to go on with my tattoo anyways just to get it over with. I was NERVOUS as hell. And when I get nervous I get nauseas and feel like my stomach starts hurting (so much so I feel the need to use the bathroom. Gross I know.)

Anyways, I text my mom to tell her I'll be there later cuz I had a tattoo appointment. Of course she says, "I really wish you wouldn't while you're sick." Ugh, mother's intuition. Should I listen or go on with it? Finally, I convince her that I'm going thru with it, and she agrees, hesitantly.

We get to the tattoo parlor. It's pretty busy. I waited until a little after 8 to get my tattoo. I was nervous for over an hour and a half!!! SCARYYYYY.... Of course a few times I got super nervous and turned to my friend and said, you know what, I'll come back another day. And she said nope, we're here already. Fine!

Thank God there was a couple there who had many many tattoos... So we talked. They calmed my nerves.

It was finally my turn. 8:10 p.m. on Friday the 11th of June. They sat me in the chair. Put some stuff on my right foot. My friend was on my left, my husband on my right. She put the GIANT needle into the tattoo gun thingie... And told me, DON'T move, if you move, I'll mess up. Great....... That's good to know.

So I sat my foot flat down on the stool. My friend held my left hand, and my husband my right. She turns on the tattoo thing, it makes a drilling noise. She moves close to my foot... and I'm like hey, I don't feel anything!

Two seconds later... AHHHHHHHHHHH.. Painful. Felt like razorblades cutting through my foot. She stopped 2 minutes into it... and said ok, STAR ONE DOWN. Phew.

10 minutes later (and mind you, she said it would take 25-30 minutes), she looked up... wiped my foot. And said ok you're done! That's it? Really. Wow. That wasn't too bad at all. Yeah, not going to lie, it hurt like a bitch. She examines my tattoo, and then says, oops wait, I missed a spot... Haha very funny. No, she was serious. She did miss a spot. Only took 2 seconds to fill in.

Phew.. She wrapped my foot in plastic wrap. It still hurt, but I was ok...

So here is the final result!


It's kinda shiny cuz of the cream I have to keep on it.


I swear my foot isn't that fat and big. Haha.Stupid camera angle.


Yay. In my flip flop!!

Of course my mom was like "I don't like it." Eh, I guess she's just being a mom :)

Hopefully this will heal as fast as possible.

Sinus Infection... Who Would've Guessed?

Well, I finally decided to go to the doctor today and he told me that what I had was what he believed to be the "beginning stages" of a sinus infection... Even though whatever it is that I have, has been bugging me since Sunday... So either I have an amazing immune system karate chopping bacteria, or the doctor is a LIAR. lol.

So he put me on antibiotics... Lovely.

Have you noticed that doctors LOVE to put people on antibiotics? It's like the first thing they give you, even if they're not 100 percent sure what you have. No wonder everyone is immune to antibiotics and they never get better.

On another note, I have an appointment for my tattoo Friday at 6:30 p.m. I'm really nervous and almost want to chicken out. I figure since I'll be on my antibiotics, hopefully, I can't have too many problems with my tattoo.. Maybe it'll even heal faster! Ha... I wish. We'll see if I'm up to it.

The three stars on the right side of my right foot will take about 25-30 minutes and will cost me $45 bucks. Will keep you up to date on the tattoo front.

Other than that, I'm going to go take some lovely Benadryl and knock the hell out. I'm soo glad I'm off Friday and Saturday. I've had a 4-day weekend now that I think about it. Not that I was really able to enjoy every last minute of it, because I was stuck home for the most part, but at least I got to relax and be off of work. It was much needed!

A Little About Me

Since I'm at home sick, and have a little time on my hands, I thought I'd at least somewhat introduce myself a little. I know I've gone into depth about some of my life situations, but here are the basics.

My mother is Austrian, and my dad is Iraqi. Yes, I know, very strange mix. And not Austria like "kangaroos" Austria. That's Australia folks. "Down Under." This is Austria, next to Germany, near Italy. In Europe. Where Adolf Hitler, sad to say, was born.

I was born in Vienna, Austria. One of the most beautiful cities in the world. I lived there with my mom for almost 4 years, as my dad went to the U.S. to find a better job. Once he did, we moved to Florida. Now at this point, my mom had converted to Islam... She was Roman Catholic.

We moved to New York a little later, and that is where I spent 13 years of my life. Somewhere in between we moved to Philadelphia for 2 years... (my dad was a mover), and came back to New York. I LOVE IT THERE AND MISS IT IMMENSELY.

After I graduated from my Islamic private high school, I went to an all girls college for my freshman year (this was the first time in my life where I learned what pot looked and smelled like, and met my first lesbians). Yes, my friends. I was introduced to the world outside the bubble my dad LIKED to keep me in.

We moved to Michigan after my first year of college. I HATED it. New York...to Michigan. Really? And out of ALL cities in Michigan.. Dearborn!! OH...MY...LORD.. I like to call it Arab-ville. NOt that I have too much against Arabs, I mean they are HALF my people. But really? I felt like I was in the Middle East. lol. And I like diversity.

Went and studied English and Journalism at University of Michigan-Dearborn. Graduated in 2005. Taught English to high school for a year. Hated it because the school director was a SLIME ball and hit on me, even though he was married, and had his daughter in my HIGH SCHOOL CLASS.

Quit that after my first year. WORST EXPERIENCE EVER. A year later, got into a fight with my dad, he disowned me, and we moved out. A few months later I got engaged, and then later married. And here I am... lol. Working at a well-known radio station, and blogging as I drink my yummy slurpee from 7/11. :)


It's blue raspberry. Yum yum.

There... 26 years of my life compressed into a somewhat short blog :)

Now you know a little piece of me :)

Life Gets In the Way of Good Things

I like a lot of things in my life right now, including the friends I've gotten to know over the past years. When I was younger I never thought I'd STILL be making good friends at the age of 26...

But needless to say, no matter how many friends I have now, I still miss the old ones... It's weird how you can lose touch with people who were once soo close to you not long ago. Someone who knew you inside and out... who knew your deepest, darkest secrets... who used to spend every single day with you... And now, you're lucky if you talk to them once a year.

I do still keep in touch with my best friends in New York, but it's not the same. I talk to them quite often, but I miss being in the same room together. We used to say that when the three of us hung out, it didn't matter if the world was falling apart, no one, and nothing, could penetrate our little bubble that we had.

I also miss my college friends, who I still do talk to from time to time, but it's not the same... Life just gets in the way.

I miss one of my friends from my old job. The one who I used to have bon fires with, and slumber parties. Now when I see pictures of her doing those things with other people, it makes me miss those days a whole lot.

Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love the people I have in my life. And I wish I had time to balance them and others... But like I said, life --my job, marriage, and other things - take priority.

And I'm sure years from now, I will look back on today and miss the people in my life that I have right now. It's strange how life works, isn't it?

Sick of Feeling Sick

I usually don't let myself feel sorry for myself for ANYTHING...but tonight I am feeling sorry. I changed my work schedule today to have the time to go to a wedding tonight in Dearborn, and when I got to work this morning I was feeling a little iffy. Throughout the day, I felt like I was kinda getting worse...

So I drive to Dearborn after getting all my stuff ready-- my dress, my makeup, my hair stuff -- and on my way there I was still debating if I should go to the wedding cuz I was feeling sick to my stomach. I got to Dearborn either way, hoping it would wear off, and of course it didn't. I did my mom's makeup, and drove home.

Being sick today is not what upsets me... I'm not even THAT upset about missing the wedding. What makes me mad, is that I have been sick for over a year now. OVER A YEAR. I've had an endoscopy.. I've taken all kinds of pills for my stomach, I've had a sonogram, I'm taking more pills, I got off birth control already.

I still get nauseas and dizzy... and light headed.. and kinda acidy. And no freaking doctor can tell me why.. I've seen 4 doctors in a year.

As I look back, my life is so pathetic now. I was sick on my WEDDING day.. I felt like shit on my wedding... how sad is that? I never look forward to events because I think to myself, what if I get sick... what if I feel like crap and I'm far from home. I feel like I've started to contain myself to my apartment, and pass up events or opportunities because I'm not feeling good. Something needs to change. There has to be SOMETHING wrong... right?

Not that my life sucks... I'm not saying that at all. I have great friends, a good job (well, sort of), a home, a great mom and brother... But how can I enjoy it all when I feel like crap half the time???

Well, that's my rant.. and this is me feeling sorry for myself.. I try not to do it often, I promise... but today I just do. :(

Time to nap this feeling (hopefully) away.

Bringing My Dad Back Into My Life???

I've been recently considering letting my father SLOWLY into my life.... Not completely into my life, but just allow him to maybe meet my husband for the first time, and maybe see him once a month or so.

A little bit of background before I go on with this:

My dad and I have ALWAYS clashed with ideas. He's Arab, and my mom is Austrian. I grew up here in America, so I guess I am what some people call me "Liberal." And yes I'm Muslim too. I wear the scarf, and try to dress modestly (try is key word), but that wasn't enough for my father. He didn't like me talking to boys, he didn't like the clothes I wore, he didn't like my friends, and he didn't want me to continue my education after my bachelor's. Some would call him VERY traditional.

Not to add, he was VERY abusive with both my brother and I, more me, since I'm the girl. Thank God he wasn't with my mom, but he was still emotionally abusive with her.

Anyways, long story short, he wanted me to get married since I was 16 or so, and I kept finding excuses. Finally, after college, I was out of excuses.... So he starting bringing me suitors. About one or two a month. I kept rejecting them, to the point where he said 'If you say no one more time, I will disown me." Needless to say, I said no... So me, my mom, and my brother picked up our bags and moved out of his house. He didn't make it easy on us, but thank God we did it....

I stopped talking to him at that point. I never said bye to him, or anything. He still talks to my mom and brother, but not me.. I am the evil child, remember.

So recently he came back from a LONG ASS trip to Middle East, where I guess his family talked him into contacting me again... So he called me, and I never answered... What the hell was I going to say to him??? I e-mailed him and we e-mailed back and forth... Just kinda updating him on what I was doing... He was SOOOOOO nice in his e-mails, with words like "sweetheart," and then things like "I miss you," "hugs and kisses." Things he's NEVER said to me as I was growing up.I think I rarely heard the words "I love you."

So on my birthday, I got this e-mail... here is part of it:

"I want to wish you a very happy birthday and wish you happiness in your next year and the years after. I wish that I will be with you to kiss you and wish you a happy birthday baba. I miss you sweetie.

Your daddy"

WOW... I was pretty surprised at the e-mail.... So I wrote back thanks and hopefully we can meet in the near future.

I guess I still haven't really forgiven my father for everything he's done.. But like people say, I should forgive him for MYSELF... to take that burden off my back.

I AM going to wait a bit, because I need to prepare myself for this meeting. And prepare my husband who hates him because of everything he knows.

My only worry is that what if he tries to come to my events, what if he tries to be a big part of my life? But I talked to a friend today and he said that I'm controlling the situation, and I should do things as I am comfortable.

We'll see what happens. Will keep you updated on this dreaded, yet possibly much needed, meeting...