Greetings from the Netherland!!!

just touching base with you guys.


xoxox

What I missed in London and will miss.

I came back from Africa last Septembar and London was in a state of self induced excitement about all sort of things,. In Africa we are not use to that and to be honest we can't be asked to go all hoohaa about nothing.

However, I missed all this excitement and enthusiasam for basically a night out or a good show.
Since, I came back , I made my mission to see all that I could see in London, Though my biggest regret will always be missing the fiiri bandhiga, The Somali entrepreneurs Show that was organized by the Ciyow siblings. I was planning and planning and just planning to buy the ticket and never did, not sure what happen there, I seem to be over planning things that I never flow through. My lost.
I heard it was amazing. If you don't know what I am talking about then check it out, here is the link.

http://www.fiiribandhiga.com/ or check the small clips that introduce and explain it at Youtube and search for Asli Ciyow.

I also missed Aar maanta and Hudeida( More of a Hudeida fan, though I love aar's music) playing at Hammersmith. In my diffence I was working that night but really I should've taken the night off and went,. Never mind, hope they play again soon.

For  compensation to  myself for the failure to see these major Somali events I went all gaga for westend Shows, started with Billy Elliot and ended with The Wicked.
all great shows, next on my list is The swan lake which I will be seeing december the 14th.

all in all this season started great for me, entertainment wise, and this is one of the things that I will miss about London. Greatest city on earth and it only took me a decate to realize that.


 

Me again.

It been a while since my last visit here, and a lot has changed with me, all good.

Job front, I handed my resignation letter the beginning of this month so, my last day at work will be the 28th of nov. then I will be free as a bird, No job no ties to the UK(exept for family) and will be going to join my husband on the other end of the world. first Africa then China.

                                                  I guess, the Blog title will make sense..






 

HAPPY CAMPER.

It has been so long since i updated, it is good to sit down and write few lines.
Alhamdullilaah all aspects of life has been awesome, some dept more so than the others.

Blessed to have a family that supports me in all my endovours, even the ones that they deem to be risky.

happy and content.



 

BOREDOM IN EAST AFRICA!

East Africa specially Kenya's capital Nairobi is quite hip and happening, however when you are new to the place and you don't know the people or the language it becomes very hard and quite boring to be in.  To top it we have been without electricity for couple of days.

There has been some sort of lightning that damaged the main electricity connector in our area so that meant that with no electricity there is no hot water and that itself means no washing your hair or styling it.

If that wasn't  enough, we (me and hubby) had the runner, probably it is something we ate, but it is no fun.

we been at home the last two days with no TV , no computer and our phone run out of battery so no calls, thus meaning i couldn't complain to my sister, hence the fact that i am airing myself here.

Sorry about this entree..

Ethiopian airline and The over-planner.

I have been planning for this trip for months now as you can read from my previous blogs, nothing was left to chances, from chosen luggage to in-flight beauty.

After all the planning, the day of my flight fom London to Nairobi  has been booked with Ethiopian airline as it was the only airline that was cheap enough for me to have open(1yr) ticket. So my flight itinerary changed from London - Nairobi to London-Addis then from Addis-Nairobi.

the day off the flight, I finish work at 7 am London time as i was working nights and did not sleep, went to the hairdresser to the Henna lady to Waxing and all things beauty, after all I am going to meet my Hubby after a year long separation.

The flight was scheduled for a 8 pm take off, we were to be boarded by 7 pm and had to be at the airport by 5 pm. after checking my luggage and then going through security, I should say sailing through security, (that is what you get for over planning), I bought a bottle of water and then went for a meal. Had the most expensive sandwich of all times.

boarded the aircraft that was as old as possible and found myself at the very end of the aircraft on the middle row with seats that don't recline, i was getting angry until I found out that I was the only one on that row and i had the whole 3 seater for myself,YIPPY.

All went as I planned, did my in-flight beauty regime and then drank the whole 75ml bottle of water , used the WC and then informed the Hostesses that i did not wanted to be disturbed for meals, after a 1 herbal sleeping aid , i slept like a log and only woke up for the landing, again re done my in-flight beauty and morning routing and was ready to face Addis abeba Bole international Airport.

Holly cow, this is no Inter-flippin-national Airport, more like airline hanger/warehouse. ground staff are so rude, it is impossible not to get angry. Duty free zone is a joke to African Airports,Ordered tea at a coffe house that had insects on the table, Cloude 9 that is to be the exclusive lounge was a joke and i still think that there was some sort of jokeinvolved, they must be taking the mickey, as this is no International Airport.
tried to take pictures but security stepped in, so no pics. The one thing that i really like is the way their security team is doing the job to the letter. that is brilliant in this day and age it is a must.

after 3hr transit that went from shock to the system to surrealism, i boarded my flight from Addis to Nairobi.

I heard a lot of negative things from Kenyan airport but it was amazing, the airport itself was a makeshift kinda thing as the main airport was under contraction after the fire, however, Kenyans are so friendly and smiling all the time that you forger abut the whole make shift airport thing and the cherry on the cake was when I reached  immigration there was a mural ad for safari-com and it had a painting of a Somali man  wearing somali traditional clothes , underneath it just said (THE SOMALI) and  that sold Nairobi to me..

 I fell in love.

to be continued.....


PS: any spelling error is do to the fact that i am using my Kindle to write and it is tuned in Italian, Appologies.

SURVIVING THE LONG HAUL FLIGHT.

If you are like me and travel quite a bit, you probably know this and understand where it is coming from. However if you are new to long haul flights and maybe not new but one of those slaggish flyers you need to understand the importance of having this check list.

1: make sure you wear comfortable clothes preferably cotton.

2: Water Water Water, can't recommand enough of this, you need to hydrate while inflight as the cabin air is drier than your skin is use to, thus leaving your skin quite dry and ashy. once you are through airport security try to buy a bottle of water (expensive I know but it is worth it).

3: This applies to you if you are a female: Remove all make up the minute you get seated. follow your  usual beauty regime that you do at night time and this time emphasize on Hydration, use hydrating mask to regenerate your skin for the duration of the flight , if you could re-do the whole regime one more time after 4 hours that is good if not one time is enough. also for a good measure bring a long  baby wipes  as you will need it to wash your face and clean your hands with it.

4:  To avoid  red eyes,  tiresness, headache and all that comes with jetlag, you need to sleep. Try to take with you over the counter sleeping aid like Nytol Herbal and get your self some sleep, However for this to happen you need the following: eye mask,neck pillow and silicon aerplugs for a comfortable sleep in the air.

Have a good Flight.

 

AFRICAN ADVENTURE!!!

My big African Adventure is getting closer and closer one month and few days to go.
All is set from my end, did even my packing as i am so excited to be going on this trip.

The expectation  is that this will be one of these adventures out of Wilburn Smith pages with all the dramatic views of the African Savannah. God only knows if that exists but I am determined to get to the bottom of this and find my own little Savannah Heaven. If savannah heaven is a bit too much then it will be a indian ocean heaven .



 

PLEASING MY INNER NOMAD!

I have been in one place for far too long and I am feeling the need to move about, I have been nesting for the whole of 2013 as much as I like to stay put, I like even more to  move about and see what the world looks like according to other cultures.

I am starting to travel in two month time and will be gone for the better part of this year, this is getting me so excited. since I will be on the road/sky soon I started to sort my travel essentials out. you know Money,visa(not the card but the country entry one) and Vaccines. Well money is OK as i had a whole year to save for this, visa sorted, Vaccine all fine just need a boost for Heb-b all the others I am OK as i had them 2011 and they will last till 2020. Now, to the most important bit after money and documents, I personally think luggage is the next thing you should tackle.

 I have been using the same luggage for a long time and although I like it because it can take a lot , which is essential especially when you are travelling from a shopping heaven like Dubai,  it has become too big and old.
 The time to modernize and minimize my luggage has come,So meet the future Mrs Sheekh's luggage;

and with it the best organizational packing cubes:

and my traveling days of "I can't find my scarf or flip flops" are over, everything has a place and I am so delighted.
I was quite a happy messy traveler  until I met, OK not exactly met but saw a video about a travel essentials and fell in love with the idea of travelling light and smart. The presenter a lady called Sonia is a traveler that  has this travel channel on YouTube with loads of excellent idea's.

Here is one of her Videos, the one that got me thinking " Do I need all that scarves".








Well thanks to her my 2014 adventure will be light and smart.

                                          Happy new year

 

 

 

happy new year to all. Last year 2013 was quite eventful and busy work wise and private life front was a bit too quite. Hope this year to be a good year for all of us but especially for me.

 

I am not asking fire work as i am not the fire work and drumms kind of girl but hoping for it to be fruitful in family life and to be able to do the things that i like the most with out worrying.

 

Enjoy life and stay health.

Can't Blog.

This is really the most crazy time of my life. I would like to blog but can't blog as all i have seen,talked and dreamed about is things or thing in this case i can not blog about.

So, Cheers to silence.

FIT MAD!

Recently i stated doing insanity and let me tell you it is INSANE. I sweat and cry and past out on the floor( in my own pool of sweat) at the same time it is fun,fun,fun.

Honestly, who knew that I would be one of those fitness crazy people. I am loving it, So far lost 20lp and it is my first month.

 I have to say that it is not easy, as I work night shift and this programme does requare a bit of planning. you have to plan your meals as you will be eating 5 times a day or in my case a night and there is 45 min intense workout which I heard in month two will be 60min and even harder.

Next week will be my recovery week before i start month two.

I will update you next week if i am still standing.

 

Contemplating Insanity Workout.

I honestly am fed up with it all, Here is Ramadan and i am fasting and all, but instead of losing weight, I am gaining weight. What the heck, who gains weight in a fasting period, seriously!
I must been pigging out because i have gain about 10lb in a matter of what 22 days. I never been so angry in my life.

There is nothing i can do about it in the middle of Ramadan but came EID and i am definitely going on a workout journey, INSANITY to be precise. Never done it before but I  think it would be what i need to kick some arse ( If all the raving online reviews are anything to go by).

I will repost when i start the workout to let you know, how i am getting on.

Has any of you done Insanity, if so, what was it like and did you actually tone up, lose weight or is it all a big Lie?

HOW (NOT) TO GO BROKE IN RAMADAN TIPS NEEDED!

Lets face it money matters, whether we like it or not, specially in Ramadan.
This is the month we suppose to be denouncing worldly possessions and all. Ascetism my food, money does matter.For me ,it is turning to be the most worldly and most expensive month of all year. So far, I have spent more than ussual on food (fasting month) and we barely started, we have a long way to go and the eid expenditure is waiting, you know, the new Abaya, Jelaba, Maxi dress or toiler made long dress which ever you go for  will be as expensive as ever.

This is not limited to me, it is the same throughout the whole Muslim world. I am not sure if it is the exquisite Samosas and dates that we seem to be eating this month, but Ramadan is turning in to feast and extravaganza bonanza to all of us. We are trying to pray more and donate more and be nicer and be hollier than ussual and we are to some extent but we are turned to be more materialistic than ussual.  this is having a bad effect on our bank accounts,. I am sure that my bank manager (not sure if I have one) is as i wrote this having a mini financial crises and it is the same to all bank managers that deal with muslim account holders.

I did not even notice what was happening untill my bank send me an e-mail offering me a financial support as i seem to be mismanaging my account ( obviously they used a different word rather than mismanage, but it had the same meaning) and they,the bank, could help me manage my money easily, not that i have a lot to manage but it seems that every litle helps in the bankers world.

after this litle rant, wish one had some tips to part with but one has none. so, if you have any tips of :

HOW NOT TO GO BROKE IN RAMADAN. please let me know.

 

                           RAMADAN KAREEM TO ALL MUSLIMS IN THE WORLD! 

Good and bad Changes.

Hello me back After a long time, about a year since I blogged. A lot happen since then. I got Married and started a new job (not a new job but a new shift ,the graveyard shift).

The good change in my life is the fact that i met and married my husband, a great guy that i met in Dubai while in vacation, in my opinion The best vacation ever.

The bad change in my life, I am now working night shifts (known a the graveyard shift,for obvious reasons) and we still live a part , he is in Dubai and i am in London.

How do the good influence the bad: well, regardless of how tired and sleepy I'm , I am always upbeat about everything,as I am happy and in love as someone can be.

Now how does the bad effect the good, as much as i would like to play the newlywed,love struck woman, I am constantly missing him and keep missing his calls (really mean missing calls) when he calls, I am either sleeping or working.

I am not going to keep you read my laments, so,  folks wish me luck. This blog is gonna get lively I recon, since I am using it as an outlet to my frustration. Lol.



 

HELLO WORLD. WELCOME TO LONDON AND MAY THE SOMALI TEAM KICK ASS!!!!

AMEN!!!

http://xawaash.com/?cat=8

This is where i get my Somali food fix. I guess you could say I a addicted to it.

Here is The Xawaash team making another classic from my childhood.. may Allaah reward you guys for the great job..

they interoduce(or should i say re-introduce) Somali food to me, and the delights long forgotten from my beloved country. again thank you guys.

Surah Raxman by sheikh Abdul Basit Allah yarhama!!!

Ramadan Kareem!!!

Well, it is official, Ramadan starts tomorrow, Friday the 20th of july. may this ramadan bring peace to the world and may we all have good taqwa.


Glorified is the Owner of the Kingdom of the earth and the heavens; Glorified is the Possessor of Honour and Magnificence and Awe, and Power and Greatness and Omnipotence
Glorified is the Sovereign, the Living, Who does neither sleep nor die
O all Glorious, All Holy one, Our lord and the Lord of the Angels, And the soul.
There is no God but You, Forgive us, Grant us Paradise, and save us from (hell) fire.

ameen ya allaah!!!