Ten Things

Well, you tagged me, Amber, so I hope I do this right. : P

10. When I was a kid, I believed that my mom (who is adopted) was switched at the hospital with my grandmother's "real" baby. I don't know where I got that idea, but I've been told that there were news stories about two girls switched at birth a few years back, and I guess that's where I got mixed up. The real story was that my grandmother and her then-husband couldn't have children, so they adopted.

9. For my junior English paper in high school, I wrote about Joan of Arc. The requirement was 5,000 words, but I ended up with over 10,000. My teacher gave me an "A" after reading only half of it.

8. I hate most vegetables, a lot of fruits, and coffee and seafood (of ALL kinds) make me sick. I actually tried to go vegan, but that's hard to do when you won't eat most of the foods you're left with. : P

7. I enlisted in the Army for 5 years, but have done a little over four. Signing for more than four was the biggest mistake of my life.

6. I love books. It's really an addiction. My best friend owns her own used book store, and I can't walk in there without finding at least one book.

5. Continuing with books... I have four bookcases, but I'm planning to get a great bookshelf system from the IKEA website that will hold my thousands of books.

4. I have four cats. Yes, I'm something of a cat lady, and proud of it.

3. My couch (a bright pink and orange checkered vintage Sealy sleeper sofa) cost me $30 at the Goodwill. In fact, most of my furniture has come from Goodwill.

2. I am a thrift store addict. They have the coolest goodies. : )

1. I have a weird habit of getting into cleaning, doing laundry, dishes, etc, at late times of the night when I have to get up for PT (exercise) at 4:15 a.m.

Just a few more days!

The countdown is on! By this time next week, I'll be able to wear hijab/niqab full-time! I'm so excited about it.

I'm also very excited to see that there are some new people following my blog. Hello to you all!

And I got that adorable pink khimar with attached niqab from eBay (as you can see in the photo above). It's very comfy, and has some awesome air circulation, so I don't get too hot, even with niqab in 103-degree weather. *sweats just thinking about it* The only downside is that one side opens, so I either have to pin it shut, or I have to wear a hijab underneath. *sigh*

How are all of you doing? Anything interesting going on in your lives?

Interesting comparison, and good news!

Look at this photo. What do you see? Two women. One an American soldier, the other (I'm presuming) an Iraqi.

But look at how they're dressed! The uniform of the female soldier covers nearly as much as the hijab and abaya of the Iraqi lady. The soldier's jacket and trousers are loose-fitting, and she's wearing the Kevlar and body armor, which effectively covers her "female attributes". It's almost hijab-like. I pointed that out to a coworker a few weeks back when I saw a cartoon with a female soldier in full battle rattle (helmet, body armor, etc) on one panel, and a Muslim woman wearing hijab, niqab and abaya in the other. I wish I could've found the original cartoon, but I don't even recall what series it was from. Probably some military one like "Pvt. Murphy's Law" (which I love...it's so true!).

Looking at the uniform that way...how can people criticize hijab? There's not much difference!

In other news....I'll be able to wear hijab and niqab full-time in just a few more days! I'm so excited. ^_^

How are all (3) of you doing?

Hot, hot, hot

It is soooo hot here. Another lovely day of 105 and high humidity. *sigh* I'm really looking forward to cooler weather in a few months. Wearing niqab in this heat is pretty difficult, but I'll keep at it!



I found a couple of great sites today. http://www.muhajabah.com/ has a lot of good reading, and a huge section on niqab --- unfortunately some of the most interesting links don't work. I guess I need to send them an e-mail and let them know.



The other is http://www.modestclothes.com/. They have a file of patterns so that you can make, among other things, your own niqab and a couple of simple types of abaya. I'm going to print out the niqab one and try making my own.



I was browsing on eBay -- my favorite site for shopping! -- and a seller (unique_hijabs) was offering these one-piece khimar hijab/niqab. The niqab is attached, and you just move it up or down, depending on whether you want the niqab part or just a khimar hijab. The pink ones are cute! The only bad part is that they're polyester... I'd love one in the same soft cotton fabric as the two-piece al-Amira hijab sold on hijabgirl.com. But I can't find cotton fabric like that in any of the fabric stores here.



Which leads me to another topic: what sorts of fabric to use for making niqab (and abaya, for that matter)? I've read that a gauzy fabric is best, but I can't find that, either. Most of the types I find are too thick (especially for summer weather), or they're too sheer. I did find a couple of fabric remnants -- one black lace and the other hot pink polyester -- that I think will make a cute niqab together. I want to make my own abayas, too, but I can't seem to find a good fabric. Most are too thin, or too heavy.



At least hijab will be easier in the winter....