This is something I wrote on my Facebook profile that I thought would be good to document for my kids :))
25 Random facts about me, in no particular order:
1. I had a stroke 9.5 years ago, the day I came home from the hospital after having my first child, Noora. It was scary, but thankfully I recovered with minimal residual symptoms.
2. I have 4 year old B/G twins - Muhammad and Mariam.
3. Some people have told me naming my son "Muhammad" is setting him up for a rough childhood...rather, I would hope it will make him proud of his heritage and strive to correct people's negative stereotypes.
4. I moved to California in 1992 when my dad's job was transferred here. Didn't think so at the time, but it was the best move I ever made.
5. I have covered my hair in 1992 after moving to California, in Islam it's called "hijab" - aside from the modesty it signifies, for me it is an icebreaker for people who want to ask about my religion and are sometimes wary - I LOVE discussing it, it's meaning and how wrongly my religion is portrayed in mainstream American media.
6. My daughter Noora's name means "light" in Arabic. Muhammad is, as Muslim's believe, the last and final Prophet (following others such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jesus, and many others) and Mariam is the Arabic name for "Mary" (ie. the Virgin Mary)
7. I had a VERY difficult time in high school....it was hard for me to reconcile how I was raised with how I wanted to fit in....I've since learned that I wasn't the only one....
8. My mom has been battling breast cancer since September. She just had a double mastectomy last weekend, and it has been extremely rough on our entire family - but we are praying that she will be over this all soon. The hardest part has been seeing my normally STRONG mother break down...
9. My favorite color is purple.
10. I really only know how to communicate with people via email and IM - the phone for me is for emergency use only :))
11. I have recently started working out and trying to get healthy over the past year....I haven't seen any significant changes, but going to the gym for me has become my sanity check. Especially since my mom's been sick, it really is the best way for me to de-stress.
12. We sold our house last March and are trying to buy another one these days. There are ALOT of homes available, but here in CA it's difficult to get an adequate loan with the home prices so high, and banks SO scared...so we're still looking
13. Favorite foods? Depends on my mood I guess...I always love a good hamburger - for those who aren't in CA, In-N-Out is awesome...although I miss The Lion's Tap burgers in MN.
14. I'm not much of a sports person - but I love to downhill ski, and swim. Oddly enough, I didn't really learn to ski until I moved to California from MN!!
15. Plagiarising one from Rochelle...I don't know what I would do w/out my kids...they are alot of work, and often I'm tired and I complain - but they really are the light of my life.
16. I have been happily married for 14 years...
17. I am trying to raise my kids to be happy and true to themselves. Not to do things only because other people are doing them or not do something they believe in because others will disapprove. I may not always be successful, but I hope my words help them make life choices now and in the future.
18. I have learned over the years that sometimes your "friends" are just acquaintances, and true friends are sometimes where you least expect them...in fact sometimes they aren't friends at all, but family that's been there all along...
19. I have been on FB for a while now, but it's only recently that I've started appreciating the opportunity it has given me to reconnect with so many people from my past...and to establish new connections with people I barely knew before.
20. I work at Intel...have been here for almost 9 years. My job has changed alot over the past 9 years, but this year I have started programming...I like it, but it is SO frustrating sometimes.
21. I often wish I was a stay at home mom, but I realize I really don't have the energy for it. People think it's hard to work outside the home, but I beg to differ...staying home is HARD and I give props to the women who are able to do it!
22. My stroke in 1999 was a result of a genetic blood disorder that almost no doctor had heard of at the time. It was still being researched and when my blood work was sent to the lab, the technician tested for it on his own and it came back positive! There were only about 5 case studies nationwide at the time. Because of it, I was on daily blood thinner injections for my 2nd pregnancy. So grateful to the unknown technician!
23. My parents retired and moved back to Egypt a few years ago...didn't think I could survive the twins early years without their support, but I've been very lucky and thankfully they come to visit often, and we are able to visit them in the summers as well.
24. My brother is a pediatric dentist and just moved back to CA after almost 10 years..he was a dentist in the Army when the Iraq war broke out and spent the first 9 months of the war in Kuwait and Iraq - not a fun time for our family. It's so awesome having him and his family close by again.
25. I am a bit of a TV junkie, it's really my favorite way to unwind at the end of a LONG day...my DVR is my favorite thing in the house, and I have so many favorite shows..LOST, Desperate Housewives, House, Law and Order, CSI, Brothers and Sisters, Grey's Anatomy and so many others...kind of sad, really :)
26. I always wanted 3 kids, but then didn't really want any more after my stroke. I decided to have *one* more just so Noora would have a sibling...luckily God had another plan :)
