Plain Ol’ Me

December 31, 2013

By znjavid

Tomorrow is the first day of a brand new year. Tomorrow you get to become anyone in the world that you wish. Who are you? You can choose to by anyone, alive today or someone gone long ago. If you decide to stay “you” share your rationale.

If tomorrow I become

Somebody else, you see

the question I have

is who will be me?

Who will look after my home?

My husband and my son?

Without me I am sure,

They will have no fun.

But if I was to think of it

Now who would I be?

The Queen of England,

Or Angelina Jolie?

How would I manage it?

Who would I delude?

Life would be tough

With such a big brood.

Let’s just say for now,

I’m happy to be

Nobody else

Just plain ol’ me.

Daily Prompt: A Brand New You

A Good Idea

December 30, 2013

By znjavid

The best idea I’ve had is to write down some of my son’s interesting anecdotes.

You know that moment when your child does or says something cute and funny or really smart and you feel proud and happy and can’t stop laughing? A few weeks pass by and you still remember that feeling but for the life of you, you can’t remember what exactly it was that your child said.

After that happened a few times to me I decided I would start writing it down.

I wrote my son’s anecdotes in the form of a story. Then I thought “What would my son think of his own stories if I read them to him? He might find them dull if it was just text and no pictures. So why not include some pictures.” That’s when I started illustrating the stories. When I compiled them together and read them to him he wanted to hear them again and again. That got me thinking, “Other children his age would like them too, wouldn’t they?” I found a publisher on the internet and wrote to them. I sent them my work and that’s how I got it published. I didn’t want to wait for a traditional publisher who would take years to publish my work, if at all. By that time my son would be much older and the moment would be lost.

One good idea led to another. My publisher suggested I start a blog. I did. And here I am writing to you all about how it started.

My books and my blog have kept me busy. I have worked for more than 10 years in a telecom company and I am used to being busy. And now that my son is older and going to school I had some time to myself which I didn’t know how to utilize. And so my good idea solved my problem.

Most of my good ideas come to me when I’m lying in bed at night. Everything has been done for the day and my mind is free to think. That’s when some sort of brainwave pops in. And then I have trouble sleeping as I’m planning out all the details and I can’t execute them till the next morning. When I finally do go to sleep, the excitement I feel when I get up in the morning is unmatched.

Daily Prompt: Brainwave

My Year in Review

December 30, 2013

By znjavid

As the year comes to a close I’d like to take a look at some of my accomplishments and letdowns.

Nadir and the snake

Nadir and Incy Wincy Spider

I wrote, illustrated and published two children’s books. These books are based on my son Nadir’s adventures and are for children aged 3 to 6 years. I did a few book readings including one at my son’s school where I read my books to more than 100 children. I was also hoping to do a reading in a children’s hospital but was not able to mostly because of lack of effort on my own part. I hope to rectify this next year.

I started my blog at the end of July and 200+ posts later I’m quite happy with my progress. Some posts I am very proud of even if they did not get the response I had hoped, some not so much. The key to writing I am told is consistency and that definitely was there. I was nominated for several awards but am still longing for being “Freshly Pressed”.

My son turned 4 this year and by the Grace of God he has grown into quite a personality! His confidence, wit and humor never cease to amaze me. He has been my inspiration in my writing and creativity. On the other hand, as a mother what worries me are his picky eating habits and although he has made some progress this year, there is still a lot of work to be done.

My husband and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary this year. Time sure has flown by and I am looking forward to more good times.

This entire year my husband has been working in another country and commuting on weekends. This was tough but manageable. However where we didn’t notice any negative affects on my son for most of the year, I think the absence of his Dad is finally taking its toll. We are hoping that by early next year my husband will find another position/ job and we can settle down together.

Istanbul, Turkey

Salalah, Oman

Fujairah, UAE

Ras Al Khaimah, UAE

In terms of travel I made two international trips to Turkey and Oman and two national trips to Fujairah and Ras al-Khaimah, emirates in the UAE. All of these were short trips for leisure and each one was special.

Overall it was a good year for me and my family and I hope the momentum will continue next year with more good things to come.

And to all my readers, best wishes for a great New Year!

My Week in Pictures (Beach Resort)

December 29, 2013

By znjavid

We visited Ras al Khaimah, an hour’s drive from Dubai for the holidays and stayed in the beautiful Hilton Beach Resort. We got upgraded and the views from our room terrace were just gorgeous.

From sunrise to day views, sunsets to night views, each view was breathtaking.

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And of course the little guy enjoyed himself thoroughly as the beach was very nice and the hotel also had a Kids Club with many activities for the children.

Give it away?

December 28, 2013

By znjavid

You’ve just won $1 billion dollars in the local lottery. You do not have to pay tax on your winnings. How will you spend the money?

I thought about this for some time and I decided to stick to my first response. If I won cash in a lottery I would just give it away to charity. It wouldn’t feel right to keep it. After all I didn’t earn it.

Although I am not working, my husband is, and he earns enough for us to be very comfortable. I intend to stay married to him for many years to come and so with God’s Grace I don’t think we would be in a situation where money is short. So I really don’t need it and I can think of many others who do.

I normally don’t take part in lotteries and if I do it’s just for the fun of it, not that I think I will actually win something. If I won something small like an electronics item I would probably keep it. But cash is something different.

Of course first I would have to convince my husband. I know he wouldn’t be happy that I would want to just give it away. He would tell me to pay 1/10^th for my pledge and keep the rest. But like I said before I didn’t earn it so how can I keep it?

I really do believe that the more you give away the more God graces you with, and God’s Grace is much more valuable than any amount of money.

Daily Prompt: You’re a Winner!

What Nadir said (At the resort)

December 28, 2013

By znjavid

We’ve been on vacations on a beach resort the last few days and Nadir, my son has really been in his element. He would strike up a conversation with anyone and everyone he would see, from the desk manager to the housekeeping staff, the room service staff to people in the elevator and even the guy who came to fix the internet.

He was coming back from the beach and on the way he told the guy in the elevator where he had been. “The sand was very clean” he said to him, “I’m going to take it home with me.”

In the playground he was having a conversation with an older boy.

Boy: How old are you?

Nadir: I’m 7 years old. (He’s just turned 4)

Boy: Really, you’re 7 years old???

Nadir: Actually I’m 10.

At Santa’s visit to the Kids Club he wanted to go back to the room and play with the toy that Santa had given him. We, on the other hand were eager to know what Santa had said to him. After a lot of probing he said, “He gave me the present and told me to go to my room to play with it!” Smarty pants!

I recently bought him a soft toy (cat) and this has become his favorite. He calls it his pet and took it with him on the vacations. When he was leaving the hotel room to go to the beach he told his dad to look after his cat. When he came back his dad was not in the room. Later when he returned he questioned his dad, “You left my cat ALONE?” Poor Dad was at a loss for words!

He told the lady who saw us to our room at Check-In that he would like to see ‘N’ written on the hotel (instead of H for Hilton) so that the hotel would become his. He also wanted to know how much the hotel was for. The little guy has big plans!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Joy

December 27, 2013

By znjavid

We hardly get any rain in Dubai so when it rains and usually overprotective Mom let’s him play in the rain, it is the most joyous moment ever. Here is little Nadir dancing in the rain.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Joy

Knotty problems

December 27, 2013

By znjavid

What would a knotty problem be for a 2 year old? Read on..

My son learnt numbers before he understood colors. He was just two. This post is from his point of view.

I love numbers. I can say the numbers from 1 to 10 in the correct order. I know what they look like. I have a Mickey Mouse bag with all the numbers jumbled up and I can point out the correct number when asked. I like playing that game.

What do numbers mean? I don’t know THAT. At least not yet.

There’s something that my Mama keeps trying to tell me and I don’t understand. She points to an orange and says “orange”, that’s fine, but then she points to other things and calls them orange too. I don’t get it. And then “a blue ball” “a blue rattle”. What could be common between a ball and a rattle? They are completely different. A ball is much more fun. Sure, a rattle makes noise but that’s all it can do. You can’t chase after it. So what does blue mean?

And then there’s green grass and a green hose. I can see that there is a connection between the two. A hose is used to water the grass. And then when the hose is lying in the grass you can’t see it. Because they look similar.

They look similar. Wait a minute. Is that what it means? Mama keeps talking about colors. Is that what a color is? The color green. They are both the same color. Is that it? Yes it is. Oh this is great! And that’s what was common between the ball and the rattle. They are both of the color blue. But what’s the deal about the orange. Can it be that what I eat is an orange and the color is orange too? Yes that’s it!

Oh, I love colors! More than numbers.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/12/27/prompt-clarity/

Friday Fictioneers: The Giant

December 26, 2013

By znjavid

For all of his life she remembered her son towering over the others.

“Your son is a giant!” people would tell her. As if she didn’t know. She was forever struggling to find his correct size of clothes and shoes. But he was her favorite child. She said he had a heart of gold, forever ready to give to others.

And so it was no surprise that even in his death he thought of only others. He had given instructions to donate his heart and then be cremated. He thought it would be a problem for them to find a coffin his size.

This post has been written for the Friday Fictioneers.

http://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2013/12/26/27-december-2013/

Great views, empty stomach

December 26, 2013

By znjavid

Today I’m at a beautiful beach resort with my family. We’ve been upgraded to a suite with the most gorgeous views I’ve ever seen. The weather is lovely, a bit chilly, but not uncomfortable yet.

Should be perfect, right? Read on.

I just ordered a cheese pizza in room service for my son. I wanted him to eat before he went for his story telling session at the Kids Club. This is something he likes but this time he decides he doesn’t like the cheese on the pizza and he just wants the bread. So in order to get something into his stomach I’m trying to remove the cheese and give him the bread. And do you know how hard it is to remove the cheese from a cheese pizza?

You know what? I would easily trade in those views if my son would just eat whatever is available. If you’re a parent of a picky eater you would understand what I mean. Seriously.

For me a perfect day would be for us to be out somewhere nice and for my son to eat his food.

On a lighter note my son told the desk manager ” You should put an N (for Nadir) on the hotel so that it becomes mine!”

Ps: I apologize for any formatting mistakes as I’m posting from my phone.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/12/25/prompt-best-day-ever/