That's Why One Should Be Happy They Weren't Born to be Chickens

The knitwear will be donated to Little Hen Rescue in Norwich, a not-for-profit organisation which re-homes the hens.

Battery hens, which are not bred for meat, are normally sold for slaughter after one year, when they start producing fewer eggs.

The rescue centre buys them and then offers them as pets as an alternative.

Members of the knit and crochet club, which meets in the craft centre at Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre, Taunton, said they liked to help charities and organisations, and thought chicken clothes were a great idea.

Read on here.

Balancing Triple F

I realize this blog is rapidly turning into a chronicle of my wedding but maybe I'll look back a few years from now and do a then and now post. I'm seriously scared of "nazar" (evil eye) so please think good thoughts for me...

I never realized how difficult it would be to balance fiance, family and friends. It's my mom's 50th birthday inshalah so I want to make it really really special for her. I got her a manicure/pedicure package from a nice salon (because I know she'd never ever splurge on herself) so I'm hoping she'll enjoy it :) and my sister and I want to make a home-made birthday cake... I'll probably do that tonight after having coffee with my lovely sis-in-law (and chaperon) and fiance... When love come in through the door, sleep flies out of the window... I agree with Specs about looking like a druggie.

I know this sounds cheesy (ok, it is cheesy) but I really like this quote from Dr. Seuss:

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."

Awww... :P And my baby sister goes, "Ewwww... Apa ko kya ho gaya hai (what's happened to my sister?)"

Superficiality

I think I'm getting too caught up in the whole wedding planning thing... I do think it's seriously over-rated. I know you (usually) only get married once and it's a big day and all that but honestly, our culture blows it out of proportion... so much so, that I'm focusing more on getting the cutlery and music right than figuring out post-married life.

So 4 other colleagues at the workplace are also getting married this summer! Except no one's marrying someone from the same organization :P. You know what's ironic? My best friend's nikkah/rukhsati is on the same day as my valima... :S and we'll be in the same hotel in different rooms... life can be interesting. I'm thinking, I'll text her during the wedding to keep myself entertained and my fiance's probably going to be checking fb on his blackberry :p.

I'm hoping and praying I don't turn into a desi wife obsessing about Bunto Kazmi's creations and Faiza Samee's couture and Junaid Jamshed's lawn exhibition and I really really hope no one gets me trays from Taneez :P...

Oh and fiance dear is bent on making me fat with mithai from Butt sweets (lol!) and Nan Khatai (yummy!) and lots of chocolaty goodies... I'd be happy with sugar-free chewing gum.. (haha, not really :)).

Keep praying for me dears... God bless!

The Departed

Our cat got sent away :'(. She had her third set of kittens in the year 2009 and we basically couldn't house them. My mom was scared she'd run them over with the care so our chowkidar put them in a basket with their mother and dropped them off at a fish shop. Reminded me of Hansel and Gretel... without the happy ending :(

Ana Mashghoolah Jiddan!

I used to wonder why my friends suddenly dropped off the face of the earth once they got engaged/married... I can sort of relate now :p. Still, I'm trying to maintain that balance in my life and spend time with my family and friends so they don't feel alienated because of the new "guy" but my baby sister gets upset because I lock my door when I'm on the phone... :(

I get freak attacks every now and then... I mean, I am alhamdulilah very very content with my life and I don't know if I'm ready for the upheaval that's sure to follow the *ahem* wedding. I love my privacy, I'm obsessive compulsive about cleanliness and call me spoiled but I really really don't like sharing :p. Like, after a friend borrows a brush, I won't use it until I've washed it with warm soapy water and if someone drinks from my glass, I won't finish what's in it... yeah, I'm weird like that.

I'm also gaining weight with all the eating out these days... :s

Goal weight: 120 lbs by June inshallah

Action: walking? hopefully...

P.S. How do you justify spending a lakh on a wedding dress when you could feed 10,000 hungry people with that kind of money?

Lost in Translation

I don't speak a word of Punjabi and the elders in my fiance's family speak only Punjabi and they speak really fast. So during my conversations with his family, I use "jee" (yes) a lot. I thought his aunt was asking about my brother's wife and I was quick to respond that my brother isn't married... Turns out she was asking me how I'm liking work these days :p.

All the Punjabi I know, I picked up from Bollywood and Sukhbir... think it'll work for the in-laws :) ?

Anyway, so I've officially started "wedding shopping". This basically means purchasing an entire trousseau so I'll never have to go shopping for clothes again :p. I tried in vain to explain to my mom that I'll buy clothes when the need arises but she just responded with a "look". So I now have everything from chiffons and silk to lace and jamavar... I hope I don't sound ungrateful but I do think it's a waste... and who knows, we might all be wearing polymers ten years down the line... I also have a saree from my mom's trousseau which she never got a chance to wear :S.

I'm also thinking of starting a "SAY NO TO GOLD" campaign... unless you've got loads and loads of spare cash lying around or happen to be marrying him.

So dears, please pray that this works out for us inshalah... Aunties love creeping me out with a load of negative comments. Oh and feel free to offer advice, okthanxbye!

Too Close for Comfort...

Sharjah: A shocking trend is sweeping across educational institutions in the UAE. It’s called same-sex relationships and it’s worrying officials and parents no end.
A number of students, school employees and others confided in XPRESS that inappropriate intimacy among girls is on the rise on campuses.

“They sit intimately close and touch each other inappropriately,” said Umm Rawan, an employee at the Sharjah University for Women (UOS).

The Emirati woman also had to deal with the demon on a personal level recently – first when her 16-year-old daughter fell for an Indian girl and then when her teenage son started receiving overtures from homosexual male students. Umm Rawan lodged a complaint with the school administration. “I am a divorcee and couldn’t handle these things on my own. I feared my kids would become homosexual so I gave them in the custody of their father,” she recalls.

But Umm Rawan’s startling revelation pales in comparison to the scandalous disclosure made by a girl on Abu Dhabi TV’s Step programme some time back.
Badriya, who prefers to be addressed as Bandar (a male name), shocked television audiences across the nation when she openly spoke of her relationship with another girl, Maha, and expressed the desire to marry her and have children with her through artificial fertilisation. “I love my girlfriend and I want to have children with her,” she said on national TV, adding that she would work to support her family.

Prohibited by law

Homosexuality is prohibited in the UAE and violators face stiff punishment.

Authorities are trying to curb deviant behaviour to better reflect the traditional conservative laws of the UAE. Last year the Ministry of Social Affairs launched an awareness campaign called Excuse me, I am a Girl, directed against what was described as ‘the ‘fourth gender’.

Meant to tackle lesbianism-related issues, the campaign included a series of workshops, TV programmes and lectures at universities and schools and was run by the Sharjah Social Care Centre for Women, an affiliate of the ministry. Samira Al Shair, Security Affairs Officer, Ajman Police, who implemented the campaign at Ajman Educational Zone said lesbianism accounted for 40 per cent of the 70-80 per cent of juvenile delinquency cases reported at Ajman schools.

“I dealt with many cases, almost all of which had one thing in common – the absence of a father,” recalled Samira.

More here

The Story

So I sit approximately 10 feet away from the guy who is now my fiance. I have a tiny cubicle with a swivel chair and he has a nice little corner room with 3 chairs (2 extra for visitors). Several times a day, I pass by him to collect printouts, get water, meet with my supervisor, pray, go down to the cafeteria for lunch... and I totally ignore him :p I think he's super-frustrated but being very kind and patient with me... haha.

Being somewhat traditional ( and confused?), my parents do not allow us to meet unchaperoned (the chaperons are my parents or baby sister :))... LOL. We've both studied abroad and lived independently but, as my mom says, "log kya kahein ge?" (what will people say?!) Hai! :O. So it's an interesting situation... Even though we're trying to be totally normal about it, EVERYONE ELSE THINKS ITS A SOAP OPERA... lol. Like, in our weekly Monday morning meeting, everyone sat so that the two chairs right in the center of the table were left unoccupied so we had no choice but to sit next to one another... Now if I were on the other side (watching two other office colleagues going through it), I'd probably giggle and gossip like the others... but, I'm the one being gossiped about and giggled at behind her back :s... I hate being talked about :P

Pluses of being engaged... someone to say sweet things to you and get you flowers... LOL. Minuses... not being able to sleep at night because someone likes to call at odd times.

Also, everyone else is more excited about what they're going to wear at the mehndi and shaadi than the wedding itself... Why are we Pakistanis so superficial :P?

Affianced

Ummm, yes. It happened really suddenly but it's been exactly a month and a day since the "baat pakki" so it's slowly starting to sink in. I have decided to sign my life over to this dude who also happened to be one of my bosses (B2 from Lahore to be precise) :p. What is it about good girls falling for bad boys?

Ana... nerd kabeera jiddan, jiddan, introvert, reads 19th century English fiction (Austen novels and Barbara Cartland), has NEVER dated

Hua... ex-gangster, extrovert, listens to ghazals and speaks Punjabi, "well-seasoned"

I can't complain life isn't interesting :P