Yippee!

I am much better, alhamdulillah!

And I was looking through the bazillion pictures on the computer and found some I wanted to post on the good ol' blog (cause I have nowhere else to put them but don't want to just delete them).

Islamic Society of Tulsa: OCCJ Teen Trialogue Series
For the last few years, IST has been the first stop on the tour that takes Tulsa teens to many different houses of worship. A project designed to help teens gain understanding and respect for other teens with different cultures and religions. The first picture is of some of the first arrivals. Below is one of my favorite pics of girls donning the headscarf (or trying to do so) while at the Masjid. Although we do not make in mandatory for visitors to wear a headscarf, we do ask that they dress modestly. However many women and girls want to attempt to 'feel' our religious culture.

Another of my favorite pics is this one of my brother and his friend leaving the Masjid after helping out with the event. A successful event at IST; it seemed the blessings of Allah came down just as the sun's rays are seen at the minaret.

Way back in April (I think) I visited Oklahoma City for a workshop. While there I noticed the city was littered with....BUFFALO!
I don't quite know why, but everywhere you go there is a large sculptured buffalo with different paint jobs (some were pretty cool---check out the UPS buffalo!).

I'm assuming that it is something like the sculptured penguins sold to benefit the zoo that we've got in Tulsa, just not anywhere near as cute.

But the coolest part about OKC was visiting Masjid An-Nasr after much needed renovation. Masha'Allah it looked awesome! Can't wait to see the finished product and spend the weekend out there for the 3rd annual Sisters Lock-In (can you believe it's been 3 years??? insha'Allah we'll be able to do it for many more--including this one!). One aspect of the new section at their Masjid that was totally grand, was the faux stained glass window created by a sister. Check it out. May Allah reward her.
(from the inside at night)
(from the outside during the day)

And now, do you remember way back when I said Nadrine and I were like this cool tree? Remember when I said that I would go take pics of it the next day? Well, I did. I just didn't post them. :) Obelisque, these are for you.
With the regular green trees all around, you can see how majestic, unique it is. It has this reddish tint but is really made of many colors when studied.

Looking from the inside out was amazing. When I went to take the pics, I climbed the tree and took pictures of leaves from the inside. SubhanAllah, this tree just holds my attention and makes me realize if one tree holds so much beauty and can be so unique, it's Creator deserves praise more than I give. SubhanAllah.


Then, of course, there are always the pics with friends that are classic. The first is Teacher Maysa (aka "The Mad Scientist" during our science fair) and I. We call this the "Crazy Teacher and Mad Scientist Engagement Photo"---brings tears to my eyes! :)

This is Sabrin and I. Sabrin is one of my best friends (cause we're weird like that). *cough* she's single *cough* she's palestinian*cough* she's cute and really nice *cough* looking for cute, good muslim palestinian husband *cough* *cough* she'd kill me if she knew I wrote this---but if you know someone ;) *cough*


P.S. You know what? It sure is fun to look at old pics and write about them. It's just a pain in the rear end to upload them! Sheesh! :)