Best parenting self-care advice: Take time out from parenting!!!
In our society, women, especially mothers, are constantly on the defensive, feeling like they have to justify their parenting decisions, their life decisions, their career choices from the barrage of judgements coming at them from every corner.
My Summer Balcony Garden 2022
I just spent the morning cleaning up my balcony garden in anticipation of the season of winding down that is upon us. Just as fulfilling as planting seeds in the spring and early summer, it is equally therapeutic and deeply satisfying to clear out the yellowing leaves and dying plants, harvest the last of the vegetables, give the pots a good washdown and the balcony floor a good sweeping.
My Experience with Postpartum Depression (PPD)
I gave birth to my daughter in January of 2016 in the UK. I was 36 at the time. We were living in Cairo, Egypt but had gone to the UK so my daughter can have a British passport, as her father is a British citizen.
"Black Girl Baking"-Inspired Apple Pie with Browned Butter and Almond Flour Crust
A few months ago, during Ramadan, I started watching a Netflix food documentary called "High on The Hog: How African-American Cuisine Transformed America" based on the Jessica B. Harris's bestselling book, "High on The Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America."
A book review of Georgina Reid's "The Planthunter: Truth, Beauty, Chaos and Plants"
As my balcony garden is winding down with my cold-tolerant plants (kale, parsley, sweet peas, snapdragons) flourishing again after the heat of the summer and the last of my heat tolerant plants (morning glory, zinnias, geraniums and sweet peppers) holding on for dear life, I am reminded of the early planting months and the promise of warmer weather even as it gets colder and darker out there.
Indoor Garden 2023
It has been a long hard winter: an unholy amount of snowfall, interchangeable weather that gave me whiplash and a freak freezing rain storm that caused power shortages throughout the city.
Balcony garden 2023
As I said in my previous post, it's been a long winter and unpredictable spring, which meant the winter blues set in and triggered a seed sowing frenzy towards late February and early March.
An Art-Filled New York Summer 2023: The Met, MoMa and Broadway
In early August 2023, while my daughter was visiting her father in England, I took a much needed trip to New York. This was, by no means, my first trip to New York. I've been many times before, but it had been more than a decade since I last visited so it was also quite nostalgic for me.
Forward
Original short poem about mother and daughter and moving forward
To Noureen
Noureen, Born with the sun inside your skin
Faith
Nothing is clean.
Nothing is pure.
Not even me.
Blog Post Title Four
It all begins with an idea.