My friend brought in magic bars to work about a week ago.  They were delectable.  For those of you who don’t know what a magic bar, it’s basically a seven layer bar that is so easy to make it’s like “magic.”  All it requires is some graham crackers, butter, condensed milk, and assorted toppings of your own choice.

My friend explained to me how she made the bars, and it seemed easy enough.  Melt some butter, mix with graham crackers, pour on the condensed milk and add toppings as needed.  She suggested chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, walnuts and M&Ms.  I decided to follow suit.

I tried to make the bars last Thursday but couldn’t remember exactly how much butter or graham crackers were required.  So I quickly looked online to find a recipe for magic bars.  I found what I needed and decided to follow the instructions listed on the site.  They were a little different from my friend’s instructions, primarily when it came to the layering.  She said graham cracker, milk, toppings; the website side graham cracker, toppings, milk.

Yikes!  The bars went from magic to tragic quite quickly   I shouldn’t have followed the website and just gone with what my friend told me.  I didn’t know switching the layers would make such a difference.  Because the condensed milk was poured on top, not only did it make the color run off the M&Ms (which made them look pale and gross) but it also bubbled over and turned brown and slightly warty looking.  Not very attractive when serving to guests

The bars tasted okay, and in the end I guess that’s what matters.  But for sure I’ve learned my lesson:  to avoid tragedies, listen to Aliya Hoda in all matters

As I’ve mentioned before once a week I have to stay after school for an hour and make myself availible to my students for tutoring.  Towards the beginning of the year this one hour after school was quite a waste of time for me.  I’d wait the whole time for no one to show up.  It was rather frustrating as I knew my students needed the help but just weren’t asking for it.

Slowly but surely some students started coming on a regular basis.  Every Tuesday I can expect to see about 4 or 5 girls mostly from my Geometry class to come ask me for help.  They generally do their homework assignment for the day with me.  As much as they say it helps them, for the most part these girls are really intelligent, so I don’t think they need me to succeed.

Anyway, last week tutoring happened to fall on the day before a test in 9th grade Algebra 1, and a quiz in both 9th grade Geometry and 8th grade Algebra 1.  Wow… three assessment in four classes all on the same day.  Tutoring had EXPLODED.  There were about 20 kids that came, which is 15 more than the norm.  I was buzzing around my room from student to student trying to figure out what each student needed from me.  It was all kind of… exciting I guess.  They finally came!  They finally asked for help!  And most importantly,

They all conquered their quizzes and tests!!  The students that came for tutoring did substantially better on their assessment compared to their own average and the class average.  It was truly a help to them.  I really hope they noticed the difference it made in their grades, insha’Allah.

Tomorrow is another Tuesday, so we’ll see who shows up.  There are some quizzes and tests this week, too, so hopefully some of the people who showed up last week will come back again for another push before studying.

I’m so happy! Alhumdu’lillah

I’ve had it!  Buying modest clothes is IMPOSSIBLE and too EXPENSIVE!

I’ve been trying for years now to build a wardrobe of long shirts, very loose pants, skirts, and jilbabs, but it just ain’t happening!  After all this time I have a bunch of mismatched items that cost me a fortune.

I tried once to sew my own clothes, because I couldn’t find what I was looking for in the stores for a reasonable price, but that was disastrous.  The hemlines on my skirts were crooked, and I looked like I was wearing a bag.  Then I tried having a “professional” tailor sew me some skirts in Pakistan, and that was even worse.  The materials looked all wrong and the buttons and zippers were breaking off left and right.

So I’ve tried scowering malls and stores in Muslim-populated areas (ie, Dearborn, MI) but everything is either way too expensive or extremely tacky.

Recently I’ve tried shopping online, but foreals… 50 dollars for a skirt for a CLEARANCE skirt at shukronline.com?  Okay, maybe once or even twice is okay because I was looking in malls for so long for a nice long skirt.  But after that?  I can’t afford to drop $80 for a shirt and a skirt.  I’m not made of money… I’m a teacher for crying out loud.

Why does it have to be this way?  Why isn’t it easier for Muslim girls (of all shapes and sizes) to find modest loose clothing at a reasonable price?  Am I really asking for too much?  If you go to any regular mall, a pair of pants on sale might cost you $20, but are you ever going to find a normal skirt for that amount?  Tshirts and tank tops fly off racks for $5 in the summer, but just finding a long sleeve loose shirt is like looking for a needle in a hay stack.  Don’t get me started on the designer prices! (I think most designers realize that modest clothing is actually classy, so they’re interested in making modest clothes… at $100+)

Dah!  All I want is to dress modestly, why does it have to be sooo FRUSTRATING!!!!!

Does it ever feel like just too much?  Family hits the skids, students acting nuts, job teetering on a coast line, slipping on ice, congested nose?

 Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned. “Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people.” (2:286)

Well apparently, it ain’t no thang.

Yesterday on my drive into Michigan it was a cold and freezing night.  Luckily, there was no snow to mess up the roads.  The sky was cloudless and the stars were out.  I glanced out of the window and there above me was Orion, my favorite constellation.

I started thinking about how wonderful the stars were and how beautiful they are.  I know it isn’t a new thought, but the way they twinkle and sparkle in the night sky is magnificent.  They were glowing bright and making it easier for us to see the road.  I find it rather pathetic, though, that I only appreciate the stars as a thing of beauty.  I think if I was a little more removed from the hubba-ballu of “the big city” and “city life” I’d appreciate the blessing of stars in their entirety.

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