New discoveries

Discovering a new hobby or sport has a thrill that a lot of us often experience. It doesn't matter what age we are at when we stumble across this new awareness, but it certainly sweeps us with excitement and passion off of our feet and we embrace it with open hearts and minds. The older we get the more enticing it is to actually find that spark, and I have found myself a new one: Cycling. Throughout all my life I have been an active person; I seek adventure like a hunter looking for a prey to catch, eyes wide open to observe the surrounding and to seize that one worthy prize.

So what is it exactly about cycling that makes me jump up and down? An excellent workout or calorie burner maybe? Or getting to know a new community of fellow bicyclers. Is it doing a good deed towards environment by saving on car emissions, aka "Going Green"? Supporting a good cause to charity? All of these are very good reasons indeed but what sets me off is different: I just love challenges and love conquering them. Every route we cycle whether new or repeated has its own set of challenges; such as weather conditions, road elevation, distance, crazy drivers, harassment, etc… I kid you not, some of these reasons are worth quitting for; imagine cycling in a temperature of 35 C and it’s only 8 in the morning or avoid side-walking people who actually try to grab you by the arm while passing by!

Conversations

"What do spirits look like?" asked my son the other day. My answer was I don't know, I guess they'd be transparent or more like smoke. He insisted I should have a better idea, I should think hard and imagine how spirits could look like, to be able to define them. I panicked, quickly reached out to my friends on whatsapp for a quick consult (I always do that when I am stuck with these kind of questions). Thankfully one friend saved me and I was ready to challenge my son. "What does light look like?" I asked. He went silent, thought about it and said: "Light is light, you can't define that in shape or texture"... "Exactly" (sighing in relief).

This type of conversation often runs at my house and it never gets  any easier, the questions only escalate in their sophistication as he grows older. He no longer likes it when someone refers to him as kid, he is a boy now. He wants to know and understand everything that happens in front of his eyes, every news that flashes around the house or things he hears at school from older students. Questions like: "Why is the dollar rate rising vs our Egyptian currency?" or "Why the bulletin boards on the ring-road keep changing?" Try to explain those to a 9-year old in a simplified manner.

Can fears be conquered?

I have a fear of writing (no not to the extent of Graphophobia)! This is not a sudden realization, I kind of felt it for the past few months now.. I always postpone writing to do anything else, and by anything I mean I'd rather clean, do some gardening, clean some more or bake. I make at least 2 desert recipes per week not to mention I cook almost daily, hence I have plenty to share, but never seem to sit down and write.

I just couldn't pin point my problem with writing until I read "Can writing be taught?" by Monica on A Life of Spice.

Happy Mothers Day

March 21st marks the start of spring, a wonderful time with flowers blossoming everywhere that put a big smile on my face. I love colors, and when I see all these yellow, orange, purple, pink, white, red, etc... (although I have no idea what most the flower's names are) I just smile. 

Leap of Faith

When an idea or thought starts circulating my mind, I become obsessed with it, I think day & night about it, even in my sleep I dream about it. I over-analyse, think and "kill" the idea in a vain attempt to reach a satisfying solution or answer I am comfortable with; but these are neither guaranteed nor always possible.
I consult friends, read books, google it and sleep on it for days, weeks or even months! I know that this is a human trait, that most people go through such a phase at some point of their lives, some choose their mind battles and only do this process for "big" decision, while some are less fortunate and do this as part of their daily routine. I fall in the later category. Every single decision I take goes through this process, of course not all consume the same amount of time. It's my character, what defines me, what makes me who I am or maybe just because I am an Aries:)

But sometimes all we need to do is take a leap of faith, follow our gut feeling; that inside undeniable strong emotion that drives us into directions we fear treading. So we jump and hope for the best.

ON THE MOVE

How is it that 3 weeks have passed but just feel like 3 days... I started this blog with every intention to publish a minimum of 3 recipes per month and hopefully even 4; yet it seems so difficult to sustain that promise. And here I am, 21 days after my New Year's post and just sharing my next one.

In my defense I have the perfect excuse, I am moving from my current flat to a new one. That decision was a spur of a moment, after new years' day and soon turned into solid steps. Apartments' scouting, checking one place after the other for that perfect match of an already finished home & ready to move in to without any make overs; yet having a budget limit to factor. Some places looked like a animals were inhabiting it while others were merely ordinary. However we managed to find that one place that has all I can ask for under one roof; all except for the snow {sniff}.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

“The only constant in life is Change” ~ Heraclitus

As we embrace the new year; we write down new resolutions, we vow things would be different next yea; that we won't take that long dreamed of trip, change that job we dislike, re-paint the kitchen or even move to another country... we plan a new chapter in out lives and have every and are adamant to follow it. And in the midst of all this, we turn our heads to look for that food that makes us feel better about what we have just planned, that makes all this worthwhile.