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[thatarabgirloverthere]

(via April 25th. It's Not Too Hot And Not Too Cold)

[thatarabgirloverthere]

(via My Community Of Comfort Shows)

[thatarabgirloverthere]

(via Where Are You Really From?)

[thatarabgirloverthere]

(via It Was A Dark And Stormy Night)

[thatarabgirloverthere]

(via Is Taylor Swift As Cool As She Seems?)

[thatarabgirloverthere]

(via Cancer Is The Worst)

[thatarabgirloverthere]

(via I Like Big Hearts And I Cannot Lie)

[thatarabgirloverthere]

(via I'd Like The Power Of Teleportation, Please!)

If I could have the perfect day, it would be a fun and busy day. And it would consist of traveling and eating.

I would spend my first few hours in Paris eating the best croissants in the world and drinking the most delicious matcha latte I've ever had from a Japanese bakery.

I'd walk all over the place and just take everything in. Maybe even do an audio walking tour of some museums.

Then I would go to London and spend some time in a park that has tons of parakeets and cockatiels that'll fly down to your hand if you have some nuts or seeds. I wanna say it was Kensington Park, but I truly don't remember.

Then I would go to NYC and just explore that area. Maybe catch a movie.

Then I would go to the Amalfi coast for a quick splash and boogie boarding in the water, before having a delicious dinner of cheese, bread, and grapes.

I'd end the day by going back home and cuddling my kitty in bed. I'd watch a show with my S.O. or play some board games, then call it a night.

There are several problems with this as you can see. That traveling will not happen over the course of one day. Unless if I had a private jet, which is very unrealistic.

So if I'm going with unrealistic, might as well make it super unrealistic, and learn teleportation.

That would solve so many of my problems, and would help me have my perfect day.

Realistically though, my ideal day without special technology, would be a beach day somewhere. And if we're talking more realistic and just what I've got with me, it'd be a mini hike and good food.

Which is nice...

Yeah no, I need to learn to teleport ASAP :)

[thatarabgirloverthere]

(via My Favorite Thing To Cook Is...?)

Meth.

No I’m just kidding.

It’s actually crack that I like to cook.

No that’s not true either. But my brain really really wanted to say that, so I let that intrusive thought win. It’s like what they say about picking and choosing your battles.

You win this battle intrusive junkie thought that thinks of drugs all too quickly.

My real answer is pizza. There’s an awesome recipe I’ve been using for years now that’s super easy. The dough takes maybe 10 minutes max. I usually buy a jar of pasta sauce and use that. Store pizza sauces always feel way too sweet for me.

Sometimes if I feel extra fancy or motivated I’ll make the pizza sauce from scratch. It’s not that hard, just a little more time consuming. I blanch tomatoes so that I can get their skin off easily. Then I blend them and add seasoning and cook until it thickens. Or I filter it through a strainer if I’m feeling too impatient.

For the cheese I just buy whatever pre-shredded store brand mozzarella is available. If I’m feeling extra motivated I’ll actually buy the blocks themselves and shred those. It actually does make a difference and tastes way better. But I’m lazy so I don’t usually do that.

I cook it on the stove in a cast iron skillet to start. It gives the crust a nice crisp. Then I bake it in the oven for about 5 mins. And voila! Some molten hot delicious pizza that you should definitely let cool first. Otherwise you’ll burn your mouth real bad. Not speaking from experience (I lied, this is from experience).

And now I’m hungry. 🙂

[thatarabgirloverthere]

(via I Used To Be Conceited Because Of My Name)

My name is Mena. But it’s pronounced Minna. It’s Arabic for “gift of god” or “charity” or “good deed”. Or gift in general.

Anyway, as a kid when I learned this I was such an entitled conceited brat. I used to tell everyone I was special and hand picked by god and therefore was the best at everything.

It was a ridiculous non-flex flex that I was showing off.

Thankfully I stopped doing that in middle school. Instead I switched to wearing ties with literally every outfit. I’m not sure which of those two was worse lol.

I really like my name actually. It’s quite unique, I think it’s beautiful, and it’s got a cool background (it was also commonly used in Ancient Egyptian culture).

But I hate how difficult my name is for non Arabic speakers. Especially here in America.

Here’s a list of names that I get called instead: Moana, Melina, Melissa, Michelle, Monica, Minus, Minimum, Nemo, Vana, Dana, and Mint.

I have a note with these names written down because of how bizarre they are.

Someone once asked an adult me if I was named after the movie Moana after they misheard my name. They asked me if I was named after a movie that had just come out. They asked if adult me was named after a 6 month old movie. Oof.

I’ll never understand why my name is so hard for people. My best guess is that people assign a name to whatever ethnicity I seem to belong to. But I literally spell it out and they still get it wrong.

Especially Starbucks. That stereotype of baristas pronouncing all names wrong is very real.

It keeps life interesting though, so that’s nice.

[thatarabgirloverthere]

Eid Mubarak, please don’t talk to me

Eid Mubarak to those of you who celebrate!

To those of you who don’t, here’s a very quick summary. Muslim Christmas.

This is the first Eid (we have two) and it’s the end of Ramadan where we’ve been fasting so we make up for that month by eating a shit ton today.

It’s great. LOTS of food and nice decorations, gifts from some people, cute outfits. It can be fun. But it can also be so fucking annoying.

Have you seen Bridgerton? You know the scenes where the women and men are separated and the ‘mamas’ have to connect with other mamas to set up their daughters with husbands? Eid is a perfect occasion for that very thing.

Cuz generally everyones at this big park or a rented gymnasium where the men stick to one side and the women to the other, but theres a middle section for the food. So there’s an awkward middle area where people can ~connect~

The backwards victorian area dating is disgusting. But what’s even more disgusting to me (on eid specifically), is the small talk.

Muslim men can generally be divided into 3 categories: muslim bros, rich oil tycoons, and super religious devout psychopaths. Technically there’s also a fourth category of normal men, but this is so slim where I live that I’m not counting in.

These men will always try striking up a conversation at the food table, and they always ask the dumbest questions.

Muslim Bro: Yo, how many, like, kids do you want? I’m good with whatever man. You like football bro? I need a wife who can support my hobbies.

Oil tycoons: Do you cook? Do you clean? What’s your dress size?

Devout bros: My mother told me you are a good girl, but here you are talking to a man that you don’t know. My mother is never wrong, but clearly this is an exception.

Somehow, they expect these lines to work? I’m not really sure what they’re going for, but I’m not having it.

So every Eid I do the same thing. I go up to the food table and when I’m approached I steal a donut off their plate and walk away.

I recommend this to everyone in any uncomfortable situation

Eid Mubarak!