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Konichiwa!

  So today I don't have much to say. I just pretty much volunteered, which went okay today. Although there were quite a bit of hitches. For instance, I was late for pretty much the first time. Then when I was supposed to pull holds, it turned out they had given my hold list to one of the teen leads, who, of course, didn't even notice that it clearly had my name on it. But other than that, it was great.

  After that, we came home and just chilled for a bit and then we went to my grandparents' house. This time we were boy free. By boy free I mean we didn't bring the boys that are staying with us. They went to stay with their older sister for a little while. However, it was short-lived and they're right back here where they shall stay for about another 2 weeks. I'm not so opposed to it anymore though. I guess the barely two days that they were gone was like a little gulp of air and I'm ready to face the next two weeks now. Plus, they've grown on me.

  Anyway, like I said, not much to say today. Mrs. Tiffany, one of the teen section librarians and co-overseer of the Teen Summer Volunteer Program emailed a while ago announcing the date of the volunteer party. I'm so excited! They're going to have cake there and everything. I remember last year we were at ImaginOn the day of their Summer Volunteer party. People kept asking us if we came for the volunteer party and we, salty at the question, just said no. The reason we were salty was because we wanted to be volunteers last year but weren't picked, as you know by now. So we're finally going to be part of the party! Again, I'm super excited! You can tell how excited I am by the fact that I'm using exclamation marks! quite liberally. :D

   I think that's it for today. I have to go make taraweeh and witr and head to bed. Got more volunteering to do tomorrow. Plus, I'm working Circulation(blehhhhh) so I have to be at my best. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't like to work Circ, or shelf(which is basically all you do when you're working Circ), it's just a bit taxing you know? A lot of bending and moving.

  Anyway, signing off for now, ma'a salaama, bye, anneyeong, au revoir, adios, sayonara!! 

                            Sumiyya <3

 
 

Wednesday Reminiscing

    Hey!

     What's up? I know "This isn't Monday!" is probably what you're thinking. I assure you, I am very much aware of that fact as you can see by the title. Anyway I was just talking to my mom, reminiscing about this past winter when it snowed, and I realized that I never wrote a blog post about how much fun we had.

      The first time it snowed it was the 28th of January. We were so excited but it was only a small coating and it was pretty much all gone within two days. But then on February 12th it snowed again. This time there was more but we didn't know if it would last. It did though and the very next day we had about half a foot of snow. It was more than enough to play around. So we had snowball fights and made snow angels and even constructed a mini snowman that kinda failed. The snow was actually kinda icy by then but that was good because it allowed it to pack better.

      At first, when my siblings had said they were all going to go outside and play in the snow and they asked me to come I said no because I was busy and I thought "It'll be there tomorrow, then I'll go." They were kinda mad but they let me be. So then I was sitting and I was thinking "What if it melts by tomorrow? What if I don't get the chance? This could be a repeat of the sledding thing in Xenia." So I decided I'd go out. I got on my old boots that I hadn't worn since 2010-2011 time-frame. I got on my abaya and hijab and niqab and I put on my hat that I made. Then I put on my hoodie and my sister's bubble jacket(which kinda look like life vests to me, just sayin') and I put on some gloves and I went out the back door so that they wouldn't see me and I could ambush them with snowballs. I stopped to draw something in the snow: a heart with an S in it(Which I've always done, it's like my signature thing. That, or my name in cursive with a heart on it.)

     As you see, it's not that visible but it was okay. My footprints are the things around it. Also, as you see, there were some random sticks lying in the snow near it. Anyway, after drawing that I went and gathered a huge wad of snow and rushed to the front yard yelling "Ambush!" and then it was on. Snowballs started flying left and right. I got hit a couple times but I hit everyone else at least twice and I dodged a lot too. It was a lot of fun.

     Then we went and made snow angels. I don't have a picture of that because they didn't really come out that great. But, of course, it was fun nonetheless. Then we attempted to make a snowman. Which, as you know turned out to be a fail.

     After that we went inside, intending to come back out but we stayed inside. My brother actually stayed outside helping some lady shovel the snow on the road. Other people pitched in as well. So all in all, it was a fun day. An hour spent playing the snow did not hurt and it was so much fun and I loved it :))

      So now that I've told the story of our winter escapades, a story that is great for this summer time because it reminds of cooler times, I will do a spam of all the pictures I took. The first couple will be of the January snow, the rest of the 12th and 13th of February.

 
     So yeah, that's pretty much all I wanted to talk about. See you Monday! ^_~

     Signing off for now, annyeong, ma'a salaama, sayonara, adios, au revoir, baiiiieee!!!

                 Sumiyya <3

Hey, Ramadhan! Where are you going?

     Hello!

     Today is the 16th day of Ramadhan. Can you believe it? Ramadhan always seems to go fast. At the start you're like "Okay, here goes" and then when you're at this point you're like "Wait, what? It's halfway over?" and then at the end you're like "Where'd Ramadhan go?" InshaAllah at this point we should really start reflecting on our Ramadhan thus far and try to regain the standing and the plans and schedules we set at the start of/before Ramadhan.

     So, I'm going to try and re-up my Quran reading. And also it's meaning. InshaAllah I should finish a khatam in a few days. I'm going to start planning my du'aa because it is really super awkward when you have to make your du'aa out loud and you're stuttering and wondering if you should even ask Allah for that new bike or iPod or whatever because that seems so trivial and everyone is just sitting there and you feel like they're silently judging you. Run on sentences for the win!

     Speaking of Quran, I recently got a new Quran teacher. She is doing the lessons over Skype. So far they've been going okay.

     Volunteering today went really well. I got to pull holds for the first time(finally!). It was cool but also kinda annoying when something was shelved in the wrong section. It's like going on a scavenger hunt.

     Funny volunteering stories: Today while I was shelving these little girls came by and one of them was saying "It's funny that there are so many kids in the library, when half of them don't like to read!" I was laughing so hard to myself. I mean she was so real. Spot on. It's so true and apparent that even a kid notices it.
     Btw, sorry for missing last week's post. I came home from volunteering that day and it was just like: collapse on my bed. I don't even recall why I didn't.

     Okay, I gotta go. I have to study and figure out how to deal with some stuff. I'll see you next week(not in the literal sense of course).

     Signing off for now, sayonara, bye, annyeong, adios, au revoir, ma'a salaama!!!

                   Sumiyya <3

     
   

June Ends, Ramadhan Begins

As Salaamu Alaikum(Peace Be Upon You)!

 Today is the last Monday in June. I wasn't going to write this blog until I remembered that. :D Feeling kinda lazy. Anyway, that means: tomorrow is July!! I love July. Maybe it's just because my birthday is in July, I don't know. Speaking of my birthday, it's in 5 days. I will finally be 17. I hate having to wait half the year to be the age I'm supposed to be for the year. I think I like how Korean's do it better. At the start of the year, you are considered to be the age you are turning that year and actually a year older as well because they count the near-year you were in the womb as a year too. But, I think it'd just be cool without the womb-year thing. Then on New Year's I'd be 18 instead of having to wait until half of 2015 is over. In Islamic months I am already 17 too since my Islamic birthday is the 9th of Safar which was in December last year.

 Anyway, long, unnecessary birthday history aside I'm happy July is approaching.

 Now, onto the subject of Ramadhan. Today is the second day and there is an hour until we break our fast. So far Ramadhan has been great. Fasting actually has been pretty easy despite being 16 hours this year and everything else seems to be working great as well. Alhamdulillaah.

 Last post I promised to update you on the pool party last week. Well, it was amazing! So first, that day Laila and I went for volunteering, then we stayed a little later to go to the 3D Printing event, which was really cool. I made a heart t go on a necklace which I actually have turned into a choker. It looks super awesome. So after the event we rushed home and started to get ready. Ummi found Laila's old swimsuit(which we were looking for so that I could wear it) and Laila did a little adjustments because it's a little big. Then I packed nearly everything I could think of that we'd need to go to the pool and we left.

 When we got to the pool it was so exciting. We went in and so many people were there swimming and getting food to eat and sitting and it just looked amazing. So we quickly took our stuff off(we had our swimsuits on underneath) and went into the water. It was awesome! Laila and  I of course, needed floaties so we grabbed some of the noodles and use those to float. Sakina made friends quickly with some girls who also didn't know how to swim and they stuck together in the 2-3 ft area. Ummi just sat talking to someone from our homeschool group's mother. At some point all the older girls(which included one of the girls who volunteers with us) who knew how to swim decided to do scynhronized jumps into the 9 ft water. It looked really fun but of course, we couldn't join because we don't know how to swim. Then Laila got the idea that if I held her floatie board(she'd traded the noodle for it) while she jumped and then handed to her when she rose up then that could work. So that's what she did. Then she tried to convince me to do the same thing but I was horribly terrified. Even so I stood up on the side of the pool and thought "I  can do this" but then I couldn't. So I told her that I wasn't going to do it so she said "I'll call one of the ladies, she can help catch you, then it'll be fine." So she called the lady and the lady agreed. Hesitantly, though, once she learned I couldn't swim. Then that lady called someone else to help her. Then slowly by slowly a whole bunch of people were coming to help and I was still frozen there wanting to jump but also not wanting to. So they were patiently waiting, urging me on and finally, I was like "Okay" and I jumped and it was okay though some water got into my throat and my nose. I didn't want to do it again though. Laila did so I helped her two more times and then we went back to swimming with the floatie noodles.

 So all-in-all it was pretty fun. The next day was the "I Can Be a Gameshow Star" thing at the library which was super fun. Jawaad and Saalih ended up winning.

 So yeah, the past week was pretty cool. So I think that's it for today's blog. It got a little long because I like to talk. :P

 Signing off for now, bye, annyeong, sayonara, adios, au revoir, ma'a salaama!!! Oh and Ramadhan Mubarak because I forgot to say that with all the unnecessary talking I did. XD

 Sumiyya <3

Pool Party! And TNT?!

Hola!

 Bienvenidos to my humble blog! I don't have very much to talk about besides the fact that today I volunteered again and I got to help with story time which was awesome! I can't wait to do it again. Wonder what I'll be doing tomorrow(forgot to check the schedule)

 Other than that, recently we have taken 3 boys under our wing. The ages of 7, 9, and 13. Truthfully, it's been a little weird and it's like we have 3 mini Jawaads(which is almost never a good thing :P) but, you know, I guess it's okay.

 So, as for the title: tomorrow there is going to be a sisters-only pool party at the pool that I previously mentioned which is sisters-only on Thursday but today was an exception as they made a special reservation specifically for this day. I'm really excited because I haven't been anywhere near a pool since we left Xenia(yes, nearly 3 years ago). But, we might have a bit of a dilemma because they want us to bring a side dish and we're broke so we don't have the means and/or ingredients to make something or buy something. We don't want to show up empty handed though. :(

 But, if that gets worked out(and InshaAllah it does) then I'm totally looking forward to gong! So excited!

 Tomorrow is actually going to be filled with activity because Laila and I have to volunteer from 10:15 to 1:15, then there's going to be an event we'll go to from 2-4(and we might just end up helping out during the event as well, who knows?). Then the pool party is from 6-9. So it'll be action-packed.

 Speaking of volunteering, that actually reminds me of the second part of the title and why I added it. No, I'm not referring to the explosive kind of TNT. What I'm talking about is: A TNT Award! Now, you're probably even more confused. :D Anyway, a TNT Award is what staff members give to volunteers if they feel like they were a huge help on something or if they went out of their way to make sure that their job was done not only to T but even better than that. If a staff member feels like you have contributed even more than required of you, they write your name and why they're giving you a TNT Award and then at the end of the volunteer program they will either count up and see who has the most TNT Awards and give them a special prize, or they'll do it in a drawing style and whoever they choose gets the prize. I'm hoping it's the drawing because then even those who may have only got one(whether or not they deserved more) still get a chance to win. Plus, the special prize isn't just something small, it's actually a really cool prize like a gift card or an electronic device.

 So anyway, I got one and so did Laila. One of the main teen section librarians, Mrs. Ventola gave us each one for helping her figure out how to do cobra knot bracelets for the Summer Reading Kick-Off event that they had on the 18th(which was pretty fun, btw). Really though, we should be thanking her because for so long I had wanted to do those and now that I've leaned how and gotten started, I kinda have the motivation to get more supplies and do much more. When I get the money, that is.

 So I think that is pretty much it for today. See you next Monday and I'll tell you how everything went with the pool party and everything(if we go).

 Signing off for now, sayonara, bye-bye, ma'a salaama, annyeong, au revoir, adios!!

 Hasta Lunes! <3

 Sumiyya <3


 

The First Day of Summer Volunteering!

Annyeong!

What's shakin', what's poppin', what's going down?

 I just came back a little while ago from my first day of being a Teen Summer Volunteer. It was cool! The first thing I did, and this I did for most of my shift, was help out with a Children's event that was going on. I operated the Ring Toss game and gave the kids a prize( a money pencil) after they had their turn. There were all kinds of kids there and they were fun and cute and awesome.

 Funny story: One of the girls asked me why I wear a mask. I told her it was a veil and it was to keep my face hidden from men. She said: "Why? You don't wanna date?" I was laughing on the inside so hard but I just told her "Nope, don't date."

 The younger kids were especially cute because they had a habit of instead of tossing the ring they would just stick it on the little spike thing. It was pretty funny. Especially one girl in a blue jumper who was absolutely adorable, she kept sticking the rings of one color on their matching color cone/spike things. There was also a kid with his dad and he was super cute. Gave his dad a hug when he finally got his last ring on and then he said determinedly "I wanna try again!"

  So yeah, I had some fun with that whole event. Though I got quite a bit sweaty as I was running around picking up the rings plus I was wearing two shirts(My volunteer shirt! ^o^ and a long sleeve white shirt to cover my arms).

 Then after that I did a little bit of shelving. It was nice. Then when that was finished, the head librarian of the Children's section told us that we could just clock out for the day even though our shift was ten minutes from being over since we worked pretty hard.

 So, all in all, it was great! After my shift I did some Summer Reading activities, got candy and my Summer Reading hours prizes(I've already passed 10 hours in just 4 or 5 days) which were a coupon for a free Jr. Frosty at Wendy's, two $5 fine wavers, and a free book. I chose Looking for Alaska by John Green. I was already planning to read it so having a personal copy helps.

 I cannot wait for my shift tomorrow and the Summer Reading Kick-Off at my library(It's a week late) where I'll also be volunteering. Tomorrow Laila and I won't be in the same section of the library. She'll still be working in Children's but I'll be doing something else. I'm kinda nervous.

 Well, that's it. Just wanted to talk about that. Also, the 15th of Sha'ban was this past Friday. We fasted and it was okay. Didn't feel too long. Although, I think I did fall asleep a couple of times so that could be half of why but it was nice. Can't wait fro Ramadhan!

Signing off for now, sayonara, bye, adios, au revoir, ma'a salaama, annyeong~!

Sumiyya <3

Summer Excitement

Ohayo!

Wassup? It's the first Monday in June and that means A. It's a brand new month, for new experiences! B. 2014 is already half over O_o and C. Summer is in the air! I can practically taste it. Or maybe that's just the heat and sweat I'm tasting because it's been raging hot in the 90 degree line which of course means we ain't seen nothing yet.

Well, either way I'm completely excited for the Summer. For once my Summer Schedule is packed. I've got so many things I'm doing and want to do and I cannot wait!

The first thing that I'm planning to do is: Teen Summer Volunteering at the library! Woop, woop! Get excited 'cause I know I am. :D I honestly cannot wait. I really think it'll be a wonderful experience. Oh, and get this: Mrs. Ventola told us that last year she was going to pick us but there was only one spot left and she didn't want to choose one over the other. I mean, yeah we were disappointed last summer and yeah, she could be just trying to appease us but so what? I am most definitely appeased. XD

The second thing I plan to do is: Be on Swagbucks like crazy because that's my only income this Summer(no job unfortunately :(( ) and I'm trying to save up as much as I can.

The third thing I plan to do is: Be a tag-a-long going with my sister to tutor a girl in fashion design on Thursdays. I'm just going there for backup(safety in numbers, even if that number is 2) but I might be able to contribute something.

Speaking of Thursdays, the fourth thing I plan to be doing is: Going to a local, private pool that is Ladies Only on Thursdays. My friends Laylaa and Hafsa plan to go as well so we could hang out there together. Plus I could finally learn to swim!

The fifth thing I plan to do is: Go to as many library events as I can, which'll be easy because I'm probably going to be helping set up half of them anyway. Oh, and I'll be doing Summer Reading as well.

Some other things I hope to do but it's not concrete is: Taking the GED test and graduating finally, Getting my permit or at the very least just doing some driving lessons with my mom, Learning at least a spattering of French and Arabic before I leave for Saudi, and getting a bank account(which actually I will need for Swagbucks)

Oh, and biggest of all, most of the Summer I will be fasting. So that'll make the above things a tiny bit harder. Especially since it'll be so freaking hot and the days will stretch into forever but InshaAllah I got this. Allah never gives us something we can't handle. Plus, people do way more than I plan to do while fasting and they are just fine.

So, InshaAllah everything this Summer will go well. I'm super excited! Aren't you?

Signing off for now, bye, annyeong, adios, ma'a salaama, au revoir, sayonara and arigatou for reading!

Sumiyya <3