Category: Family

My top 10 items for surviving the Winter blues…
Alliyah Dawud
October 15, 2018

Preparing for the Winter BLUES

I try to love and embrace all seasons I really really do! But I do suffer from SAD (Seasonal affective disorder). So basically when it’s cold outside, dark and dreary it gets scary for me. I used to spend the majority of the cold months indoors miserable and feeling low until I discovered I could work towards helping to REDUCE the side affects.

Since then my Winters have improved. A lot.

Here is my Winter survival kit

1) SAD Lamp
Small and compact this lamp is awesome. The colder shorter days result in less daylight which isn’t good for SAD/winter blues sufferers.
I switch it on whilst I’m working (ensuring it’s set to the right level to actually do it’s magic on me). Half an hour a day and it contributes towards happy vibes for me.
Price: available on Amazon from £39.99

2) Vitamin B 12 & Vitamin C
In all honesty I try my best to stay on top my Vitamin intake but it can slip. From September I try my damn hardest to take Vitamin B 12 to ensure my body can fight dreaded Fatigue. It’s a must. I usually feel a burst of energy from a month into taking this suppliament regualary.
I also ensure I take Vitamin C to fight Winter bugs.
*Always consult a specialist before starting a new suppliment*

3) Qi Qong (Life Energy Cultivation) Yoga sessions
Great for balancing you, relaxing you and taking stress away. There’s no pretzel moves…it’s about flow. And it’s awesome.

4) Essential oil roller ball (self blended combinations)
To perk myself up I use essential oil blends. Citrus blends rock and are an instant lift.

5) Meditation
Because if you can think it, you can do it. Meditating clears my thoughts and helps me tune into the source (God) and that is a blessing for me.

6) Prayer beads (tasbeeh)
Dikr (repeating suppliments) calms me no end. It also lifts me. So it’s crutial for me personally to do more of it in the darker months.

7) A brisk walk (no more than 10-15 minutes a day)
Yes it’s cold. But what’s the point of having an awesome coat if I’m not going to ware it? A bit of fresh air is super important for health.

8) Journaling
Noting down how you feel and reflecting on things is a major way of keeping ‘tags’ on yourself. I recommend it to everyone

9) Gratitude Diary
Because believe me when you are feeling ‘down’ it’s easy to forget the blessings. So I ensure I remind myself daily!

10) Manifesting Box
I reread my letters, notes etc to keep focus on my goals. Why? I don’t want to fall off the band wagon, lower my vibes and slow down my life. I keep focus.

 

That’s my list. What’s on yours? Leave your comments below.

 

Love,

Alliyah

5 Top family night ideas
Alliyah Dawud
October 25, 2017

5 top ways to spend time together as a family

Admit it. Sometimes the idea of organising a ‘family night’ can bring on more stress that a two mile traffic jam when you have five minutes to get your appointment.

I’m all for quality over quantity. I do cherish the idea of eating together but it’s not always possible (cue-the endless after School clubs, Quran classes, homework, housework, prep for work etc etc). So instead of telling you the only way to be a strong family is to eat together everyday I thought I would share my top 5 family night ideas.
If you have your own ideas do leave them in the comments section.

1) The classic-Movie Night

With the rise of on demand services Movie Nights just don’t have the same allure; unless you put some oomph into it. If you organise a Movie Night for the weekend you can encorporate the following activities into it:

Decorate your own pizzas
Pop some corn (or make other snacks)
Make your own cinema tickets or posters

If you are doing this on a weekend I would leave out the majority of creative activities (the only one I recommend is the pizza decorating as the majority of this prep work can be done in advance or even shop bought).

Make it extra special: pick a theme. And if everyone cannot agree on the movies to be watched then plan additional nights to accommodate everyone. This is FAMILY time after all.

Turn off phones & other technology that will distract attention.

Dim the lights, get out the cosy blankets, open the packets of snack and enjoy.

NOTE: I’m not recommending this every night of the week so snacks like chocolate are more than welcome as a treat (you’d buy a pack at the cinema wouldn’t you?).

1) Board Games Night

I love Monopoly. I’m competitive and love a good session of Buckaroo, Pop up Pirate, Connect 4, Ludo and beyond. I am an 80s baby and we know the true meaning of board games!

It’s hard to picture children cherishing board games the way my generation did. However that shouldn’t put you off. Dust off the board games in the attic and create a bit of friendly competitive spirit amongst the family.
Of course if you don’t own any board games and you want to try this you have options:
Ask friends and family if you can borrow their games
Check out carboots/flea markets/eBay/Gumtree for a bargain or three
Purchase new versions of the classics (more money so make sure your family are actually going to participate).

Get some snacks (food you can eat with your fingers and not need to sit down as a table work best) and some fizzy beverages (or still if that’s more suitable) and turn off your phones. Reconnect with your own childhood and share the magic of pre-technology life.

My top recommended games for children under 9:
Operation
Pop up pirate
Connect 4
Mouse Trap
Buckaroo

Older children may enjoy:
Cluedo
Monopoly
Game of Life
Charades

NOTE: cheaper versions of famous classics can be purchased for nearly half the price of new games in UK stores such as Home Bargains.

Digital Games Night

Now it’s 2017; avoiding technology as a family is impossible. If you have access to a games console the why not organise a family games tournament?

You’ll need some games (ideally ones that get you up and moving about. My personal favourites are the Just Dance games). Draw up a table and get playing.

For this to work you’ll need to ensure you have enough space to move around (so you don’t end up smacking little ones in the face with remotes-it’s painful trust me).

You’ll need your drinks and snacks as before.

If you you a console but not many games eBay have some great second hands going for less than a fiver. Check out Amazons market place too. And don’t forget your own local charity shops.

Family Cooking Night (ideal for Weekends)

No I have not lost the plot. Just hear me out. If you want your children to get into the habit of eating fresh food, be able to cook and prepare it and clean up after themselves who do you expect to actually teach your offspring these KEY SKILLS?
Exactly. No one else will do it for you so if your children are old enough get them into the kitchen to help.

Here are some of the task younger children can help with:

Planning the meal
Cutting up spring onions/bacon/lettuce using safety scissors
Whisking (cream/eggs etc)
Setting tables
Making salads & dressings (screw top lidded bottle or jar would be useful).
Wiping down surfaces
Clearing away tables

If you are keen to encourage cooking habits maybe you can invite family over to join you (how about treating Gran?).

Pick a menu that is easy to prepare and cook. Save five star mitchelin meals for when you are trying to impress the in-laws. Don’t expect perfection from day one. This is about the time you spend together just as much as developing your children’s skills. Enjoy the time together. Children grow so fast (kinda like mint….).

Indoor Camping Adventure (ideal for weekends)

So if you have adventurous souls in your family but they don’t like the idea of creepy crawlies in their sleeping bag this idea is for you.
Create an indoor camping adventure.
You’ll need duvets, blankets, sleeping bags, torches, and a CD/Mp3 player/Tablet. If you have fairy lights dig them out and decorate the room with them too. Younger children may wish to bring a ‘guest’ in the form of a teddy bear.

Food wise here are my suggestions:
Hotdogs
Sausage and beans
Jacket potatoes/potato wedges
Chili con carne
Smores
-anything that is connected with the outdoor camping experience

Activities:
This one is all about imagination. So you’ll making up stories, or telling stories you already know. There’s also shadow puppet making, urban legend stories you can look into and even building a tent from bedsheets.
If the night is clear you could even go star spotting.

Why do we need a CD/Mp3 player/tablet?
To create an atmosphere. You can save/download woodland sounds which you can play in the background of your adventure.

So that’s my top 5. There are plenty of ideas out there (check out Pinterest for more inspiration). The most important thing to remember is you are spending time together as a family. It’s about quality of the time spent. It’s about creating memories. You are not in competition with anyone else to give your family the best of you.

So what is your families favourite way of spending the evening TOGETHER?

 

How to create a Master To Do List
Alliyah Dawud
October 24, 2017

How to create and manage a Master To Do List

That endless to do list. It gets under your skin. You feel like you are constantly trying to fight the need to do things and little gets done. Urgh. And every week just as you think you can cut something off the list you need to add another nine. Oh dear. Life is like this. It’s a mountain of tasks that never seem to get completed.

We see all this posts of organised women showing us beautifully crafted completed lists (on equally pretty notepaper). We cry into our soggy cereal with our so-called waterproof mascara running down our full foundation faces.

So really apart from selling your kidney and paying a temporary PA to come and work for you is there any real way of combating the To Do List dilemma of the 21st century lifestyle?

You betch’ya!

Really? And you don’t have to research the dark market and sell your organs either! Yay!

Welcome to the world of Master Lists. A Master List is simply but a list of tasks you need to complete. They could be tasks such as ordering wallpaper, getting someone to fix the driveway gate, order Birthday cards….everything you need to do. You put these all on a list that is designed to be a running list. In other words you won’t ever complete the list in your lifetime. Scary thought but it’s being realistic. We all have responsiblities and our tasks are always being added to. So this list is basically the list that will help you create weekly more manageable lists you will be completing.
So this list holds all the tasks you need to do, with an ideal projected date that you want the task completed by.

My list also has additional notes on it. E.g. I usually buy presents throughout the year so I record the location of items in the book. You could also colour code things to make things more organised. This is about making your life easier so modify it to reflect this.

So what do you need?

The ideal list is below:

2X notebooks/jotters/list making notepads (I use an A5 notebook to create my Master list and a smaller one for my weekly list)
NOTE: If you are self employed and wish to create a list for work too double the supplies.

Additional notepad to make notes etc/Sticky notes

Writing supplies

Your diary, calendar, or other time planning methods you use to plan your time.

PATIENCE

At least half an hour to get going (this is an on going project)

Getting started:

1)So you are serious about tackling this. Hurrah! First thing is first. Write down everything you need to do. Like literally. If you are creating a master list for work and home life you’ll need to write them down on the appropriate notebook/paper.

2) Now go through the lists. Is there anything on the lists that doesn’t belong there? Anything that needs doing immedately e.g. booking Hospital appointments or buying Grandmas birthday card and flowers for next week need to be put on an immediate list (you won’t be needing this once you get into the Master to do list system but to get you going you’ll need it). Is there something on your list that is on there because someone else is shying away from their responsiblity? Now is the time to delegate that task. Reducing the tasks will help you on the next step.

3) Now draw two lines down the page of your notebook that will be your Master List. Leave a large column to write the task. You need an additional column to record the date of when you wish to complete the task by and the final column is for ticking off the task.

4) Transfer your tasks to the Master to do list. That’s everything! EVERY.little.thing.

5) Now look at your schedule for next week. How’s it looking? How much time do you realistically have? Got a number? Great. Now comes the big part….

6) Look at your Master to do list. Look for tasks that can be completed in the time you have available and write these tasks on your WEEKLY to do list.
By understanding how much time you have and not over stretching yourself you are reducing the chances of failure and increasing the chances of things getting down.

7) By the end of the week you should have completed your weekly to do list. Tick off anything you’ve completed. Anything that hasn’t been completed can either be re-added to the Master to do list or to the follow weeks list.

8) At the beginning of the week (or on the day you do your weekly planning) create next weeks list.
NOTE: you’ll also be adding things to your Master list. RELAX. This is the idea. The Master List is continiously updated. The idea isn’t to complete everything it’s to be in control and understand what needs doing.
Your weekly list (that you’ve created from your Master List) is the list that will be completed on a weekly basis. This list helps you chart your progress too and gives you a sense of goal completion.

9) Repeat the above steps until it becomes habit or you find another system that suits you better.

Additional notes:

This system can work equally well for couples and families. If you are creating a master list for families you can create weekly lists for family members too.

If you’ve been living in an ocean of incompleted to do lists for as long as you can remember don’t panic if it takes a while to do used to this system. Keep it up for a month and evaluate if it works for you.

Any comments or question; let me know.

 

Chocolate Concrete Cake
Alliyah Dawud
October 19, 2017

Chocolate Concrete Cake

So if you were an 80s baby in England and attended mainstream public school there’s a huge possibility you will remember hard slabs of cake like substance served with colourful custard. The cake was fondly knows as concrete cake a nod to it’s hard texture and make up. But once you left it in lashings of custard it turned into this soft delectable delight. My old School could cut it into rectangular slabs (and sprinkle on some extra granulated sugar).

Recently my oldest asked me about my memories of School. The one thing that was apparent was I blocked out a lot of stuff (perhaps due to the constant bullying the Schools chose to ignore) but what I can remember is the delectable desserts (I was a foodie in the making from a young age). So recently we tried a few recipes and this one below in my opinion smells and tastes like the retro School dinner classic.

Don’t forget to serve it with colourful custard. I used instant custard with a bit of food dye added. Yes this is a treat so I didn’t mind injected my children with nasty food colours.

Preparation time:
10 minutes

Baking time: 30 minutes

Servings: 8 slices (easy!)

I used a 20 cm shallow pie dish to bake the concrete cake. You can use a sandwich cake tin if that’s what you have on hand. Grease the tin with butter/oil.

Ingredients:
200 grams plain flour (shifted)
200 grams granulated sugar (that’s right-granulated!) plus a little extra for sprinkling on top
60 grams cocoa powder (shifted)
110 grams butter (or substitute that is suitable for baking). softened. You could soften it in the microwave if you wish.

1) Mix together the flour, sugar and cocoa powder.
2) add butter. Stir. The mixture will start to look like breadcrumbs. Stir until all the ingredients are thoroughly.
3) Now tip the mixture into the greased baking dish. Pat down.
4) Bake in the oven at 180 c for 30 minutes on the middle rack.
5) Take out of the oven and either: allow to cool down completely (which is what I do). Or cool enough to remove from pan, slice and serve (warm). Don’t forget to sprinkle on the sugar.

I allow the concrete to cool over night. I then remove from the pan and slice. Serve with some bright coloured custard. And enjoy the walk down memory lane.
PS: if you do end up with any leftovers store them in an airtight container and you’ll be good for 4 days.

Why I MEDITATE
Alliyah Dawud
October 13, 2017

Why I meditate

Say meditation to someone who has seen the portrayal of it in mainstream media and I bet most folk will ask you about your hippy life. They’ll expect you to be vegan animal right campaigner that sleep on rocks because you could never possibly sleep on a wooden frame because trees lost their lives to give humans creature comforts.

So stereotyping aside meditation is a highly powerful tool. I know for many Muslims the idea of meditating isn’t a concept they want to look at or consider as it feels more in line with the Hindu faith than Islam. However the concept of sitting down, clearing your mind and focusing is quite Islamic. The idea we need to sit down and fix our thoughts to get the maximum out of our lives shouldn’t really be alien to anyone. The fast pace of life today means we all look for a release and ways of maintaining our sanity and being able to focus on our goals and missions in life. Too much mental junk clutters up the thought process leaving us pushing walls that shouldn’t be our brains. We should be able to prioritise mentally what is important to us and focus on it. Pray about it. Meditate on it manifesting. Being clear is how we ideally would want things to happen/unfold. But if your brain is like a super highway with all the lanes rammed with traffic you won’t be manifesting much soon.

I got into meditating when my life took a few unplanned changes. I got back on the horse and needed quality guidance. I also wanted to be able to hear my mind. Process what was happening and make decisions based on the facts and with clarity.

Do you need any special equipment to meditate?

In my opinion NO. If you wish to use guided meditation on your phone I suggest you use headphones. Most phones come with a pair or you can pick up a cheap pair on certain websites these days. I use ‘tracks’ off YouTube for guided meditation or I’ll look up background tracks for meditating too. You can purchase these yes. But with YouTube around it’s not a requirement to be able to get into meditation.

I don’t dress a certain way to meditate. You may want to be comfortable though especially if you plan to meditate for longer than say 15 minutes.

Although this isn’t essential to meditate I have been known for cleansing the room, airing it out and burning incense (oudh). I like the idea of a clean space to concentrate. This isn’t essential like I side. I’ve just put it out there as I know some people pick up habits along the way and feel they need approval to do them. I never sought any approval from anyone on this issue.

And if I’m sitting on the floor I will sit on my yoga mat or on my meditating stool (which I only purchased after I started spending hours in meditative state).

So how do I meditate?

I meditate in several ways depending on my daily needs. I try to meditate at least 20 minutes a day. Why? I find clarity of my missions for the day soothing. I don’t feel panicked by my tasks. I can take them in my stride. It’s as simple as that. I also find gratitude easier to express when my mind is clear of all the noise.

Guided meditation tracks (YouTube)
The idea behind this is a voice will guide you through the session helping you breathe and ponder on the situation at hand. I love guided meditation tracks because there are lots on specific subject areas such as recovering from bad relationships, healing, health etc. So for a beginner these are fantastic.

Meditating in silence
I use my meditating stool if I feel I will be meditating for a long period of time. Otherwise I sit on my bed (legs crossed) eyes closed deep breaths contemplating/musing/reflecting over matters that concern me. I keep a notepad close by as sometimes I meditate on specific issues and when I finish meditating thoughts/answers come into my head so rather than lose that feeling I keep it by jotting it down.

Meditating with candles/incense/creating a mood
Now this will conjure up images of yoga studios and sandalwood burning for many. For me it’s more of a case of if I’m struggling with something (say a project) then I may need to get into the zone to meditate and fix the issue. So I will light candles to focus and drown out the outside world. I use incense to create ambiance (I use a lot of oudh/sandalwood/sage). I will then meditate in silence or play background tracks of birds/rivers/whatever I feel the desire too.

Meditating & Dhikr

*I do prepare for Dhikr by cleansing myself. For more information you can google Islam and cleanliness for praying*.

Dikr is the remembrance of Allah via short sentences/the names of Allah we recite using on occasion tasbih (like rosary beads). It’s a devotional act in Islam. Now I’m not here to debate if this is an act created by the Sufi sect or someone else. I sit there in silence reciting the names of Allah (one of the 99). I find the actual act of Dhikr is meditation for me. It’s focusing on what my problem is or if I’m doing it as gratitude I am taking part in the devotion to express that. So sitting there focusing on my goal whilst reciting short sentences that glorify the almighty help me not only focus but feel good and help me feel grounded.
I sometimes spend time in silence meditating before I start Dhikr to clear my mind and gain positive focus.

Meditating before praying
I’m a firm believer in the power of prayer. I’m also a believer that a prayer should be said with clear intentions and focus. So to me meditating before praying is a natural step. You clear the mind, and when you say your prayers and essentially talk to God it’s done in a clear, concise manner that is focused on the prayer. Outside noise is ‘blocked’ as you concentrate on the important subject at hand.

I’ve used meditation to control stress and even as pain relief (I had severe shoulder pain due to stress and my GP was unable to prescribe anything for it so I tried meditating which helped cure the pain and helped me gain control over the stress. The stress was relieved too). On a daily basis it’s more for clarity and focus and guidance on all aspects on life.

As I’ve mentioned before as life is fast paced with a lot going on it’s easier for thoughts to get lost and become unclear. Prayers are sometimes said with less focus. The mind to me in the processing centre of your body. Your spirit. Your being. Look at it like this. If your laptop slowed down wouldn’t you get it checked out for viruses and have it given a once over to check out what the issue is? Your mind needs the exact same level of care (if not more). You need to clear out negativity, the bad vibes. Leftover clutter from things that no longer matter. The feelings that are being harboured that are creating mental blocks that stop you moving forward.

So if your brain is slowing down and you having less clarity declutter. Take a brain dump. Write lists. Pray. Dhikr. Meditate. Give yourself the time you deserve for a healthier mind. Don’t let modern day processes slow down the most important piece of equipment you own; your mind.