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Somebody Has to Say It…

Somebody Has to Say It…Wintertime sucks! Days are short and mostly dark, I’m freezing as soon as I step out of my door, sunlight is missed so much and streets are empty as almost everyone is hurrying to get into a warm place again. Even singing birds are something I miss during wintertime.
The worst is that the last three weeks were completely grey, cloudy and rainy. I had to turn on the lights already in the morning. I’m not tanned, the German white skin, but I’m honestly a summer type if you judge from my mood state. As soon as the sun is shining, birds are singing in the morning and a warm breeze is waking me up I’m in a good mood. Which type are you? Summer or winter or are there even more, like maybe the depressive autumn type or the ever happy spring type?
Yours Miss Faith, waiting desperately for the first signs of spring…

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Facebook status

Facebook status

Am I on Facebook?
Sure I am as several others, or let me say I hardly know persons who aren’t.
Why is Facebook not showing up on my blog then?
I mean, I’m just writing about it but there is no possibility to follow me on Facebook.
You want the truth?
My Facebook is my private fun.
A network where I’m connected with friends, family members and colleagues and it was hard to separate them into groups with restricted views on my profile.
I’m not shy or prude but I don’t believe that my colleagues need to have access to my latest holiday pics or need to know where I was exactly at which time where on the other hand my friends are allowed to see it.
I’m happy when friends just pop up in the same location as they have seen my status on Facebook. It’s also a nice way to stay in touch with friends or family spread all over the world.
Even now when I’m in the situation that the whole family of my husband is living in Libya I love to have a network like this.
Just yesterday my husband became a proud uncle of a little girl for the first time and the cutie was shown in our private family circle.
You see, this is internal stuff for myself on Facebook and that’s why I haven’t linked it to this blog.
My plan for the future is to have a public Miss Faith profile.
But this needs to be set up in a professional way and I honestly didn’t found the time yet to start working it out. Stay tuned, as soon as its online I will let you know for sure!
Now back to the private account.
What I recently discovered is that Facebook is asking its members directly how they feel, what they think or where they are.
Does they mean they care – I would rather say they want even more information from users.
Some are serving them well already nowadays or would you put in your status that you are just on your way to hospital for giving birth?
Not me, that’s a no-go from my point of view. Even if we are all and everywhere online and connected there should still remain some privacy.
As Facebook isn’t that easy to handle in regards to privacy I just post stuff where I would have no problem if strangers may see it. Means not posting almost naked pictures or status updates which carry my deepest emotions. Break ups are often posted and what for? Should my friends be sorry for me or back bite my then ex-boyfriend? If I want to share these stories with a good friend I pick up the phone and dial his or her number.
Preferred by me are updates like favorite songs, favorite quotes, some funny pics from time to time or congrats to whatever. I can show my new bought couch to my family who is not living directly around the corner or send my husband snowy pictures from Germany to Libya.
What are your favorite status updates and what would you never write on a social network page?
Let me know your “random” thoughts.
Yours Miss Faith
P.S.: the pic is my status on New Year’s Day 😉

Facebook status

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My first try to write a poem…

…perhaps that’s why it’s called poeTRY…Would love to hear if you like it!

Our love

I remember the last time
You were holding my hand.
I remember the last time
We had our feet in the sand.

Time is passing so fast
But remembrance will last.

Do you remember the time
When I kissed you goodnight.
Do you remember the time
When hearts felt so light.

Time is getting me through
All those days without you.

Faith is keeping us moving fast
As we know our love will last.

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My favorite beauty treats…

My favorite beauty treats……are from Origins
Did you ever try the mega-mushroom skin relief?
If not you should. Since I discovered them for myself it’s like my own home spa.
As soon as applied them on my face the skin is relaxing and I smell the cream which has kind of a calming down smell, at least for me. What I do just these days additionally is applying the all-purpose high-elevation cream in the evening to smooth my skin. Wintertime leaves my skin dry as I stay lots in heated rooms and the dry air seems to suck out every moisture of my skin.
Why is the Jo Malone candle also on the pic? Because it smells so nice, I couldn’t resist adding it.
I light it up in the bathroom while pampering myself or just on a small table next to me while reading, writing or listening to music. This scent is addictive.
What are your favorites?
Nourished greetings from Miss Faith

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Love knows no distance

Love knows no distanceBelieve me, I know what I’m talking about! I never expected me to be in a situation like this, my love thousands of miles away from me, but it works.
Sure it’s not the best option but to be honest, it’s not that complicated. I wasn’t sure if it will work out when I was thinking about long distance relationships in the past. The present shows me that it does. But why is it working? Because of the persons themselves. If you are jealous beyond words you will have a big problem as well as when you have difficulties with trust. If you are loving and trusting from the bottom of your heart and if you are truthful and faithful, maybe even trusting that it was meant to be this way, then the love is growing more than in a day to day relationship, at least from my point of view.
Within a shorter timeframe you are knowing the other person just because you talk. Talking is essential for relationships and while being apart, what else could you do than talk? No one wants to stay quiet on the phone, on chats or on Skype, if that would be the case it cannot work. We miss each other each day and would be happy to stay together but as long as this is not possible we have to make the best out of it.
Another good thing about missing someone is that you will be even more happy when you finally are back together. Like falling in love over and over again whenever you have the chance to be together.
I’m sure that the time is limited as when it comes to planning a life together, a family and a future there must be a place called home. But until then we keep our spirits high, make the best out of each situation we have to faith and trust that there is a way for us together in the same place one day.
Life has no rules – we have to face everything as a challenge and believe that it will work.
Stay faithfully!

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How should women be in 2013?

How should women be in 2013?If you just look around you on a normal day and listen to what media and magazines think women should be like I’m pretty sure that this is nothing a woman could fulfill.
We first of all have to be dressed perfectly and stylish and take care of our body. Undone hair is a no go unless it’s just the newest trend and en vogue. Besides we also need to be successful in our full time job and raise children as if we always were mothers. Next to us the perfect husband, successful too and a loving father. Problems are nonexistent, or let me say if there are some then just because the personal trainer had to cancel a session or the flights are delayed. We handle all with a smile on our face and bad mood, what is that?
We shouldn’t be too cute but also not too sexy. Our sense of humor shouldn’t be completely funny, that’s too boyish nor completely serious, it could mean we tend to be boring. We should act mainstream but think forth going, thinking over the edge.
Please tell me how should this be possible?
A few tips I agree on like never talk about the men of your past – nobody wants to be compared and you shouldn’t compare either – something new means you open a new chapter in your life and the past belongs to the past. That’s true but nevertheless we only are what we are because of past experiences but I agree on don’t giving them names or details.
Ups, and we have to be skinny but healthy, this may work for a few but for sure not for all. I’m not the person who wants to be high sized and fortunately can eat whatever without gaining weight but honestly, what means skinny? Only skin and bones looks unhealthy from my point of view and women should have a shape. So please eat! Women are humans also and who can live without food? Food is pleasure…at least for me!
In regards to fashion I wouldn’t go completely with the newest fashion pieces as no one except of models can wear these combinations. Have you ever seen an average woman who can wear the pieces presented on fashion show stages without looking ridiculous, bitchy or undressed?
I found another tip where I also agree on. Accept the child in you – life is serious enough so acting goofy is essential from time to time.
But careful because when it comes to what we should be like we have to hide our next steps – nothing is more boring than persons where you exactly know what they will do next. For instance being goofy.
What would be my on tip of how women should be in 2013?
The main points from my point of view are the following:
– be yourself and don’t try to please others
– take care of yourself
– be truthfully, reliable and honest
– love
– have fun
– live every moment
Be faithful, cherish what you have and love life like it is!

Miss Faith

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The first weeks of 2013

The first weeks of 2013Just around two weeks have passed in 2013 and it feels like months already. I’m quicker back in my working routine than I thought. Where is the relaxation from before? Gone almost in the second I turned my computer on and checked the first emails. As I wrote in one of my earlier posts, I have no New Years resolutions but there’s one point I honestly have to think about. Either how I regain the motivation for my current job or how to change my life in regards to work to be motivated again, maybe another job in a different area. Let’s see what this year may bring.
It’s less than one month left until my parents celebrate their 60st and 66th birthday and if all goes as planned, my fiancé and me will be there together. At least my parents are prepared when it comes to food as I was the halal meat deliverer. We have a good halal butcher here in Munich and I carried eight kilogram of meat to them last time to put it in the freezer.
The January itself is not really exciting up to now. Besides working I meet from time to time my neighbor for coffee or tea, or for exchanging food. We made almost a habit out of cooking for the two of us, one day it’s her turn, the next mine, so that we have days off cooking and also get to know more recipes. As the weather is more than awful I spend most of my time in the flat. Even the newspapers were writing about the “depressive” weather, the last sunshine was visible in December, since then it’s only cloudy, rainy and grey sky. I’m definitely not a winter person and can’t wait for the first spring days.
The only good thing about this is that I have lots of time to read and watch the movies I wanted to watch and of course to update my blog! I’m in the process of collecting ideas and topics to write about and if someone would pay me for doing it I would say in the second yes and make it my daily job. This is more interesting and fascinating as I discover so many things I want to know more about. But for the time being this is just a dream.
My colleague told me one be careful what you wish for as it sometimes can come true. So I try to wish more, maybe I’m lucky – haha.
Never loose the faith!

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Lonely in my flat

Lonely in my flatAfter my fiancé returned to Libya it was really strange. We were often outside for the already written about family visits and stuff like that but what we did is, that we did everything together!
The last weeks together in Munich we were painting my living room and made it more cosy for the two of us to enjoy every minute. My flat is now our flat, I emptied one wardrobe for his clothes and his shoes have a place next to mine at the front door. The couch area has lots of pillows on the floor which we bought together as well as two small tables where we sat on the floor to watch movies, listening to music and having tea or coffee. A bit of an Arabic style which I love so much.
When I returned from the airport it was a bit mean as there are so many memories in the flat. Not mean in a negative way because I love to have him around even if he is not here physically but mean when it comes to things like stepping inside and looking at his shoes. It gives the feeling of he is still around but he is not sitting in the living room.
Strange for me as I was so used to live alone after so many years and now it feels so wrong. From time to time I’m opening his wardrobe to smell him and after a few days I put his bathroom stuff out of the closet and put it next to mine in front of the mirror. I want to have him around me whatever I’m doing. Maybe that’s childish behavior but who’s making the rules? I feel better and so it is right for me.
In the end it’s just a matter of time until we are together again enjoying all this. He flew back beginning of December and probably will be back from work and back in Germany beginning/mid of February. I just have to go past the Xmas period and as I will spent this time with my family time will run, what’s left then is the nice month of cold, grey January and we are back together. Until then we bother Skype daily if possible and raise the missing. And to be honest, missing is something which is keeping a relationship more than alive. I don’t say that I want it for the rest of my life but for the time being we have no other choice and are making the best of it.
What is more romantic than waiting at the airport looking at each person coming out at the arrival gate until a bright smile covers your face when you finally see the one you were looking for. This is a scene replayed in so many movies – we are living our own movie.
Faith is keeping us moving on!

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My travel to go list – Places I want to see in my life

My travel “to go” list – Places I want to see in my lifeDo you also have this list which contains places you want to see once in your life?
I’m not sure if mine is still normal as I have the feeling to discover weekly at least one new place. Nobody could be able to see them all unless you are a billionaire or your job is traveling the world. I’m listing places which I saw somewhere and thought instantly “I wanna be there once.”
The weird is that now, when I look at it, I realize that there are more places to pin down. But for the start (haha) it’s long enough – maybe it should stay like this and only when I was able to check them all I start a new one. Who was there already and has stories about these places below? Would be interesting to hear what others experienced and if it’s really worth going there or what they experienced during their stay.

1. Santorini / Greece
2. Rome / Italy
3. Maledives
4. Bali
5. India / Taj Mahal
6. Cape town / South Africa
7. Krueger National Park
8. New Orleans
9. Pyramids, valley of the kings & Cairo / Egypt
10. Sydney / Australia
11. Bukarest / Romania
12. Venezia / Italy
13. Hawaii
14. Sansibar
15. Tripoli / Libya
16. New Zealand
17. Wales / United Kingdom
18. Abu Dabi
19. Marrakech / Morocco
20. Elba / Italy
21. Athens / Greece
22. Istanbul / Turkey
23. Tel Aviv / Israel
24. Ibiza / Spain
25. Tuscany (again) / Italy
26. Prague / Czech

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Xmas with the family

Xmas with the family

This year (or to be correct, last years – 2012) I spent Xmas again with my family. The last years we hadn’t had a Xmas only with our inner circle family which means mum, dad, my sister and me. Sometimes it was me and my parents when my sister was with her boyfriend, or it was my sister and my parents while I stayed in Munich. This year all were happy to be together again. For me it was also a time to get some rest while doing nothing. Doing nothing is something I’m absolutely bad at. As long as I’m home I will find something which has to be done instead of just snuggling up on the couch and read a book or watch a movie. This is different at my parents as I don’t have to clean the house or do the washing. I was already looking forward to watch all the Xmas fairy tales on TV, feeling like a child again, no problems, no tasks.
It turned out that I really had a few relaxing days. There was lots of family gathering with aunts and uncles and their families but no stress during my stay. A bit of shopping, coffee with old friends, delicious food and lots of sleep.
Our Xmas tree was a cute small one this year and on twenty fourth we celebrated in the typical German way with potato salad and sausage in the evening, unwrapping the presents and family games for the rest of the evening. This year it was “rummikub” and I’m really keen to win those games. I started good but was the loser in the end – haha. But a saying here says if you aren’t lucky in gambling you are lucky with love. Keeping my love is worth losing the games!
On twenty fifth the traditional Xmas goose was prepared for lunch. If you never tried a goose you miss something, it’s so lovely!
And the last official Xmas day, the twenty sixth, which is also the birthday of one of my aunts we stayed in her house for birthday cake and coffee in the afternoon. All my cousins around and lots of chatting and laughing.
For New Year’s Eve I planned nothing, I just stayed at my friend and we had a nice dinner, lots of talking and TV and watched the fireworks from her balcony.
But like always, as soon as you feel a bit relaxed and would like to relax a bit more it’s time to get back to work. The same for me, directly on the first of January I had to drive back home to start working the next day.
The good thing about it is, that it was only one more month left until I can close my arms around my fiancé again, inshallah. As he told me before, the time will pass quickly.
I hope all of you had a nice holiday and a happy start in 2013.
I have no New Years resolutions but hopefully this year will be exciting with all our plans ahead.
Faithfully, Miss Faith!

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Finding halal restaurants

Finding halal restaurantsIt’s interesting about what you have to think if bonded to a Muslim.
I have no problems with all this at all and was buying halal meat in a really good shop here in Munich. For the home cooking I had no problems at all as I do lots of stuff with vegetable ingredients. For example sauces or soups where many use chicken stock or beef stock I always just used the vegetable stock. Gelatin if used from time to time can quickly be replaced by agar-agar, I quickly adapted to this and it’s not totally new as I also have Muslim friends. Alcohol is rarely found in my flat and I don’t remember to have used it ever for cooking. But what was new is to find a halal restaurant for kind of romantic candle light dinner or just a nice evening eating outside. I’m not talking about Turkish kebab which is found at every second corner, I mean a real restaurant with a menue containing starters, second courses if wanted, main dishes and desserts.
My fiancé is really easy when it comes to food and loves fish and seafood, which is ok in every restaurant, but from time to time a real piece of meat is nothing he would deny.
We agreed on eating out on my birthday and I started to search the web for halal restaurants.
Not as easy as I thought in a city which calls herself multicultural. I found a few and when checking the recommendations or websites most of them went off the list. One was left over which didn’t sound too bad and we made a reservation.
Persian food, lots of grilled meat, a surrounding which was really lovely, the only thing was that every piece of meat had the taste of lamb, even the chicken. People who like lamb won’t have a problem but guess who doesn’t like lamb at all? Me!
What a dinner…I extra ordered chicken and minced meat which should have been beef but after I had the first spoon in my mouth I stumbled. The dishes were full and there was lots of rice but what do you think the rice tasted like? Again lamb! I never experienced something like this before. The big salad I had as starter and the freshly baked bread fortunately didn’t left me starving but I was honestly disappointed. My fiancé order the biggest grilled meat dish they had and was fine, although he also told me that it was good but not something where he would jump up because it was the best ever he ate.
Nevertheless, until we find another one which is worth giving it a try we may go there again. I can order vegetarian food to be sure having no lamb anywhere.
If anyone knows good halal restaurants in Munich please let me know! I’m happy to try more.
Regards from Miss Faith

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What else happened during the past weeks?

What else happened during the past weeks?

There is so much to write about from the past weeks besides the engagement, the family visits and our islamic wedding that I don’t even know where to start.
Shortly after my love arrived from Libya he proposed to me and made me the happiest person ever. But after a proposal the planning starts and this is honestly not that easy. Two cultures, two countries, Europe and North Africa, Christian and Muslim, woohoo, lots to keep in mind and focus on. But some wise man one day said ‘love can handle everything’ so here we go on our journey to be finally husband and wife. For the legal part the first step was to ask just for informations about a wedding in Germany. To make it easy we choose the registry office in my birth town. It’s a small city and you don’t have to wait ages until they have a date for you but it quickly turned out that we have to check it in Munich as I’m officially registered there. The first sentence almost before the woman working there said hallo was – you have to pay before we start to review the fact sheet for a binational wedding. What a start, the first money already spent before we know anything. Next was that she was approaching my fiancé in German. And what a surprise, his German is not enough to consent to anything legal so even if he’s speaking clearly English and also is trusting my translations we have to bring a certified translator when we want to apply for the wedding. As if that’s not enough we got a full list of documents he has to bring translated and certified in Germany! It is not sufficient if the translation and certification was done in Libya and the German embassy there, no, we have to authorize a German agency. Sure we have because it is more expensive to do it here and my feeling is that the registry office is supporting local agencies but that’s just my thinking…
If we have all documents in place and applied for the wedding the documents will be checked at several departments. This hopefully won’t take too long as most documents will expire after six months, they cannot be older than that, otherwise we have to arrange again the whole paper stuff. If they agree within these 6 months, then the registry office in Munich will send everything to the small registry office of my home town and we can schedule a date with them.
This would be perfect as it is smaller, more intimate, located in a small park instead of a grey building and most important, we would have our families around. Belgium is not too far away from my parents, so his uncle could be there as well as my family.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed that it will work without major problems and we soon are also legally husband and wife!
Keep the faith and never lose hope!

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My Islamic wedding

My Islamic wedding

What is that? Hadn’t I wrote just a few days ago that I’m so happy because I’m engaged? And now already a married wife, how quick is that?
It’s true, I married my fiancé, shortly after our return from the family visits but not in the way that we are now legally bonded husband and wife, we married in the Islamic way which is not legal in Germany.
Why did we do it?
The story started when I met him as I knew from the very first beginning that he is a Muslim and not only by birth, he’s living it. That doesn’t mean that he’s the super religious person as many think when hearing Muslim, but he’s sticking to his religion and believes in it by heart.
To go directly against preoccupied people, no, I’m not married to an extremist, Al Kaida member or self suicide Muslim, I’m married to a faithful person and to the greatest husband ever for me. And another no, he’s not putting pressure on me in any way, I am still free and still without religion.
I’m German and I know also persons around me who are Christians by heart and who believes in their religion just in a natural way, so nothing to even talk about but when it comes to Muslims you always have to justify and clarify and explain just because of the stupid extreme persons showing off something which has in my point of view nothing to do with religion. Sorry, I interrupted myself but that’s something I wanted to add.
So we did it in the Islamic way as it was important for my fiancé. You can consider it like kind of blessing. Similar to what Christians do when they went to a church. Gods mercy through the prayer and advise from an imam.
Ok, it wasn’t that easy to find an imam because I thought in first place we should choose a mosque with Arabic background but it was quickly proofed to be the wrong decision. I don’t know how often we went there in total and to how many persons we spoke but the bottom line was that a twenty something young so called imam started a speech about why he cannot do the wedding. He went so far to almost calling me ‘unpurified’, I don’t even want to write the words I heard unsaid about what he was thinking about me. My reaction was purely to say: honey, lets go, I don’t need to listen to someone like him, judging me without even being able to look at me while talking. This “imam” was looking at the wall behind me while trying to convince me that I have to regret everything I did in my life. I do not regret anything! I had good times and bad times and precious memories and memories which are not sunny and happy but in the end all this made me the person I am today. The person my fiancé fell in love with. Just later a sentence came to my mind which would have fitted: let him who is without sin cast the first stone. And I don’t even think that I have sins – I just lived, I never hurted anyone on purpose or lied about important things, I haven’t killed or stolen my neighbors husband, and so on, I just lived my life for the last thirty-five years and tried to be a good person along the way.
This is not worth talking about because we drove off and my fiancé was as angry as me.
Soon afterwards we found a small mosque nearby where people were almost enthusiastic to find the imam for us. Two old men were almost running stairs up and down to locate him for us.
A bit worried from the first experience I was waiting and then he asked us to come into his rooms.
A white haired old man with, which gave me a good feeling, a kind and calm expression on his face. The two others joined us as during an Islamic wedding you need two witnesses. It turned out to be good as the imam was only talking arabic and Turkish, so the witnesses were also my translators.
The imam was explaining what he will do, what’s the sense of agreeing on a wedding, that in their tradition a sum for the wife has to be written down and agreed on in case of the husband leaving the wife. What for sure is not a bad thing but what we – inshallah – will never need. He was so kind and asked me upfront if it would be OK for me to cover my hair for the celebration. I had a zebra scarf around my neck, maybe not the kind of cover he thought, and did it as even if I’m without a religion I have a deep respect before religious persons. Not only for the imam, also for priests, rabbis, whatever there is on the world, as long as they treat me with respect I respect them too. And he was respectful and even kind of funny as the wife has to agree three times that she’s willing to take the man as her husband and he told me that I have to say “OK” three times. He said OK, OK, OK and I repeated it.
The first time I have ever heard that as an agreement for a wedding, I know the “Yes, I do” but OK was not on my mind before. He said the prayer together with my newlywed husband and the witnesses and afterwards the three old men were congratulating us and wishing us all the best and a happy future together. The witness gave us our wedding documents and they led us out of the mosque. There we were, newlyweds, on a snowy Sunday afternoon in the middle of Munich and what should I say, I’m so happy that we did it.
It’s kind of weird as I never thought that it will change something for me but it is like the engagement day, when you don’t expect anything you will discover in the end, that these steps are changing your life. I’m called wife now from my husband and even if the legal wedding is more important for me as I will take on his last name on that day I feel like his wife already and am talking about my husband. And it has shown me another thing in life, be open-minded, don’t cut precious moments like this out of your life because you are pre-occupied. You never know how it would be unless you do it.
Keep the faith, it hasn’t to be religious but it could, just the way you feel comfortable with is the right one.

And I had a “wedding” piece of cake afterwards 😉

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