Talbina

 Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullah :) how are u doing today?

I could be on a better mood, but alhamdulillah everything is fine. Maybe hormonal. I treat myself with chai tea, and chocolate cookies I made. No pics, because they don't look presentable but are more enjoyable so it compensates it..?

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We muslims follow our book, Qur'an, which we believe is the direct revelation from God. From the One and Only worthy to worship. But as you might know, we also believe in prophets and especially the one who conveyed the message of islam, our prophet Muhammad (saws = sallallahu aleyhi wa sallam, may Allah exalt his mention). We believe that his teachings are valid throughout history to the days of modern society. We also believe that even though he was only a man, he was a very exemplary person. His example is called sunnah in Arabic, hence the name Sunni muslims explains we are his followers. Other islamic sects do differ in opinions and customs, but Qur'an ties all of us together.

But anyways! As we follow the sunnah, there's so many things to do to actually practice islam. There's the pillars of islam, and pillars of faith, but numerous smaller deeds also are counted as worship. For example, it's sunnah to smile :) it's sunnah to greet people we know and who we don't know. It's also considered an act of charity too.

There's also foods that are sunnah, meaning they are recommended to eat and our prophet saws enjoyed them regularly. One of these foods is Talbina, a barley porridge made in milk. It is a simple dish, easy to prepare, and it's said to hold healing properties, lower cholesterol, help with stomach issues, and comfort one in stress.

Barley porridge is also a traditional Finnish food. :) Nice to find a connection between our traditions and islamic traditions.

You can eat Talbina any time of the day. I made it yesterday evening and today morning. I feel it kinda soothes my nerves, and is filling too. It takes about 15 minutes to make, here's how to do it:

- 1 cup / 2,5 dl of water

- 1 cup / 2,5 dl of milk ( I used oat milk) 

- 1-2 tablespoons of 100% barley flour

- honey

(- salt)

Mix the water, milk and barley flour in a small kettle with a whisk. Heat it to boil, and then let it simmer in a low heat for about 15 minutes, or until the mixture has a porridge like consistency of your choice. Don't leave it unattained. You may add some honey, and also a pinch of salt if you want. You can also top the porridge with berries or almonds, raisins, anything you like. But it is a delicious dish on it's own too. :)

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I got my satin skirt, and a tunic too, alhamdulillah. I found the satin skirt in Ellos, tunic from Vinted. I have kept still a list of all the clothes I buy this year, and I feel like I have really controlled how much I buy but still have been able to buy more than I thought. I thought I'm gonna buy less than 5 items as new, but the amount is closer to 10. The average amount of purchases in a month is 4. I think it's too much, way too much. We are only on the half way of the year.. I need to sharpen up. 

I have kinda renewed my wardrobe again, finding these beautiful, new clothes and given away what doesn't fit anymore. Only clothes that have stayed are my abayas and scarves. But my wardrobe is working better for my needs now though, so something good in this too. 

Clothes, shoes and accessories are clearly a blind spot for me. I don't own so many things otherwise, I mean all kind of gadgets and lattice detectors (is that a real translation to hilavitkutin??). I even sold my hair dryer recently. I try to keep my belongings minimal, but this clothing issue.. I don't even have so much clothes, because I do donate anything I don't wear anymore. I've just basically tried to find more better fitting and usable pieces. Also, my size has actually changed again, thanks to the Zumba and long walks..

I can challenge myself the rest of the year, to only buy something I really need. And consider the difference between a want and a need.

Do you have a habit of online shopping? 

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Sometimes we must do whatever soothes our soul. Just today, earlier, I talked with my friend and told her how I thought yesterday about how I have worked so hard to be in this state I am now. I have balance, life going somewhat easy, steady marriage ma sha Allah, so much to be grateful for. Before a little online purchase would have set me further in misery, of being unable to pay bills on my own. Or it would have been smoke in the air, followed with emptiness of my heart. Loneliness, no one to turn to. That's why islam changed my whole life so drastically. Not in a one night, is was a long process. But my faith and the mercy of Allah gave me strength, determination and belief in myself. I built my life from having practically nothing. And actually I have done it twice. I've made big mistakes after it too, but in the end I have at least learned to stand up straight after every setback. Finally I learned to defend my boundaries and respect myself. To believe that I also can have standards and I don't have to just accept any kind of behavior or abuse from anyone.

It will probably always be a process. It's about hitting a mountain top, only to find that the path takes you even further. Every slip doesn't count in the bigger picture, but seeing your footprints behind you will make you appreciate the work you have done. It's a lot, really. 

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Time to relax a bit. I cleaned today the floors, stressed a lot about a wrong kind of mop, cooked, baked, washed plates, changed sheets.. I think I can now take my time to scroll on Pinterest. No online shops!

Have a good week! Later,

Aisha