Pancake day...

Pancake is not only for pancake day but for all year round. This is why we carry on celebrating, any excuse really :) Big Fun
Here are the ingredients for the perfect plain pancakes:
150g self-raising flour, 1 egg, 1 cup (250ml) milk, 1 tablespoon butter, Caster sugar, Lemon. Have fun.

Just relax and think of.........Needles!

Today I was working on some notes for lectures for students and wanted to put some cartoon pictures that summarise students attitude to dental patients (sometimes and not all the time i hope). This is true especially when students are new to dealing with patients and their worry is more than their patients (and their tutors as well). So here are some cartoons that I like very much, enjoy.

As the snow continued to fall this morning, my cat picked the best place to watch the snow and keep warm. My cat watched the snow fall in great amazement and i am sure with some relief that he was not outside in the freezing cold.Perrrfect.

Let it snow..let is snow..let it snow

WOW..So nice to get up in the morning and look out of the window and see this view and this lovely snow. The schools are closed, we are building our fifth snow man this week and it is wonderful to play outside. Of course, being 122 years old (see previous blog) I feel the cold more while the kids are having the time of their life. How we are going to go back to school i am not sure but we are loving it for now and if it is going to be freezing cold, it is better to have the snow with it as well.

Happy Birthday..you are 122 years old!

Happy birthday
Had a wonderful party for my birthday organised by my daughter (with just some help from me). It was her idea to have a party for me. However, i soon discovered that there was another motive behind the idea as my daughter wanted to invite her friends too :) It was so much fun. It was not a significant birthday but still was really good to see my friends and to see my daughter happy organising things for me. After the party, we talked to some of our friends who could not make it to the party and my daughter told them "I had an idea to have a party for mama's birthday as she turned 122 years old" WOW...even though, it was fun...and thank you to all my friends and family for giving me a lovely day.

Better safe than sorry

Better late than never

Happy new year
I know I know, it is too early to say happy new year for 2010! But as I welcomed 2009 with proper flu, caught etc, I missed saying happy new year to many people.
So, new year, new beginnings, and new steps to take. Started a new research project involving diabetes and teeth, testing teeth structure and whether it is affected by diabetes or not. Also this week I have signed up to the London 10K run in July and it will be fun to start training again and aim to finish in a good time.
Some of the sad news that 2009 brought was about my boss and my PhD supervisor who is currently in hospital. He has now officially resigned and it felt so strange to go to the office and found it empty ready for its new occupant. My supervisor and his wife been more than work colleges to me and throughout my work with both of them they have been great help and support. To see my boss in hospital was heart breaking and my prayers go for both of them for strength at this time.
Some good news came from my church back in Egypt where those who had sever injuries are now recovering well after various operations and medical procedures. We know that the road to complete recovery will still be long, but it is a step in the right direction and we praise God for his mercy.
Here is one nice quote I heard in the first few days of this new year “what people think about you in none of your business”.
So better late than never….happy new year everyone.

Obama the Irish

This is really sweet. Enjoy!





No one as Irish as Barack OBama O'Leary, O'Reilly, O'Hare and O'Hara There's no one as Irish as Barack O'Bama
You don't believe me, I hear you say But Barack's as Irish, as was JFK His granddaddy's daddy came from Moneygall A small Irish village, well known to you all
Toor a loo, toor a loo, toor a loo, toor a lama There's no one as Irish As Barack O'Bama
He's as Irish as bacon and cabbage and stew He's Hawaiian he's Kenyan American too He’s in the white house, He took his chance Now let’s see Barack do Riverdance
Toor a loo, toor a loo, toor a loo, toor a lama There's no one as Irish As Barack O'Bama
From Kerry and cork to old Donegal Let’s hear it for Barack from old moneygall From the lakes if Killarney to old Connemara There’s no one as Irish as Barack O’Bama
O'Leary, O'Reilly, O'Hare and O'Hara There's no one as Irish as Barack O'Bama From the old blarney stone to the great hill of Tara There's no one as Irish as Barack O'Bama
2008 the white house is green, their cheering in Mayo and in Skibereen. The Irish in Kenya, and in Yokahama, Are cheering for President Barack O’Bama
O'Leary, O'Reilly, O'Hare and O'Hara There's no one as Irish as Barack O'Bama
The Hockey Moms gone, and so is McCain They are cheering in Texas and in Borrisokane,
In Moneygall town, the greatest of drama, for our Famous president Barack o Bama
Toor a loo, toor a loo, toor a loo, toor a lama There's no one as Irish As Barack O'Bama
The great Stephen Neill, a great man of God, He proved that Barack was from the Auld Sod They came by bus and they came by car, to celebrate Barack in Ollie Hayes’s Bar
O'Leary, O'Reilly, O'Hare and O'Hara There's no one as Irish as Barack O'Bama2

A little smile

Today I saw this site, in relation to the "shoe incident" that president Bush encountered in Iraq, made me smile :)
http://www.thankyouforthrowingyourshoe.com/index.php?Page=3

When prayers are needed more than ever before

The last few days been so hard for my church in Egypt. And for those of us living far away, it has been hard to get all the information about our friends who lost their lives or still in hospital. We have a network group that was sat up more than 4 years ago by people living abroad and it is a way of keeping in touch. After this accident, everyone is struggling with what to write or what to say. More than 50 families are involved directly in that fatal accident, how can anyone even start to try and console them? today, one of our friends who still in hospital, she gained her consciousness and started to ask about her family? she lost her mum, her dad, her husband and her son in the crash, what can you say? what can anyone say? and then "The Why" surface again and again. Only God knows why and only God knows how to carry on from now and how to live on. All i can say is that the whole church need healing and grace to stand up again and move on.

Sad news

The last few weeks been so busy and although my last blog was titled "back to my blog", i did not have any time to write anything. This morning i got this really sad news about an accident involving my old church back home where 14 people died and about 35 still in serious condition in hospital. they were all travelling to Alexandria for our church conference and the bus was involved in an accident. So many old friends and many of kids i taught in Sunday school (now they are in university). there is nothing to say really, just feeling of sadness and pain. The Lord knows.

http://youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=55380

Back to my blog

The last few weeks have been very hectic with new school term, new activities and getting back to work. But in the middle of all of that, I had a great time reading THE SHACK. It left a big impact on me and I defiantly recommend it. I also went back to work and praise God, so far so good. My daughter started playing the violin, so I have handed notices to all our neighbours just to inform them that this will be a “violin practice zone” :) but to be fair, she is doing great.

Impossible is nothing

So, I have made it. I ran and finished my 5K run on Sunday. It was so mush fun. The weather was perfect for running, not too hot or too cold and it did not rain :). The great part was seeing some 15000 women running for various charities.

As I ran, I felt so emotional about the whole thing and had so many ideas running through my mind about my walk (and some times run) with God. As I ran, there were people on the sides cheering and clapping, giving encouragements and support to the runners. I felt that may be that what I need to do more for others as they walk with God, not only when people are going through tough times, not only when they are struggling, but to clap and cheer as we all go through life with the Lord and to say "well done" and "keep going" as we all need that along the way.

Summer Blessing

THE FRIENDLY ALIENS WHO COLLECTED JOKES AND PICTURES THROUGH HOLIDAY CLUB WEEK

What a great summer we had! Even with my broken foot, praise God it went really well. There were lots of sport activities (for my daughter not me obviously), meeting friends and having picnics. However, between the quad biking, the swimming, the tennis and the walking, there were enormous blessings through the love and the support we received from family and friends. Also the practical support with my inability to drive. So thank you all.

On the top of my list of blessings, some of the great messages we received this summer through our holiday with All Souls church and through the holiday club (starship discovery) in our local church. My daughter and I have decided to make the effort and work hard on memory verses and here are some of the verses that are now on a "bible mobile" in the kitchen (so no excuse):

1- If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. (Isaiah 9:7b)
2-Choose yourself today whom you will serve, as for me I will serve the Lord. (Josh 24:15)
3- Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. (Prov 3:5)
4- Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. (1 Tim 1:15)
5- I will always be with you, I will never abandon you. (Josh 1:5)
6- In God I trust, I will not be afraid. (Psalm 56:11)

So as we trust the new school year in God's hands, we thank Him for the summer and for the fact that I have finally got rid of my crutch now.

The "Why" question

As we go through life the question of "Why" comes quite often and it is usually addressed to God. I never ask him "Why" when things are going well, the minute things get a bit difficult I admit I can't stop thinking it if not saying it. But in His mercy, He answers me in so many different ways, one of them was through a sermon (which was part of a series) on All Souls church web site by Chris Write, called the God I do not understand. And here is another answer, very simple and sweet and in my humble faith I trust that it is not through God's lack of control that some harm still come our way, He is in the boat and still in charge no matter what happen. Amen

Praise God for He is a great God

Now, one of the good things about having a broken foot is the fact that I do not need to worry about finding matching socks! But, finding matching socks I can cope with from now on. I had my appointment at the hospital and ….wait for it….they removed the plaster, and that is it, I do not need ANY plaster. I still need to use my crutches and gradually I can start to put some more weight on my foot. I can not drive yet but no problem. All I can say is that God is great and He is faithful so praise His name.

It is only day 3 and I am bored to death already!

You know sometimes when life is very hectic and you dream of watching a whole movie without any interruption or finishing some letters before the deadline, this is happening to me now all because of my broken foot. I am sitting at home nursing my foot, and in my small space I have: my laptop, the TV remote control, my mobile phone and my land line phone too, i.e. a small communication centre but I am so bored. My daughter already decorated my plaster with smiley faces and wanted me to sit still to paint a portrait of me (of course no chance of me running away from something like that). I am trying to find jobs to do while sitting down, like finishing some letters and filling some bills and forms. There are also piles of papers and books that need sorting so I am doing my best. The irony is, the sun is shining and the weather is nice. However, I am living in hope that on Friday’s appointment I will be given some good news about how long should I stay like this, so keep praying.

Graduation and broken foot in the same 24 hour!

What a 24 hours I had…On Friday 18 July, I had my PhD graduation ceremony in the university. It was a joyous occasion and having family and friends round to share this lovely day with was so special. My daughter enjoyed herself so much and loved seeing mum in a funny hat and gown. All the hard work and the sleepless nights were worth it at the end. The following day I managed to twist my ankle and in less than 2 hours, I was sitting in A&E waiting for an X-ray. The good news is I can not do any house work at all, the bad news is; I have broken a bone in my foot. So no more running for now, no swimming, no driving, even making a cup of tea is a challenge at the moment. Praise God that we started the school holiday and that I have the family round to look after me. So be ware, more blogs on the way!

God, IL Divo and I

In the last few days, I have been running every day in an attempt to get fit and ready for my charity run in September. I put on my running shoes and just run in the local park. The first time I went, it felt so liberating, the space, the sky and the freedom of a good run. Praising God is wonderful when you are in an open space. The music is another thing, as a fan of IL Divo, I love listening to their songs while I run. So as I get into the habit of running everyday, I am enjoying this combination of God, IL Divo and I.

Some more DIY (but that is the end of it)

I promise that this is it, no more decoration (this week) :). I started painting the guest room 3 days ago and thought it will take only a day to finish it all. However, as i worked i realized that more and more was needed. I finished it today and put the curtains up and put all the furniture back in place etc and I am very happy with the results. I have one of my friends visiting for the weekend and it was a good motivation to get the room ready for her, so it all worked out well. Here are some photos before and after. My promise is "no more decoration for now", I must start to focus on training for the charity run so brace yourselves!

BEFORE

AFTER