How we are spending our time at home due to Covid-19

Who has ever thought that when the virus was announced in January that it would turn into a world wide catastrophe. It is sad what the world is going through and how everyone’s life turned upside down and how businesses are not running smoothly but the planet is healing.

Tim and I are considered lucky and blessed that we are working from home, we have a home to keep us safe and a job to cover our expenses. Although I had a pay cut, I still consider it a blessing. I pray for each and every individual who is going through a difficult time during this crisis and I hope this will end soon.

Tim and I have been keeping ourselves busy and making sure we always have something to do. One of the pros of staying at home and being quarantined is that people get extremely bored and discover their hobbies and creativity. The amount of TikToks and videos that are going viral to entertain everyone in the globe is just wonderful.

We haven’t been doing anything crazy or anything extra ordinary but I would like to share with you, how we keep ourselves occupied all the time.

So here goes…

Weekdays from 8 AM – 5 PM: We have our breakfast and start working. During working hours, we put on music we never heard before or sometimes in my case, I listen to podcasts while working. Sometimes I do laundry, organise few things and cook lunch.

After 5 PM, we exercise a little then have dinner while watching Netflix. We also read books and take care of stray cats. We turned our porch and our back garden into a feeding station so cats can eat and we also place water for cats and birds to drink.

Quarantine09

On weekends, Tim gets to sleep a lot. He usually wakes up at 11 AM – 1 PM. I’m a morning person so I’m awake by 7 AM and make breakfast and read a book and by 10ish AM, I watch one episode of any series that I know Tim might not find interesting. When Tim wakes up, we prepare lunch then we either read, watch old movies or paint.

In the evening, we have crackers and cheese and sit and discuss things while having tea. We also arrange Zoom Meetings with our friends to catch up. We always end up talking about the pandemic. I try to avoid the topic but people keep bringing it up. When friends or families send me a whatsapp message about it, I ignore and not reply. I believe in energy and if it is constantly being brought up, you attract the negative energy on yourself and the universe. I believe in praying or asking the universe for good health and to decrease the illness and make the world a better place.

Quarantine07
Keeping our home cozy
Quarantine03
worked on my scrapbook 

Anyway this is what we have been doing at home and as soon as I finish reading 2 books, I will sign up for a Master Class and also an online language course to learn new things.

Let me know what you do and share how you spend your time at home.

Stay Home & Stay Safe

Nissreen1 Comment

5 Inspirational Travel Quotes

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”― Marcel Proust

“Travel brings power and love back into your life.”
― Rumi Jalalud-Din

“Travel far enough, you meet yourself.”
― David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
― Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad / Roughing It

tumblr_pqtm7iZJMl1vj21edo1_1280

NissreenLeave a comment

30 Things to do before you turn 30

YUP!!! I JUST TURNED 30!!!!!

I always thought whoah 30 is old but naaahhhh I was soooo wrong, I still feel the same and don’t feel old at all. If you asked me if I wanted to change things about my past, I’d say probably few things here and there but I don’t regret things because I am who I am today because of the stupid things I’ve done. So here are 30 things to do before you turn 30.

  1. Eat Healthy and Drink Water.
  2. Travel Solo at least once.
  3. Learn Languages.
  4. Spend time volunteering.
  5. Take a Road Trip.
  6. Go Crazy. Bungee Jump/ Sky Dive/ Para-glide
  7. Meet new people from around the world.
  8. Pay attention to detail.
  9. Question things.
  10. Be grateful for what you have.
  11. Listen to your parents. They may not be perfect but don’t be stubborn and listen to their opinions.
  12. Invest in Good Friends.
  13. Remove Toxic People from your life.
  14. Invest. You can make money in the future and retire early 😛
  15. Learn the Art of Patience.
  16. Believe that good things will happen when you least expect it.
  17. Trust your gut. It is always right.
  18. Have a bubble bath.
  19. Don’t take things seriously. Life is meant to be lived.
  20. If something goes bad, always remember nothing is permanent. The problem will eventually go away.
  21. Cry when you feel like it. Crying always helps.
  22. Take a day off on a weekday and watch a movie in the cinema by yourself.
  23. Learn how to cook.
  24. Give without expectations.
  25. Life is unfair but don’t make excuses.
  26. Set Life Goals and work hard to achieve them.
  27. Read.
  28. Eat different cuisines.
  29. Take Risks in Life.
  30.  Be Honest. Especially to yourself.

Here are 30 things to do before you turn 30 and along the way, you will experience a lot and learn a lot. Enjoy your teens and enjoy your 20’s and honestly 30 doesn’t feel any different.

 

Nissreen1 Comment

5 Inspirational Travel Quotes

Sorry I haven’t been blogging like I used to but work, packing and catching up with everyone before we leave makes our schedule so effin hectic and especially I’ve got language class and an art class. I’m learning grammatical Tagalog.

I promise more of my travel posts will come after we finally settle at our new place in Abu Dhabi. We will settle once we connect all the amenities especially the INTERNET LOL. We will be travelling end of march so we will have lots of time afterwards.

So, here is a short post of my favourite travel quotes. You can follow me on Pinterest where I save my favourite quotes. Check it out 🙂

And these are 5 quotes of the day: –

5. “Travel is still the most intense mode of learning.”- Kevin Kelly

4. “I have an insane calling to be where I’m not.”- LiveFreeAndBeer.COM

3. “We Travel, some of us forever to seek other places, other lives, other souls.”- Anais Nin

2. “Travel makes you realise that no matter how much you know, there’s always more to learn.”- Anonymous.

1. “Travelling- It leaves you speechless then turns you into a storyteller.”- Ibn Battuta

 

Here are some of my favourite quotes. I will be sharing more in the future but of course, I’ve got lots more to write about.

Post-115-BT-09

 

 

NissreenLeave a comment

My Top 5 Dream Destinations

Related to my previous blog post about bucketlist.org. I thought a lot about my top 5 Dream Destinations and wondered when will I go. I’m really dying to visit those 5 places. BUT of course, I want to see the world and see everything but those 5 countries, are on top of my list and hopefully some day I achieve this goal and visit all 5.

Here are my top 5 dream destinations:

1. Peru: Ever since I was a child, Peru was my dream destination. The culture, people and the nature. Of course, visit Machu Picchu. There are many other places to visit in Peru so if I ever visit, I’d like to stay there for one whole month maybe even two lol.

2. Cuba: For SALSA, for the CARS, for the colourful city of Havana-na-na-na.

3. Mongolia: I personally think Mongolia has one of the most interesting cultures and traditions. I’m keen to learn a lot about them.

4. Antarctica: PENGUINS. 😁😁

5. Iceland: just because it looks amazingly beautiful. I would want to stay there for 2 weeks.

So let me know what are your top 5 dream destinations and why.

Laters x

Nissreen1 Comment

My Bucket List

Unfortunately I couldn’t post anything yesterday. Tim and I were over loaded with work and still packing for our March move. We will be moving to the capital soon.

So with all the office work and the packing, I keep my outlook positive during stressful days like adding things to my bucket list so that I know there is a purpose to live and to look forward to the future. Since I’ve been writing my goals and dreams down, I thought why not share it online.

Check out buckletlist.org where you can create your own bucketlist and share it with your followers. In addition to all of that, you can check out activities and new ideas that never crossed your mind.

I wrote down over 300 things to do in life and will start adding them slowly to my online bucket list. I’ve done a lot but here are some of the things that I’ve accomplished.

  1. Skydive
  2. Been to 2 continents at the same time
  3. Been to 2 countries at the same time
  4. Gambled in Vegas
  5. Attended a 3 Doors Down concert.

I managed to accomplish a lot of other things. So let me know what you think of the website 🙂 heres my profile https://www.bucketlist.org/list/belliontravels/

 

Nissreen2 Comments

Meeting the Medicine Man from Eat, Pray, Love

It was an unexpected trip that was completely planned and organised by Tim. Lately, I’ve been fighting early stages of depression.

Tim thought this would be an opportunity for me to enjoy my time and have a stress-free vacation. We travelled for 5 days and 4 nights and we managed to do a lot which I blog about separately.

Since I’m a fan of the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, I became fond of Bali. One of the wishes written on my bucket list is to meet the medicine man in person, his name is Ketut Liver. He managed to read the authors future and gave her wonderful advises. I thought since we are staying in Ubud, it would be a great idea to visit him and so we did….

I told the staff at the hotel that we wanted to visit the medicine man Ketut and they said I was lucky because he lived close but unfortunately Ketut has passed away yet his eldest son is continuing his legacy but that didn’t stop us from visiting him, we were very eager to meet him.

Tim and I arrived at his house at 10 AM, we knocked on the door and he asked us to take off our shoes. He asked me to sit on the mat and to cross my legs, in the yoga position and he said that I was healthy enough to be able to sit like that.

He took my left palm and said I was very emotional and very sad. The first thing he said was ‘you are sad, quit your job’. He said there are a lot of people who are hurting me emotionally and that I think too much and lets things affect me. If I continue to allow this, my third eye will close. If I manage to close that eye, I will never find balance nor peace within myself. So, he said I should pray and mediate to be able to find my balance. He then said you will have babies, 2 kids. A girl and a boy however due to my health condition, I will have the babies quite late.

In conclusion, I need to quit my job to be able to find happiness and work hard towards something that would motivate me. A passion or desire and that I have the perfect husband who will support me. I told him, I will think about it and for sure I do need a change.

So peeps, I will clearly update you with my progress 😊

Bali_01

Bali_03

 

Nissreen2 Comments

Remarkable place to visit in Kyoto

The first touristic attraction we visited was the Bamboo Forest located in Arashiyama, west district of Kyoto. If you are coming from Kyoto Station take JR Sagano Line to JR Saga-Arashiyama Station. However, if you are travelling from central Kyoto then Hankyu Line to the furthest Omiya Station then transfer to Keifuku Randen Tramline.

01

Tim and I arrived at the station and the first thing that caught my attention was the cherry blossom trees. We walked in the area before heading to the Bamboo Forest and tried a lot of street food. Of course, while walking we took lots of photos of the cherry blossom tree since it’s listed on my bucket list.

Post-118-BT-04

Post-119-BT-01 (1).jpg

As we walked the streets and checked the market, we passed the Nonomiya Shrine. Honestly, the place was packed with people so we managed to take pictures and continued to the Bamboo Forest.

Post-119-BT-02.jpg

As soon as we arrived, my mouth dropped. The place looks surreal, it’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to. The calmness, the serenity and nature; I just couldn’t believe my eyes. As we got out of the forest, we made a stop at Okochi Sanso Garden. Seriously I’ve never seen such beauty in my life, my eyes were glittering just like the girls from the anime LOL. I felt like I needed to be there at that moment, so we stayed there longer than expected and afterwards headed to one of the restaurants near the main road called ‘Gion Naritaya’. They serve very delicious ramen and for my muslim family and friends, good news they serve Halal Food.

Post-119-BT-03.jpg

Anyway, as it was getting dark, we headed back to the station and made our way back to Central Kyoto. I highly recommend the place because there’s something enchanted about it. It leaves you breathless and astonished. Till today I can’t stop talking about it and every time I see it on TV I get excited. We highly recommend you visit the Bamboo forest, I guarantee that you will fall in love with the place.

Post-119-BT-04

Post-119-BT-05 (2)

Visit: April 2017

Admission: Free

Transportation:

  • From Kyoto Station take JR Sagano Line to JR Saga-Arashiyama Station.
  • From central Kyoto then Hankyu Line to the furthest Omiya Station then transfer to Keifuku Randen Tramline.

Location:

 

NissreenLeave a comment

Turkey – Athan-Call for Prayer

Being born and raised in the Middle East, I’m accustomed to hearing the ‘Athan’, which is the call for prayer. The Athan started when the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) choose a freed slave named Bilal as the first Muaathen. Muaathen is someone who calls for prayer, Bilal was chosen by the prophet because of his beautiful soothing voice. He was the winner of ‘the Voice/ Middle East Idol’ during that era.

We were taught in school that a Muaathen must have a calming voice to call on the believers to pray. As mentioned before I’ve adapted to hearing the Athan but I never thought of concentrating on the voice and never understood how an Athan must be chanted gracefully, until Tim and I visited Istanbul.

We both heard the Athan in many parts of the Arab world like Morocco, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Syria, Oman and of course UAE. Some were nice to hear and others were loud and displeasing. Amusingly, I personally enjoyed listening to the Athan in Turkey, it sounded like soft music that soothed my ear and heart.

While there, we managed to visit two famous mosques the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia which is also a church. HOW AMAZING RIGHT??!!!  Hagia Sophia was a church which later was transformed into a mosque but kept parts of the churches’ interiors.  Both religions are considered the same as we are all descended from the same prophet.

I hope someday the world will come to an understanding on not using religion as power, and realise all religions teach and share the same moralities and standards. Everyone should respect one another and ignore the extremists of any religion. I consider myself very lucky to be exposed to many religions which taught me a lot.

As the Quran says:

لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ

Lakum Dinakum Waliya Deen

“To you your religion and to me mine”

Post-5-BT-02.jpg

NissreenLeave a comment