Kind Words

Whenever one of my girlfriends is sad.

I feel myself getting infuriated.

How could someone so incredible & beautiful doubt herself.

I am always there to quickly remind her that she is incredible beyond measure.

That she deserves the greatest kind of love no matter what she believes.

That every bump in the road is just a journey in her path.

That you will learn and grow from each mistake.

That you can forgive those that have harmed you.

I would look at her and tell her you deserve more than you know.

I would be there and remind her she is loved.

One day.

I will be able to talk to myself with kind words that I speak to my loved ones.

No longer hiding

We all have things we don't like about ourselves.

Things we hate people noticing.

Things we hide.

Things we avoid talking about.

Things that make us squirm when people notice.

I can't be the only one growing up feeling as if I was hiding a huge part of myself.

I was different.

I always have been.

I used to pretend I wasn't.

Tried to fit in by hiding my differences.

Trying to just be like everybody else.

Wishing when I was a child that I could just be normal.

Just be like everyone else.

The parts about me that I hid.

Those were the best parts of me.

But it took me until recently to realize how truly great all those qualities truly are.

One thing that I have loved ever since I can remember is my name.

The way it sounds.

The amount of letters in it.

The amount of a's.

How foreign and mysterious the name sounds when people say it.

How people pronounce it any way they like and it still sounds fascinating.

The amount of nicknames I have obtained from it.

The fact that my father named it after a comic book character.

I have always embraced my name.

I love hearing myself say it when I introduced myself.

Every time I say it, even until today, I get excited.

I get excited to tell people my name.

Because it isn't ordinary.

It isn't normal.

Just like everything else about me isn't normal.

I hid my Lebanese background in every way possible growing up.

I didn't like that my family came from a foreign land and saw things so differently.

Growing up is strange.

We realize all the things we hid and didn't like about ourselves, end up being the parts of us that we absolutely adore.

I love telling people I am Lebanese now.

I love explaining my culture.

I love hearing how much they love our cuisine.

I love describing the life in Lebanon.

The people of my country.

Let us embrace every part that is different.

Let us take the excitement and love for our quirks, our differences, our unusual personalities, our nontraditional lives and let them shine.

No need to hide those parts about ourselves.

Those hidden parts are the best parts about us. 

lentil soup recipe for those chilly evenings

Being in Florida we don't get to experience the cold weather as much as the rest.
But when winter does decide to make an appearance in the sunshine state, we make the most it.

Opening all our windows to let in the fresh air,
prancing around the house in our socks & flannel pajamas,
curling up with our fleece blanket
and enjoying some delicious warming soup.

Considering almost all of us are now experiencing winter (as small or mighty as it may be), I wanted to share a simple lentil soup recipe with you.

You need very few ingredients, and it is healthy!
(also a vegan option)
Makes about 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups of red lentils
• 1/2 large onion
• 6 medium carrots peeled
• 1/2 tablespoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 7 cups of water

Preparation

• Rinse lentils and drain water
• Peel and cut all the carrots into small pieces
• Dice onions into small pieces

Recipe

• Begin by sautéing the onions with one tablespoon olive oil in a large pot
• Continuously stir until the onions become translucent / yellowish

• Combine 6 cups water, lentils, and carrots with the onions
• Mix and add salt
• Cover pot and let it boil until carrots and lentils are tender (typically 10-15 minutes)
• Once carrots and lentils are tender, add 1 cup of water
• Lower the temperature and use a hand blender to blend all ingredients

• Once all blended together, add cumin
• & now ready to serve

(option: for more health benefit and taste, squeeze a little lemon juice when you serve it)

bon appétit & stay warm