The end of Day 3

and this is not as hard as I thought it would be :)

Sure I have my ups and downs. I am so thirsty throughout the day. And there are moments where I am overcome with hunger and feel myself getting grumpy, but when that happens I take a deep breath and remember why I am doing this. And I am so glad that I am doing this. It is an amazing thing, to exhibit such control over your mind and body. Almost exhilarating.

I have added to my rules of Ramadan, that I am trying to be a bit more selfless during this time. Meaning that I am trying to take care of Ilker and the house a bit more, even though it requires added energy, and trying to help out at work and focus less on myself and what I am going through and focus more on how I can help others. It is also, not always easy, but is so satisfying.

I must admit that I am not so sure that I would be so successful at this without Ilker's support. He has been amazing, cheering me on, keeping me distracted during the tough hours. Even just knowing that I have his support has helped tremendously when my resolve starts to waver. This has added such a wonderful, new element to our relationship as we support each other, and endure this together.

Well, its getting late....we eat breakfast or Sahur at 3:00AM, and I need to go prepare my oatmeal before going to bed.

Goodnight!

Tomorrow marks the start of Ramadan, and I have decided to observe this holiday and ritual with Ilker this year...and kind of keep a diary of my experience on here :)

So to start, I thought I would offer a brief explanation of what Ramadan is and what it means. Ramadan represents the month that Muslims believe Allah revealed the first verses of the Qur'an. During this month, Muslims fast. This means that they do not eat or drink (including water) during the daylight hours. Fasting serves many purposes. It serves to make Muslims more empathetic toward the poor-to have a greater understanding of what it means to be in need of the basic fundamentals for living. It also gives them an opportunity to practice controlling the body and the mind, and cleanses both. Fasting allows is a demonstration of their religious devotion.

For me, I believe participating in this sacred ritual together will strengthen mine and the HTB's relationship. It will allow me to really show him my level of commitment and devotion to our relationship, and understanding all facets of it on every level. Personally, I believe this will be a good challenge for my mind, body, and soul. To commit to something and test my personal limits. I have been pre-fasting for three days, and while it hasnt been easy, it also hasnt been impossible. I am looking forward to seeing how my mind/body can handle this, and to see the changes that will be made. I also plan to use this time to do a lot of introspection and "soul searching"...and to also really focus on expanding my knowledge of Islam, the Turkish culture, and most importantly the language.

So, among other goings ons in our life, I will try to keep an update/diary of my adjusting to this challenge...as well as my "turkish lesson" progress :)

Wish me luck! and now I am off to prep the kitchen for our 3:30 AM breakfast before fasting begins!

I received my first vintage Pyrex in the mail yesterday! It is going to look so perfect in our new kitchen! It is the bluebird design and it is fab!
you love Ilker's contribution, dont you :)

you know I like my chicken fried...

My 15 year old cousin, Harper performed in Dallas a couple of weeks ago! She is amazing! She uploaded her performance to youtube, and this morning I listened/watched her set. This song made me a little homesick...

i want to fly away....

so jet blue has this amazing promotion right now...and if we had an extra $1200 lying around right now...then we would be ALL OVER THIS! But alas, we are moving, getting married, and honeymooning in Turkey...so there is not extra $1200. Still...if you have been bitten by the travel bug (and do have $600 to spend) you should TOTALLY check this out...jetblue is selling "All You Can Jet" tickets for $599. This means that you can travel anywhere you want, as many times as you want from Sept 8 to Oct 8. It's brilliant I tell you :)

i think i found something to start collecting...

really, as if i needed to become obsessed with something else...however, last night i was reading a fab design blog DarlingDexter and she has a vintage pyrex collection. it is adorable. as i was cursing our lack of dishes/bakeware/anything in our kitchen last night while making dinner (i got rid of most of my kitchen stuff before moving up here, and have to replenish it) i thought these would make a fab item in our new kitchen. and would look especially lovely with the chandelier i am lusting after, and hope to recreate on my own.

i mean how perfect is this, displayed out in the open and everything!?

from here

a quick collection i found while perusing ebay....dang! if only shipping wasnt so expensive. i think i will be dragging Ilker to go thrift shopping again this weekend :)

opps...going to be late for work again!

A sneak peek...

I remembered the photos of our new apartment that were on the housing website. Below is a sneak peek of our future living room!!! Look at those gorgeous floors...and all that light!!!!

Eekk...I can't wait. The end of the month cannot come quick enough for us! Especially since we have gotten some REALLY noisy upstairs neighbors who appear to stalk the floor in heels and occasionally wear rollerskates and re arrange their furniture at any hour of the day. Fun stuff!

OMG

almost forgot that my baby sister is turning 21 today!! Happy Happy Birthday Caroline!!!!!!
Also...everyone think happy, positive thoughts for Morgan who has an awesome job interview today!

Love you two ladies :)

OMG! Just found these bowls on etsy (my new FAVE place to shop!) How perfect would these look with my peacock dishes?! hmmm....

the bowls...from here

and my peacock plates (from some of my most awesomest fam!)

both from here

oops! its getting late...enough "shopping" online for things I can't afford right now...must get another cup of coffee and finish getting ready for work!

SHOES SHOES SHOES....

I have scheduled my first dress fitting for the last weekend in September....and then I realized that only gives me barely two months to find my wedding shoes. I have always (at least for as long as I can remember) wanted to wear a funky colored shoe under my dress. Recently I decided to wear Sapphire Blue shoes because that is Ilker's fave color :) However, the quest for finding the "perfect" blue shoes is turning out to be quite difficult.

If money were no problem...these would the THEM
from here

But seeing as how they are $335 (WHOA!) and almost 5" heels... these are obviously NOT the ones. But aren't they gorgeous?! le sigh....

So back to the search and I am also back to the drawing board. Perhaps not blue...maybe red, or pink, or green?? hmm decisions decisions.

So, I am asking for some help (if anyone actually reads this) in looking for awesomely cute blue shoes, with a 3" heel or less, that are less than $100. PS...if you find something in a different "fun" color...do tell :)