May 12, 2013 · 9:30 pm

Sushi on the Rocks

As usual, Sundays are my favorite days to create food, this Sunday, my girlfriends and I decided to explore the world of sushi.

What we used:
- raw salmon
- boiled shrimps
- crab sticks
- carrots
- avocado
- cucumber
- nori (dried seaweed for rolls)
- pickled ginger
- soya sauce
- rice
- sugar
- salt
- rice vinegar
- water
- wasabi

To prepare the rice, we rinsed it with water several times, then boiled it, once cooked, we added a tablespoon of vinegar, a bit of salt and a bit of sugar then we mixed.

Be careful about the amount of vinegar, sugar and salt that you put because it varied according to the types used and your taste of cause!

Once the rice was ready, we shopped the salmon, boiled the shrimps and chopped the vegetables.

When everything was ready, we started getting creative with our mixture.

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Pickled ginger is usually eaten between sushi pieces to reset taste buds and enjoy each piece separately.

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We enjoyed our sushi with white wine and a vegetable salad…

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If that’s not a Sunday night recipe then I don’t know what is!!!

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May 6, 2013 · 11:23 am

The Grand Canyon: One of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World

There are Seven Natural Wonders of the world:

I was lucky enough to visit one of them, the Grand Canyon.

There are very few pictures that can capture the grandioseness of this natural wonder for it is really breathtaking!

On Saturday, March 23, I visited the Grand Canyon with my Aunt Claudine, husband John and two kids Andrew and Gregory.

Here are some information about the Grand Canyon as retrieved from Wikipedia:

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United Statesin the state of Arizona. It is contained within and managed by Grand Canyon National Park, the Hualapai Tribal Nation, and theHavasupai Tribe. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of preservation of the Grand Canyon area, and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery. It is considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,000 feet or 1,800 metros). Nearly two billion years of the Earth’s geological history has been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. While the specific geologic processes and timing that formed the Grand Canyon are the subject of debate by geologists, recent evidence suggests the Colorado River established its course through the canyon at least 17 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River continued to erode and form the canyon to its present-day configuration.

For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon (“Ongtupqa” in Hopi language) a holy site and made pilgrimages to it. The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540.

After learning a bit about the Grand Canyon, check out our journey in pictures!

At Grand Canyon National Park entrance

At Grand Canyon National Park entrance with Gregory and Andrew

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Congratulations!

Congratulations! I have just walked a million years!

My aunt Claudine, my cousins Gregory and Adrew and me!

My aunt Claudine, my cousins Gregory and Adrew and me!

Even that we were visiting in March, for some reason during that particular weekend, it was freezing! So as my cousins say, it was “Freezing Neptunes!!!”

The light house

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After a long, and cold day, we returned to the Grand Hotel where we spent our night. The Hotel was nice, warm and very cozy .

The Grand Hotel

The Grand Hotel

We had a very delicious dinner at the Canyon Star.

The Grand Saloon

The Canyon Star

I love you bery much!

I love you bery much!

The next morning when we woke up to leave, we saw snow flakes on all the cars parked out side. It was even more freezing, then we warmed up with Egg McMuffins and Coffee from McDonald’s!

Snow Flakes

Snow Flakes


Yummy!

…then we headed to Sedona!

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May 1, 2013 · 10:33 am

Hiking on the Superstition Mountain

The Superstition Mountains are a range of mountains in Arizona located to the east of the Phoenix Metropolitan area. They are anchored by Superstition Mountain, a large mountain that is a popular recreation destination for residents of the Phoenix, Arizona area.

Legend says that a German immigrant called Jacob Waitz discovered a gold mine in the Superstition Wilderness. Only at his deathbed that he revealed it’s location to Julia Thomas in 1891.

I was lucky enough to visit the Superstition Mountains with my aunt Claudine, her husband John and their two kids Gregory and Andrew on Saturday, March 30 just as the spring has started to bloom!

We hiked on the treasure loop for a bit less than two hours. The hike was a tough one, it was gradually steep, and the weather was around 90 degrees Fahrenheit; we almost melted. The kids were tired, yet they had an adventurous spirit.

Superstition Mountain Superstition Mountain

Flowers had started to bloom, and all around was yellow!

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Did you know that a cactus takes between 70 and 90 years to grow an arm?!

Gregory's Red Flower

Gregory’s Red Flower

The Superstition Mountain

The Superstition Mountain

Gregory and John ahead of us on the mountain.

Superstition Cactus

Superstition Cactus

Superstition Mountain

Photo credit to John H. Postik Photography

Photo credit to John H. Postik Photography

All of us hiking down treasure loop, John took our pictures.

Photo credit to John H. Postik Photography

Photo credit to John H. Postik Photography

Photo credit to John H. Postik Photography

Photo credit to John H. Postik Photography

Gregory ahead of us!

After finishing our hike, we treated ourselves with delicious burgers at the Saloon of Ghost Town.

That was a perfect day!

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February 20, 2013 · 8:17 pm

The PaperBoy, Oh Boy!

When you know that Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman, John Cusack and John Cusack are all in one movie, you expect the movie to be a hit. That’s what I thought when the sales person at the DvD store suggested that it was a very nice movie recently released. (He had earlier asked me what type of movie I was searching for, I told him that I was searching for comedy!)

Just for you to have an idea about the movie, I am copying the movie information as posted on Rotten Tomatoes:

The paperboy

A sexually and racially charged film noir from Oscar-nominated director Lee Daniels (Precious), The Paperboy takes audiences deep into the backwaters of steamy 1960s South Florida, as investigative reporter Ward Jansen (Matthew McConaughey) and his partner Yardley Acheman (David Oyelowo) chase a sensational, career-making story. With the help of Ward’s younger brother Jack (Zac Efron) and sultry death-row groupie Charlotte Bless (Nicole Kidman), the pair tries to prove violent swamp-dweller Hillary Van Wetter (John Cusack) was framed for the murder of a corrupt local sheriff. Based on the provocative bestselling novel by Pete Dexter (Mulholland Falls, Rush), The Paperboy peels back a sleepy small town’s decades-old façade of Southern gentility to reveal a quagmire of evil as dark as a Florida bayou. — (C) Official Site

The movie was nominated for 18 awards and then won two of them (more information about the awards can be found at The paperboy – Wikipedia). As far as I know, being nominated by itself is something good.

Now after reading information about the movie and watching the trailer, I can now state my opinion:

This is the worsted movie I have ever watched in my whole entire life. Usually when I know that a movie is that disturbing, I just don’t watch it. The sales person fooled me, I actually don’t think that he watched it. I honestly dread the second that I listed to him and bought it.

As I was watching the movie, I couldn’t stop asking myself

“What the hell were these actors thinking when they agreed to film this movie?”

I mean, did they skip reading the script and sign for the movie then were stuck with it?

How can Jack Efron, the start of High School Musical shift from a PG rating to an R rating? Was he looking for a different audience?

Nicole Kidman, I thought she had class… it seems that fame is more important nowadays, or she was afraid that she is becoming older and wanted to star in a hit movie!

Back to the movie, well, it tackles all the flows of society, it has scenes that corrupt ones brain, and it actually depresses people.

What this movie does, is similar to what a lot are currently doing, they are showing the audience (us the people) the worst that a society can offer, so that when these things do happen, we are used to them, and can take them easier.

The PaperBoy

The worst scenes of the movies:

  1. John Cusack and Nicole Kidman having oral sex in the prison’s visitors area
  2. Zac Efron gets stung by a Jelly fish and Nicole Kidman vulgarly pees on him
  3. Matthew McConaughey (being a homosexual) gets humiliated in a motel room after approaching a pair of sadistic men who rape and torture him
  4. John Cusack and Nicole Kidman having an actual sex scene in a laundry room (after Cusack gets released from prison) that is cut by random images of disgusting wildlife outside

Other horrible scenes that do not relate to the movie’s plot:

  1. Someone opening up an alligator and his guts are exposed in details
  2. A naked pregnant women, the camera just happened to picture her

I hope that my blog post did not excite you to watch the movie. But if you watched it, what did you think of it?

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February 17, 2013 · 4:12 pm

How to Make a Frozen Minted-Lemonade to die for!

Lemonades are very easy to do, they are very tasty, and very refreshing! You can add a twist to your lemonade, so it becomes a cocktail to die for!

Here’s how I do my frozen minded-Lemonade:

Ingredients:

  • Fresh Lemon Juice (1 cup)
  • Fresh Lemon Slices (1 slice)
  • Fresh Mint Leaves (depending on preference)
  • Sugar (1/2 cup)
  • Water (2 cups)
  • Rosewater (1 teaspoon)
  • Ice 3 1/2 cups
  • Vodka or Rum (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Blend the lemon, sugar, and mint leaves in a blender
  2. Once blended, add the water, rosewater and ice, blend a little more
  3. Serve in a long glass, garnish with lemon slices and mint leaves. Add a straw if you like.
  4. If you want, you can turn this drink to an alcoholic drink by adding some vodka or rum.
My Frozen Minted-Lemonade

My Frozen Minted-Lemonade

Now tell me, how does this drink taste on a Sunday afternoon?!

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February 14, 2013 · 8:03 pm

How Talfen.tel helped me organize my wedding

I am an internet person, I feel more comfortable searching the web than searching stores in a mall.

I am also a person living on the fast lane, time is a very precious asset that I am very keen on preserving.

When I started preparing for my wedding, I knew where to start!

THE INTERNET!

I started with a basic internet search, it wasn’t easy to find quality content related to Lebanon. Then I stumbled upon www.Talfen.tel. It was the most useful website I found for Lebanon specific weddings.

Talfen.tel is a free directory for Lebanese Businesses, one can search by category or by business.

The section related to wedding services can be reached through http://lebanonweddingservices.tel/

talfen

The Wedding Services contains all the categories that anyone might need while preparing for a wedding. The list of categories contained the following:

  • Wedding Cards
  • Car Rental
  • Catering
  • Chocolate Shops
  • Dream Home
  • Fireworks
  • Florists and Flower Shops
  • Hotels
  • Jewelry Designers
  • Men’s Suits
  • Photographers
  • Restaurants
  • Travel Agencies
  • Valet Parking
  • Women’s Dresses
  • Wedding Venues
  • Wineries
  • Zaffe

At first, I wasn’t sure how relevant the information in this website were, until I started finding known names, then I was thrilled to have them all in one place!

I searched in each section, found  potential contacts, wrote them down, that’s where I knew I have to start my detailed search. I was so relieved to find all the information I needed in one place, it saved me a lot of time.

On February 7, Wedding Follies Exhibition started in Biel, so my fiance and I went to explore more options before we finalize our reservations.

We stumbled upon Talfen.net’s stand. We met the owner Mr. Elie Abou Fares, and told him how his website helped us organize our wedding… As enthusiastic as I usually am, I started telling Mr. Abou Fares how relieved I was to find all the information in one place, how it all helped me organize my thoughts…

Mr. Elie Abou Fares

Mr. Elie Abou Fares

then, Guess what?!

Mr. Abou Fares gave me a Talfen agenda to help me better organize the wedding!

The agenda had the following sections:

  • Calendar and Guest List
  • Budget
  • Bride’s Dress
  • Car Rental
  • Cards and Chocolate
  • Catering
  • Flowers
  • Groom’s suit
  • Hair and Makeup
  • Honeymoon
  • Jewelry
  • Music and Lighting
  • Photographers
  • Venue
  • Zaffet
My New Talfen Agenda

My New Talfen Agenda

The agenda looked very nice (as you can see in the pic!), it had all the needed categories and enough papers for notes.

With my new Talfen Agenda, I can now write my wedding notes in one place! I added the contact details I found from my initial Talfen.tel search to each section of the agenda. I also clipped pictures that I found in magazines, important vouchers, and business cards! I now know who to contact, why and when…

So if you are planning your wedding, I suggest you start with Talfen.tel, where else would you start?!

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February 10, 2013 · 1:58 pm

Eggs on a Toast

Cooking eggs is very easy. They can either be cooked, fried, or eaten raw. I like eggs because they don’t require a lot of cooking time, plus they can be eaten with almost anything in your fridge.

Some nutritional facts about one small egg:

Nutritional Facts retrieved from http://nutritiondata.self.com

Nutritional Facts retrieved from http://nutritiondata.self.com

Here’s how I cooked my eggs for breakfast today!

Ingredients:

  • Eggs
  • Avocado
  • Tomato
  • Toast
  • Corn
  • Mayonnaise
  • Oil

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Instructions:

  1. Spray a bit of oil in a pan, once heated, fry the eggs. You can decide to fry the eggs fully or keep them raw.
  2. As the eggs are being fried, you can boil the corn in hot water. The time needed for the corn to boil depends on the corn and the cooker type.
  3. As the eggs are being fried and the corn boiled, spread a bit of mayonaise on your toast, then spread some avocado.
  4. Keep the toast aside and slice some tomatoes.
  5. Once the eggs are fried, cut and place them on the toast, then place the tomatoes on top
  6. The corn goes alongside with the eggs

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(Cooking this dish took around 15 minutes to prepare because the corn was already boiled)

You can add mint leaves, some peppers, onions, maybe cheese… You can get creative as much as you want!

Bon Appetit!

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February 2, 2013 · 2:43 am

How to communicate effectively in 10 steps?

There is one communication process that everyone talks about: it’s the sender, receiver, message, feedback and environment. This is the 101 of communications, mastering who says what, who listens and the feedback received under good circumstances is basic. Yet, this is the basics of a communication process. A good communication process entails more that these five basic elements.

I am sharing 10 steps that will help you communicate effectively:

  1. Choose the right time and place: depending on the type of message that you want to convey, choose the most suitable time and place. This is called the environment in the communication process.
  2. Organize your ideas: in order to convey a proper message, you need to organize your ideas and thoughts. Think of the ideas themselves, their seequnce, and the words you will use. Choosing the right words is vital for an effective communication.
  3. Decide whether you will start your message with an introduction or just jump straight to the point: this depends on your receiver/audience and definitely on the topic itself. Some people prefer introductions while others just ask you to go straight to the point; plus the urgency of the topic plays a great role in here.
  4. Be clear and concise as you convey your message: your message is in your head, you already thought of it thoroughly and you know its bits and pieces. While on the contrary, the receiver doesn’t know it. Make sure that you are concise and clear while conveying your message so your receiver can comprehend your ideas well. I would add to this point that you should articulate well also.
  5. Associate your message with the right attitude: With the right attitude your receiver can better comprehend your intentions and the reason behind conveying your message. A proper attitude can also be a call for action.
  6. Let your body language reflect your message: Use your gestures to your benefit. Make eye contact with your receiver, use your hand effectively, and you will see how your body language can boost your message.

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Now that you conveyed your part of the message, you need a feedback from the receiver.

  1. Listen (point): listen carefully to what the receiver has to say about the message you conveyed (or about his interpretations to it). Never prepare your answer as the receiver is talking. Just Listen!
  2. Rephrase the comments made: rephrasing comments can ensure that you understood properly what the feedback was so you can respond if needed.
  3. Ask questions: In case no feedback was received, you can ask open ended questions to ensure that your message was properly received and to secure some feedback.
  4. Repeat the cycle… go back and forth, message –> feedback until your message is received and well understood.

It’s not easy to directly apply proper communication skills and directly communicate effectively. This is a habit that needs to be developed (check out how I suggest you build a habit) with time.

Sometimes, even the most effective communicators fail to convey their messages effectively due to external or internal factors. Try mastering this skill in order to limit any misunderstanding. And in case you failed to do so, it’s not the end of the world, we are all humans in the end (or at least the ones reading my posts are!)

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January 30, 2013 · 5:05 pm

They say there is no access to information in Lebanon…

… I say this is bull****! Excuse my French!

There is a lot of access to information in Lebanon, yet, this access is not public!

We live in a country with no respect to human privacy.

Last Thursday, I received a message from someone who happened to see me drive in the street and actually thought I was cute.

It turned out that there is this software that you can download on your PC, you put someone’s plate number, them you can know:

  • This person’s Name
  • Mother and Father’s name
  • Home address
  • Phone number
  • and … This is so cool, if this person has a car loan or not and from which bank!

    • This is just amazing! I knew that there was such a software, but I thought that it only gives the name!

    Guess how I knew about such a software?!

    I was once driving and there was a guy transpassing me in a horrible traffic, I just went nuts at him, honking and screening.

    5 minutes later, I receive a phone call from him apologizing, it turned out that he didn’t know that this road was a two way road.

    Now, imagine if this guy was a freak, he would have waited for me to come home then kicked me a**! Also excuse my language!

    What kind of a zoo do we live in where people’s privacy, the most basic ones aren’t secured!

    What would the Lebanese internal forces do if I was murdered in front of my house?

    They wouldn’t even answer the calls of the neighbors saying that there is a dead body on the street. Or if they answer, they would give the neighbors the phone number of the Red Cross, since they can get rid of the body.

    I have been very patient with this stu*** country, I tried to believe that we are the change and if we work for this country, we might actually fix it. But it turned out that we can’t!

    I have also been very diplomatic about keeping my opinion, but I’ve had it here!
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    This country is for mafias, tribes and political affiliates! If you know someone from either, you live a king and no one can even talk to you.

    If you are a normal person from a normal family without any political affiliations, then you are bound to live with injustice.

    I hear by declare that I am not even proud to be born in this country, I despise the second I was born in it, and I promise that at any time I get a chance to leave it, I will leave it and never look back!

    Long gone was the beautiful country where my grandparents lived!

    Long gone the hospitable and nice Lebanese!

    Long gone Lebanon to me!

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    January 26, 2013 · 3:10 pm

    How to develop habit?


    They say that it takes 21 days to form a habit, I will not say most scientist say, for it will be a fallacy, but really really all scientists do say so!

    Developing new habits can be numerous, you can decide to wake up early, exercise, eat healthier, reduce alcohol intake, become positive, etc.

    So how can you develop this new habit of yours?

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    I am sharing what worked with me when I decided to start waking up early everyday.

    1. Decide on the habit you want to create: this is the first and most important step, you should what are you going to work on.
    2. Consider it’s benefits: there must be a reason to why are you even bothering to start this new habit. Ask yourself why you are doing it. I also suggest that you write these down to always remind you in times of doubt.
    3. Resist temptations: at any second we are tempted to go back to our original habits, resist these temptations and read your reasons again and again.
    4. Visulaize yourself doing it: the power of visualisation is so strong, so imagine yourself doing it, how it would feel, sound, etc.
    5. Start little by little: start your habit step by step and don’t overwhelm yourself, for you might break that habit quickly if you don’t start it little by little.
    6. Start with one habit at a time: again, you do not want to overwhelm yourself, so choose one habit at a time.
    7. Write it down as an affirmation: we are humans, and we need to convince ourselves frequently why this is an important thing, and why are we doing it.
    8. Go for three weeks, or more if other studies suggest more: repetition is key to forming any habit, if you do not repeat over and over, it will be lost.
    9. Reward yourself: decide on a reward system that works well with you, and yes, reward yourself, you took a long way to reach where you’ve reached.

      10. These simple techniques worked well with me, and I can now easily wake up everyday at 6:00am without an alarm even. Just the thought that I have more time to achieve more tasks during my day is enough for me to wake up early even in weekends! But to be clear here, sometimes I decide not to wake up that early on weekends, and I actually sleep in, ok?!

      Now try these and tell me what happens with you! Where you able to develop that habit of ours?!

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