Wow, another unexpected break from the blog! I definitely didn’t plan this long break, but as usual, it happened on its own.

I’ve been thinking about blogging for quite some time, but to be honest, it’s been hard. Despite being in quarantine since the end of March, not much has been going on. We celebrated Emaan’s birthday at the end of April, a day before Ramadan started, and then it was Ramadan.

As usual, Ramadan flew by and then it was Eid and we’re still in quarantine. Kind of, at least.

The whole world is opening up, but we’re still being safe and keeping indoors mostly. It’s really hard explaining to a three year old though why we can’t go to the park when it’s clearly open -_-

We have started going out for more walks, so that has definitely made her happier! Nicer weather also helps.

The past few months have definitely been a lot more difficult than I ever anticipated, and I know I’m so incredibly lucky. But when the whole situation started, I had this silly idea (and I’m guessing a lot of other people did too) that it would be over by summer. I never envisioned that it would go on this long, or how much it would affect my mental well-being.

For those who know me, I’m a self-proclaimed homebody. I like being home and sticking to my routine. But when I was being told that I had to stay home, it suddenly wasn’t so fun anymore.

I’ve always had lots to keep me busy at home, with my writing/editing, brush calligraphy, blogging, reading, but the past three months were more difficult than I had ever imagined.

I’m not exactly a social butterfly nor do I have a large social circle, but I really missed seeing my family, and even being able to go out to shop or to the mall. As a stay-at-home mom, that’s about the maximum amount of socialising I do anyway, so without it, I felt like I was going crazy!

It’s been nice to be able to start seeing out family again, but we’re still choosing to be cautious and only going out for groceries or walks during the week.

I finished writing my last WIP and even finished editing it, much later than I anticipated. It was a monster at close to 130,000 words and I had a difficult time bringing it down, but I got it down to 92,000 and I’m hoping it’s good enough. InshAllah!

I even started working on a new book idea, but then real life got in the way as usual. Ha! It’s not really a new idea, but an idea that’s been living inside my head for at least 5 years now, but might now have a chance to come to life. It’s very different from both Aisha and Farah, which were contemporary. Farah is teen, and this new story will also be teen but fantasy. I’ve always wanted to write fantasy/historical but it takes so much time to come up with the backstory and the larger plot. It’s supposed to be a trilogy so it’s definitely going to take some time to sketch it out.

But right now I’m working on a new project which I can’t wait to share with all of you! It’s a new business venture that I’m working on with my brother and it relates to one of my passions: baking! I’m hoping to launch it within the next few weeks, InshAllah. I can’t wait!

Ever since Ramadan ended, I’ve been trying to not gain too much weight. I found so much benefit in Ramadan and fasting this year that I decided to continue it after! Aside from the spiritual benefits, I found that fasting has really helped me curb my snacking habit. I’m a muncher and munch on things all day, never realizing how much I’ve eaten! Especially snack items.

So after fasting every a few days, ever since Ramadan ended, I’ve found that I forget about eating and only eat main meals and no snacks. I’ve lost 20 lbs so far, but I would like to lose 10 more inshAllah. So far I’ve been maintaining it, and have been having a few cheat items here and there (more so on the weekends) and I find it really helps keep me sane. I love sugar and it’s hard to stay completely away from it.

To be honest, it’s always been about self control. I have none. But I’m trying to change that and to really tell myself no when I want another bite of something (right now I’m battling myself over some chocolate covered pretzels haha). Not buying junk definitely helps with this, and eating healthy as a family is obviously important. The less we all eat of it, the better!

Another huge change I’ve made recently is working out. If anyone asked me 3 months ago what my version of working out was, I would say boxing class once a week and maybe some treadmill every few days or say lol. But since quarantine started, I’ve gotten in the habit of working out every single day for an hour.

During Ramadan, I did 30 mins every day so that I didn’t lose all my progress, and it’s been difficult to get back into the rhythm after Ramadan. There are some days I only manage to do 45 or 50 mins, or even some days (often weekends) when I end up skipping it, but it’s definitely a lot more than I have ever done in my whole life!

I’m definitely not a workout junkie and I don’t get a thrill out of doing it. But I do enjoy how I feel after, which is accomplished. It makes me feel good about myself and I do feel a bit stronger. Some days it still feels like a chore, so I have to find ways to make it interesting haha.

The world has changed so much in the past 3 months, and it’s hard to imagine when and if it will ever go back to normal. Is this our new normal?

Many of these changes were just waiting to happen. We can only hope that the media attention that Black Lives Matter got isn’t temporary, and that it incites a permanent change. Because it’s about time.

Anyway, what’s new with you? How has quarantine life been treating you?

Thanks for reading,

Ikhlas