Hairdresser diaries

So so busy and getting busyer...

2009-03-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

I have been running my feet off for the last few weeks. There has not been much time to browse the internet or to see what is going on with my blog. Couple of weeks ago I went to Professional Beauty for the day and to be honest, this is the only time I have had for my self lately. As much as it is fun, but even this was not for the relaxing, it was for the work. I must say, it did give me the bounce and inspiration to start doing nails again. I had forgotten this skill of mine, so I am glad that they reminded me.
Bit by bit things start to get together and I see that actually, I have quite nice little beauty business going on.
I have also started my case studies, so I have now armed my massage bag with lovely Moroccan origin Jamine oil, and shea butter. I found them from the exhibition and they just are heavenly. It is the pleasure just to be in the same room with the oils. I would like to receive the treatment with them once by my self. Apparently they say that in Paris there is a salon which uses their products, I am thinking of a excape trip to France and pampering myself for a day... unfortunately, it is only a dream at the moment.
I have found a free website which I am building at the moment. Ofcoarse there are few problems as always with technology, but hopefully one day it is working as I would like it to. If you are interested to go and have a look, here is the link: http://www.wix.com/supernora525/Boot-Salon
Now I am off to work again, this time for volonteers to a manicure and lovely nail varnish.

To see if I'm smiling

2009-02-20T14:28:00.000-08:00

After an intense following of the war in Palestine, the whole world seem to have gone quiet. All the sudden the flow of stories from that part of the world have stopped and there are lots of people who don't seem to have anything to say about the subject anymore.
And then out of the blue I found out that there is a documentary about women soldiers fighting in Israeli army. This document is called as the title above. It reveals how the Palestinians really are treated and how this affects on the serving soldiers. But, who is looking into the effect of the Palestinians? And why this documentary has not been shown in BBC or any other major channel, when I know that it has been on the air in Finland?
I would love to see this, I have not yet had the chance to do so, but I am not able to find this anywhere. I find the title and the list of film festivals it has been on, but the actual movie is hard to find.
If anyone who is reading this, will find the movie from somewhere, please send me a url. I do not know anymore where to look at, but still, this would be worth of watching, if for nothing else then to see the truth from the mouth of those who actually have been there and know what they are talking about.

Lies, hate and crimes

2009-02-09T15:52:00.000-08:00

Today I was watching BBC Panorama. They have sent the program about Gaza. they pointed out how Israeli soldiers have been in a killing frenzy by just killing anything that moves. They have shown how there was no justification for this war, and yet still Israeli government is insisting that the people who died by their hand, have been in fact killed by Hamas. What an insult! It does make me wonder, how can they separate them selves from the horrors of Nazi Germany and yet, do the same things by them selves. This is hypocrisy! Even though I have not written about Gaza, I still am willing to help any way I can, I am now selling the soaps, boycotting actively any goods from Israel, boycotting shops with connections to Israel, and doing the reverse action by selling Palestinian goods. Today in the program I saw a Palestinian doctor, who lost 3 of his daughters in the war, by Israeli attack on his house. He was angry, by a good reason and yet, the minister of the Israeli government claimed that there was weapons by his house! There is no end of the lies and cover ups that this government is doing. In the news they are speculating that maybe Israel is heading to right wing government. I think that this is ridiculous. It already is right wing government. They took the land of the Palestinian farmers and they expect them to be quiet. Where is the justice, or is it just for the powerful ones?

Snowing lot!

2009-02-02T08:47:00.001-08:00

This is how my garden looked like this morning. It has been snowing the whole night and everything was covered with snow. I love it, after all this is like my second nature as I am fully washable Finn. So with the big smile on my face I put on my woolly socks and I really was full of energy. The school hasbeen cancelled, and they are not sure about tomorrow. London trafik is on the complete stand still, which I find a bit funny. This snow is nothing, you see where I come from, it is not inches that comes down. Sometimes in Finland you can drive on the road and the sides are like walls around the road, there is so much snow. How ever much or little there was this morning, it made me really happy. There is something about snow that makes the whole world just magical.
It was lovely to the kids as well to go a bit outside and have a little snow ball war. I must say, Linas aim is pretty good, and the throwing hand is not bad either. As the snow was not wet enought to make a snow man, we ended up of disturbing neighbours by throwing snow balls on their windows, little excercise is never bad for you. It has been lovely day, I really have enjoyed of this unexpected day off from school, never mind how funny it seems to me. I just now hope that the magic goes on.....

Protecting the criminals, isn't that a crime?

2009-01-25T04:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday in news one of the topics was that Israel is holding the names of the soldiers who battled in Gaza, just in case they committed war crimes. The country, who claims to have a high morality and who states all the time that they only want to defend them selves, is protecting possible criminals. They must know what crimes have been committed. In the way this just shows that they do recognize that some actions, which are not really permitted, were committed in Gaza. They also state they want to build the best possible defense for these soldiers who were involved. I think that the morality in this is completely up side down. Firstly, what army would be proud of soldiers who don't respect civilians, but kill them or injure them on purpose. Isn't that what war crimes is all about? Hurting people who have no means to defend them selves? How could you claim a victory over innocent blood?
Secondly, I personally find it very disturbing that one nation would be able to put them selves above the law. Unfortunately there are countries who are willing to support this kind of behaviour, even though they would be very tough in their own laws about killing and they claim that they serve the justice. So if they are so keen to serve the justice, then why is it not for every man? Is Palestinian blood worthless?
It seems to me that in this age of video games and new technology, even though we get more information of what really happens, we are more blind. It is ok to lock hundreds of men into the cages without a prosecution of what they were supposed to do, often without any evidence. But when people are starving, they have no electricity, no medical equipment and they have been told to just get on with it, then they would not be allowed to moan. After all, it seems to be only the needs of one country that are met in these situations. Who cares about an individual?

As a Muslim, I think that we need to start to look after our own brothers and sisters. We need to help to building Palestine. We need to, and I feel as brothers and sisters, we have the obligation of helping those who are sleeping under the sky, for those children who have lost their parents, for those who are in the hospital suffering from injuries caused by this senseless war. There are several ways of doing this. One could do what I do, trying to get my hands on Palestinian goods and sell them with no profits. Families could sponsor an orphan to go to school and to be looked after properly. If you go to meetings, you could help collect the money to buy olive trees, building materials for the houses, donate clothes to people who lost everything. There are ways, and now more than ever we need to get together as one ummah. This is the only way we can become one multi power, who really has the say of their own position in the world politics. If you think that you can not do anything, think what you are good at. You can sell cakes for Palestine. You could invite your friends for the afternoon tea or Coffey, but this time they would pay you a little bit towards the charity. You could do grafts for Palestine. You could take the message further, anything will help the cause. Little information packs you could easily collect from the Internet can be very effective. It is not a question what you can not do, it is a question, what you could do. It is true that one man can not do much, but our only hope is to get together and act as one. And remember, what ever money is very little for you, it might be a dinner for the family who is struggling, or ti could be a start of the long term family business which is supporting the whole community. It could be a part payment of a cow, or payment of a chicken, which are going to provide either milk or eggs for the family. When you have nothing, anything is welcome.

Little peace of haven would be nice

2009-01-24T02:08:00.000-08:00

I am armed with information. This morning I received my first copy of Palestine news, which is a magazine packed with stories and not with adverts. I did glance it quickly when the kids were playing but quickly noticed that really I need to be able to concentrate on what I am reading. There was lots of information news leaflets too. My husband told me that yesterday I received a phone call from Save the Children and I remember faintly e-mailing them when the first disturbing news came from Palestine at the beginning of the war. My new magazine is a published by Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and joining is not that expensive at all.

I noticed that I nearly fell into the same trap that we always do after something that horrible than the war in Palestine is over. You seem to be thinking:" oh thank God it's over!", and forget about it. I now still follow what happens in there and I am determined to help, no matter how little help I can give. I keep looking at the pictures that still are seeping out from the region despite of the fact that Israel tries to practise the sensorising policies, and I am deeply saddened of how we as human beings can still let this happen. Now these people don't only have nothing to eat, but nowhere to live either. And at the mean time the world leaders are shaking hands of the job well done. We almost seem to brush the problem under the carpet and try to forget about it. The most shocking to me is the attitude amongst some Zionists. They really don't mind of being racists. I see women of 10 years older to deny completely what has happened and blame other side, even though it was Israeli tanks who did not even have the respect for the dead they produced. As us in the western world have thought that these people are victims, it has left the window open to them to exploit the situation and they them selves are training their little children to use guns!!!! We are shocked about seeing images of child soldiers in Africa, but still are complete blind to little Zionist boys handling guns at the age of 4 in the name of self defense! This is hypocrisy at its worst!

I have placed an order to my first box of soap from Palestine, which will be processed on Monday. I have nearly sold the box already. I am also planning to do some Palestinian soap parties, so insh-Allah, this idea will take on. Instead of giving free gifts, I would like to make information packs, invite ladies that I know of are interested of what is happening in the area. Try to sell as much Palestinian goods as possible and make the boycott even more effective this way. I would like to think that I am doing the responsible selling this way. Who knows, maybe I can even find a skin care system made from olive oil!!!!

Life beyond the rubble

2009-01-21T10:48:00.000-08:00

Fighting is stopped for the moment and all the participants can breath a little. People who have lost their homes, have gone to see the rubble, try to find the loved ones and see where to start over again. Irony on this is, that the tunnels which Israelis so much wanted to destroy, are working again, they have managed to kill less than 50 Hamas fighters according to Hamas and they have killed couple of thousand civilians. On the last day of fighting I was browsing Youtube, as I heard that even in Torah they say that Jews are not allowed to own land as God gave them the whole world. So by their own definitions Israel is illegal country.
And then I found this video from Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RjnvQHWyLE

I was amazed. Surely this is not propaganda, this is a Jew against Zionist. How can a world ignore this?

To purchase an Olive tree to Palestine

2009-01-16T03:36:00.000-08:00

http://www.zaytoun.org

Trees for life, £20.00/ 5 trees

Also information of harvesting tours.

1 100 people killed and one Hamas leader

2009-01-16T02:35:00.000-08:00

So, for their reports of the first killed Hamas leader they had to go through 1 100 people. Not only they killed the leader, they also killed his family, his brother, his kids, his wives and about 300 others. But they had their target. UN is calling for war crimes and Israeli ambassador is upset, because on his opinion this is a racist attack to Jewish people.
I regularly read and comment Your views in Al Jazera web site and I find it really unbelievable what some people say. There was a comment from someone few days ago saying: " We are the people God chose, so no matter what we do we are always right. " This seems to be an attitude amongst lots of young Jewish people. I can not see how this war is going to bring justice to anyone, no Jewish or Muslim. This adds into the hatred which is already there towards both sides, and as wise as we are, it makes it really hard for some people to separate the difference between a Jew and Zionist. I my self think the Jews has the respect towards Arabs and Islam. We are cousins, from the same family. The problem rises when some greedy people have been give too much power. In any structure this is just going to cause problems.

I will soon order my first box of olive soap and even market this in the school for other mums. I also have been planning, how and where to use the possible profits, and I have now ended with two possibilities: Islamic Relief and further the orphan program, and olive trees. I can sponsor olive trees. Can you believe, it only costs £5.00 to plant an olive tree to Palestine but this one tree can be a gift of life. I will add the details to the end of this post. The picture above is just one example what they can do out out of it too.

Whilst I am writing this I can not get a comment made by Israeli foreign minister saying that they will stop when they assess it has been enough. Enough of what???? Killing? Are you not satisfied yet? Listening to their comments, it now starts to be obvious that this was planned a long time ago, and they have no hesitation to wipe out the entitled Gaza population if needed. I see nasty smiles on their faces and I can not understand, what is there to smile about in the whole situation? some journalists have been killed, doctors have been killed. UN food storage have been burned down, and three hospitals have been bombed. It looks as if the people chose by God decided to give hell to the earth.

Fair trade alert!!!!

2009-01-15T05:10:00.000-08:00

As the days go by, the war gets more intense all the time. Today The journalist in Al Jazera gave some names and information of circumstances of some children and how they died. They are talking about the information war, of which I am part of, and they are talking about the value of the Palestinian people. Israel still fails to recognise the fact that this war has gone too far. They are stating that Israel has suffered years of terror from Palestinian site, which is probably true, but they fail to tell how they have cut the electricity, gas and clean water from Palestinians. us here UK, most of the mothers do not have an opinion on this, or then they don't want to offend me. I tell them what I have seen on the television, they don't like it, and most of them say; "You see, this is why I don't watch the news.... "
I am trying to put my feet between the fair trade door, as we are boycotting Israeli goods. I try to implicate the boycott to the full power and look for the fair trade products, which are made by Palestinians. My e-mail contact from Israel, who is working with Palestinians to promote Palestinian fair trade sent me this message: " Right now there are no physical impacts on the daily life in Israel, so we do not expect any delays in lead times etc. However, the whole atmosphere is not in favor of fair trade ideas. Sindyanna now a days spent a lot of efforts in activities to stop the war. "

I have managed to gather some goods from UK and also have found me a supplier who makes it possible for me to sell the goods with no profit basis. I have had lots of interest as these products are not only fair trade, but also they are organic. This must be a winning combination for all of those Palestinians suffering at the moment. People are saying that this is not a war against Hamas, it is now clear that this is a war against Palestinians. Even the journalists in Palestine have had enough, they have joined forces and are sitting in the media tower in Palestine as a protest against the number of journalists Israelis have killed.

Earlier today I saw a explosion from Palestine, this was something that looked in the middle of block of flats. It was a big bang, black cloud of smoke rose up in to the sky and I thought all of those people who have hurt them selves either by the direct hit of the explosion or the rubbish that the pressure wave will through to the air. More death, more injuries. Alhamdulillah, some people now have managed to go to Egypt for the hospital treatment.

I can not believe that this is happening in the modern time. A human is an evil to another, I think this is a living proof of it.

Smoke on the water

2009-01-13T02:28:00.000-08:00

The situation is bad, nearly 1000 dead civilians, people who, even if they have not injured, but they have not slept because of the fear of getting hit. Imagine running week after week without a sleep, only few hours here and there. There are over 4000 injured in hospitals, and nobody knows how many there are in the rubble to be pulled out.
My Lina said to me in the car this morning: "Mum, there are lots of Jews killing lots of Muslims".
I told her: " No Lina, it is not that simple. It is true that there is a war, but we can not say that the Jews are killing Muslims, because there are lots of Jews who don't support this war." How do you explain to a 7 year old what is happening to our brothers and sisters? I am speechless. This war does not have an implication only in Palestine, but also here. This little peace of land has always been close to peoples heart, in one way or another. UN is looking into sending an independent body to investigate the claims of the war crimes, which of the evidence can be seen in our televisions every day. I think this may be the make or brake of the credibility test to UN, the only problem being of that Israel is not part of the CCI. I find this weird, especially considering that international community allowed them to hunt down the Nazi criminals and bring them into a justice. Disappontedly, it seems now a days the law is not the same to all. Shame. The most intense fighting yet, and it just gets more intensified. Looks like for the Gaza strip, there are more chapters to be written.

Too little too late

2009-01-12T01:37:00.000-08:00

Now when the dead toll in Gaza is closing to its first thousand, UN has decided to issue a statement which will put Israel into a very bad situation. They are now calling for war crimes. We have seen this happening now 17 days. I have not seen Hamas soldiers carried to hospitals, but I have seen plenty of children, old men, women. I have seen young girls their legs amputated, I have seen children shot by a sniper, I have seen burnings on the skin caused by white phosphorous and I have seen and heard the desperation of the doctors, international doctors calling for ceasefire to end the casualties flowing in and to give people the fair chance to recover them selves and bury their families. None of this has been given to them, humanitarian help has been denied from them and there are areas where the press can not go due to a Israel denying the access. The whole crisis keeps escalating and one wonders what we will find out once no gun fire can be heard in the air any more. The truth is, the ones who reach the hospital are the ones who can go one way or another. There are lots of people who are not able to reach the hospital, who have been left to die. They may still be alive, but suffering from the injuries which are severely infected, and they are facing a slow painful death. These can be anyone, they are lying under the rubble, probably calling out and they can hear people on the top of them. There could be whole families under there, slowly fading away until their corpses are found. How many there will be only Allah knows, but we wish that who ever is there, will have an easy passing. Insha-Allah!

Little break and good sauna

2009-01-11T15:00:00.000-08:00

What a misery, no positive news from Palestine, yet another little boy was blinded and orphaned by a shell. It is now obvious that they are using white phosphorous, as tv shows how children are playing with it on streets. They say:" This is a new weapon, we have never seen anything like this before! " Israeli soldiers are asking people to evacuate, but where can they go. There is no safe place in Gaza, and Egypt do not let people to come over the border. How can a Muslim treat another Muslim like this? Kids have moved upstairs to their room because of the daily dose of the boring Al Jazera. I am glued to a television, so much so that the appetite to dear husbands football is seriously getting disturbed. Too much news he says..... me I don't care, this is the first time the situation have done a complete home run into my mind.

I went to Finnish Seamens Mission Church today. It is supported by Finnish protestant church, but there are people from all the walks of life gathering, the mutual thing is that we are all Finnish or we have connections to Finland. The most important thing is that they have a real sauna there, no rubbish dodgy back alley thing, but the real Finn pride. I went there with my friend to relax and talk. She is Muslim like me and supports the Palestine like me. To get out and to have some fresh air, oh how do you appreciate it when you know that this is the privilege some people don't have. Simple things in life become valuable. And of coarse, I spent more than I really should have on Finnish food, and now as I am sitting and writing this, I am munching the tastes that I have not had for ages. This has given me a much needed break, which again, my sisters and brothers can not have. My heart goes out to them and insha-Allah, I will be able to do something more.

My Jihad

2009-01-10T05:31:00.000-08:00

This Palestinian flag was drawn by Iman Mohammed, 12 years old, at UN school.

In the picture, a hand representing a tree comes up from the earth with a key. Many Palestinians kept the keys to homes they left or were driven out of in 1948.

In the background is a Palestinian flag and, inside the arm, a map of Israel and the Palestinian territories in a keffiyeh pattern.

More and more in the last few days I have been sitting my eyes glued on my laptop screen. I have got involved with several ways with the war on Palestine. I have cried, I have joined to different virtual groups, I have bought Palestinian goods ( of which the first ones came through my mailbox today), and I have spent time to explain people who don't quite know what is going on and why it is going on, the reasons why people of Palestine are angry.
Now, mostly I have been thinking of how to help Palestinians when all of this is over. I have ideas in my head, but I am not quite sure where to take them, how to get involved or who to approach. My idea of praying 24 hours never took off, no imam replied to my mails saying we will do it. So as they are condemning Israelis actions, they still very much stay in the back ground. Today people have gathered to London for the demonstration, like every where else in the world. I wonder if this still is going to lead anywhere. I am glad to hear voices from the Jewish community saying that all of us are not thinking this is right, but so disappointed to the US senate decision of supporting Israel on this blood path. Shame on the land of freedom!

So what about my ideas of the after math. I have been thinking how to get counselling to those children who have been seeing things that no child should be seeing. So this requires Arabic speaking councillors to get together and see if they can go to the war zone and help these little souls, not to forget, but to live with it. I am crocheting peaces to make some baby blankets, so if someone is going there, they could take them with them. And I told to husband that I do not want to have a holiday, but I am thinking to send my husband to Palestine to help with re-building Palestine. So I have noticed, this has become my jihad. I am not taking my battles with guns, but with shouting my opinion in the Internet by doing lots of different things. I have also put myself on the list of distributing Palestinian products with no profits. My husband has told me that there is too much news on the tele as Al Jazera is on all the time and believe me, he is the last person that you would expect to hear this from. So I am proud to have this newly found Jihad, which I know I share with lots of people. So I carry on to do what I have been doing all the way and hope that there are more and more people joining me and the others who find this war as a disgusting peace of showing off western "democracy" and justice.

Smoke in the air

2009-01-09T04:34:00.000-08:00

Today, as the war will carry on the third week, I thought that Israelis can not stun me any more. Well I was wrong. Not only are they ignoring yet another resolution of UN of immediate truce, but now they have brought White Phosphor into the war and heavily lived area. So they are doing now, what was done to them in the concentration camps.

I quote Wikipedia what the gas does and the impact on humans:-

Effects on humans

White phosphorus can cause injuries and death in three ways: by burning deep into tissue, by being inhaled as a smoke, and by being ingested. Extensive exposure in any way is fatal.

If this is not a massacre, I do not know what do we have to see in order to classify something as a genocide. The land is valuable for Israel and if they can not get the land with talking then comes the action. And what kind of action!!!!

They are willing to gas babies, women, elderly, anyone or anything living in the area. You can not control gas. It goes where the wind takes it. Babies breath it in and die. It lands on the skin and causes third agree burns, which then will get infected, not to mention how pain full they are and you can die. This is a hell on earth.

Today I will start to crochet baby blankets, because one day insha-Allah this war is finished and there are lots of people who need all those things they lost when Israelis bombarded their houses. I am also now wearing my 20 year old, the real thing, Palestinian kuffiyar to show my position on this debate. I ordered another new one from online from http://www.olivecoop.com. They do Palestinian goods to support Palestine and these are also Fairtrade certified. I have bought olive soap from another online shop who do fairtrade goods for Palestine, which is called hadeel.org.

I feel so frustrated. I am on hands person and I like doing. I would like to be there and do. Earlier today I was chatting with 12 year old Iraqi girls on line who lives in Finland. She was sad about the situation too. She said she would like to help. I told her if she wants to help, she could collect pencils and writing books for Palestinian children. One day insha-Allah they will go back to school and they need them. Even just a paper and crayons, one day these children will need some counselling on what they have seen and then material to draw would be useful, so they could with qualified help, process and understand what has happened to them. Right now I can watch television and pass the message on. But I know once this killing is over, they will need everything. They will need pots and pans, they will need water, they will need seeds to grow vegetables, they will need everything that you expect to need to run the home. the thing is, they have to start from the scratch again.

I will pray for all of these innocent people who are dieing. May Allah reward the place in Jannah for them.

Post dramatic distress

2009-01-08T16:09:00.000-08:00

I have been watching Al Jazera nearly all day. Today I have seen a Jewish man complaining that their women will have a post dramatic distress because of the rockets. Does this man have any idea what is happening on the other side of the border. People on the other side are loosing their babies by sniper shots, the whole families are killed because of collapsing building. What is he thinking his army is doing in Gaza? Having a picnic with locals?????
They have been killing the UN driver who just wanted to help those who have nothing. They have targeted to those people on purpose. I believe this because their weapons are accurate, and the coordinates of the convoy was given to them. This was not accident. This was a malicious attack on people who still have a heart. Shame on them.
I wish to see these people in Hague. I do not know how they could escape that any more, we have enough evidence on tape. So, please, bring justice to Palestine.

Ground zero and two fronts

2009-01-08T05:26:00.000-08:00

219. Remember this number, as there are 10 dead Israelis in this conflict.
Up to date Palestine is estimating that there are 219 children dead out of 700 dead people. Their snipers shoot medics, this has been witnessed on the video. They say that they are not targetting civilians, but they are destroying their homes, killing them, asking them to move from away of bombs, shelling UN schools, and yet, no help from surraunding Arab countries. Only this morning, there were few rockets launched from Lebanon, which is the first attempt of solidarity amongst the Islamic world. What is wrong with the great Muslim world? Why would we not help our brothers and sisters? Don't we have a voice in the international political athmosphiere, even though arabic as a language covers one fifth of the world population. Are we really so weak as an Ummah that we can not make things happen, or is this just a myth that has been given to us?
I believe that if we would unite, we would be able to push the world to bring justice to Palestine. One voice is weak, but a choir reaches a huge audience.
We have enought evidence on tape to proove that Gaza has been suffering war crimes, and I think that the time has come to make the people responsible accountable. For too long has Israeli authoroty been over looked for their war crimes. Once this war finishes, I think it is time to turn our heads towards Arab leaders and demand justice for Palestine and to UN to demand the justice for the people who were killed and murdered on ground.
Palestine is the biggest ground zero in the world. How many homes have been destroyed. When the Israeli troops leave Palestine, who is leaving to gather the ruins back to homes for the broken families? There is no bigger trauma in the world than this. Somehow these people need to find the power and willing to build their houses again, maybe just for another attack from Israel. Once we share a tier to those who have been killed in terrorist attacks all over the world, then please share a tier to those 219, babies who have been killed in Gaza. I think these two fronts are not Israeli fronts, as they will get the help and money to fix their displaced roof tiles> Palestine is the one facing the fronts; they have to count their dead and they have to build their homes from nothing, since they lost everything in to the rubble. These are the fronts in this war.

Notes and observations

2009-01-06T01:52:00.001-08:00

I was watching Al Jazera last night. All the news are related to the Palestinian conflict, which is going on. There are programs, where well educated people from both sides are debating the cause of this present situation.
I find it surprising, that Jewish side of the debate is only referring to the fact that there are rockets being launched to Israel. They do not see that the roots of this conflict go way beyond this. Just in case there is one reading this, please let me try to explain.

Thousands of years, ever since Jewish people have shared the land of Palestine with Palestinians, for some reason they thought that it is ok to treat people like second class citizens. Never mind the fact that they came to Palestinian land. The justification to all this is that this is the land God promised to them. Well even if this would be the case, do you think that God was only kidding when he gave the ten commandments, or maybe there was a small print saying: "This does not apply, if you are a Zionist living in the future Israel and want to have some action into your life.... " Obviously I am referring to the ones that says do not steel and do not kill. Now, to me, taking something that was not yours in force and not giving it back to the rightful owner is steeling. In the western world it is called a robbery. So in this way, Palestinians were robbed by Jewish people. I think even if the land was promised to them, God did not mean go and steel it. He most likely meant share it. Sharing the land was taken away from Palestinians, when UN Resolution 194 was never applied. Under UN Resolution 194, the Palestinians have the right to return to their homes, but Israel has always refused to implement the Resolution, and it was never held responsible of this. During the last 40 years, Israel has built over 200 illegal settlements to Palestinian soil, which are housing over 500 000 settlers. The recent wall has been built on Palestinian soil to shrink the living space of the native people even more. Israel is pushing people out from their land and acts as a big bully, which unfortunately gets lots of support from western governments.
We are running all over the world to defend the justice, but for some reason, Palestine has been less than a small priority on our list. Most people are not aware of what is happening in there as they see only one side of the story and often the story is a result of the well blogged Israeli propaganda one. To make people to see what really is happening, we need to give them a truthful image of the situation. This does not happen with anger and shouting. We do this, we are only enforcing an image of the people who have slightly lost it. We need to explain calmly what is happening in there. We need to show them pictures, give out facts about the Palestine. We need to show them the map of Palestine, show them how farmers have been thrown out from the homes they and their families have been farming for generations. All this needs to happen calmly. It does not matter how angry we get, we have to keep this on the side for the sake of our brothers and sisters who are suffering. This is the only way we can win people to join our cause.
I urge you sisters, 60 years of injustice makes everyone angry and frustrated, but please try to keep your cool. This matter deserves it.

Dead Angels

2009-01-05T08:28:00.001-08:00

I am crying when I am writing this. So many dead which has no meaning. So many little ones. If you are an Israeli soldier, how can you live with this? If you are a Muslim parent, I hope after this you appreciate your offspring and tell them how much you love them.
I have got 4 children, my eldest one living in Finland, and 3 little ones living in UK. I tell them that I love them every day, but after seeing this picture, I will do so more often.....

Imagine how these fathers feel? They are burying their children, the job that is usually thought to be the most horrific thing to do, but yet they face it every day, sometimes the whole families are wiped off by Israeli weapons. There are news about the ambulances targeted, one shell in front of the hospital, and look at the dead toll calculator on the side of this blog, how can you still claim that this is self defence?
Is one Israeli life worth more than Palestinian life? And what did these babies do to deserve this?
You are asking why does a Muslim world is angry? Well, on this time the picture tells you more than just a thousand words, this time there are no words, you don't need them. Imagine this being your father in the picture, your brother or uncle, or even your fellow citizen. Would you not be angry?
How can you kill all these angels and not cry? Where is your humanity?
I pray, please join me.

Facts of Palestine

2009-01-04T05:56:00.000-08:00

I have awaken. I might been a bit naive when it comes to Palestine, but now, I am just shocked, that this injustice that has taken place the last 60 years, is reaching the limits of ignorance like nothing else before.

As a state, Palestine has been occupied by first Turkish ottomans and then 1918 - 1948 by Brittish. Israel was created 1948, of which Palestinians opposed, but they were never heard. This resulted in the ethnic cleansing of two thirds of the Palestinian population and the Israeli occupation of 78 per cent of the land.

To the present, Israeli government is harassing and steeling the land that is not rightfully theirs. According to the United Nations resolution 194, the Palestinians should be able to return to their homes, but Israelis have always opposed this and today there are over 6 million Palestinians who are living as refugees in their own country.
Palestinians are continually under attack from the Israeli occupying forces and are increasingly harassed by settlers, who attack farmers and steal their land. Collective punishments, such as prolonged curfews and house demolitions are frequently imposed.

I think that the reason why it is possible that people are treated this way, even though almost everyone has an opinion on this, we just sit in our comfortable living rooms and watch from the tele the suffering of Palestinian people.
What would happen if all of us would do something, even the small thing for those people. If we all write to our local mp or governor, if we all spend 15 minutes of our lives to actually doing something. Now I want to do something and I have already by joining to an organisation, which promotes justice for Palestinians. As my previous post, I would like to go and pray with lots of other people, not only Muslims and see if our voices are heard. Please, I urge you to do something, even just a dua will help the cause.

Would YOU pray for Palestine?

2009-01-03T15:21:00.000-08:00

Palestine and its people are facing a horror beyond the means. Innocent people are dying as we speak and all we can do is to watch how the leaders of the world are just letting this to happen.
Israeli government is claiming that the situation is like this because of Hamas, but they don't tell that people of Palestine have been living without a medication, without electricity, without water, without lots of things for the last few months. They are watching their occupants to have all the luxury at the same time than they have been deprived the chance to farm their land, to harvest their olives. The basic human rights have been taken away from them, even though countries which are doing so are participants on the United Nations Human Rights Act.
We need to support our Muslim sisters and brothers, not with violence, but with kindness and silent determination.
So I am calling you sisters, I am trying to arrange something different, something more Islamic than anger and shouting.
I am asking you, would you pray for Palestine? Would you join to the group of praying people in the park, if you would know they were there 24 hours praying for Palestine?
Only thing you would have to take with you, would be your prayers mat and the water bottle to make wudu. Would you do this? And if you are an Imam who reads this, would you lead the prayers 24 hours for Palestine? And if you are not able to pray, would you be able to help those who can by offering them hot drinks if it is cold or offering them warming blankets?
Could we do something like this as a one big Muslim ummah?
I would, so would you come to pray with me?

More of loosing the hair

2009-01-03T08:07:00.000-08:00

As promised I will now continue to write about this subject of which we as women are a bit scared of.

Sometimes we can loose hair, because we keep pulling our hairs too much. I would think that this may be the cause of some hair loss with muslim women.
When we tie our hair back because of the head scarf all the time every day, the hair shaft will give in because of the stress and we start loosing hair. This happens ecspecially if we tie the hair too tight. This is recognised condition and it is called traction alopecia. Again if this is the case, there is no other remedy to improve this than a patiency and loose the pony tail.

Hair is a sensor of what is happening in our bodies. Some illnesses can cause a hair loss, or hair could loose a "bounce" because of the treatment of the illness. Generally if a person has a long term illness, it can show as a weakness of the nails and hair. Nails can become britle and hair would just fall out. Obviously this is out of our control, and as we get better, then so does the condition of the hair and nails. Sometimes they could need a bit special attention, however, as the time goes by, a lot of moisturising and pampering does wonders. What ever the cause of the hair loss, I urge you not to get these expensive oils that are on the market to promote hair growing. They do not make the hair grow. Sometimes the oils could improve the condition of the scalp, but they would not make the hair grow. Only the time and patiency will make th hair grow.

There are some infections, which could make the hair fall. If you have an itchy scalp and the hair is falling off in patches, see the doctor to rule out any infections. They normally spread easily, so make sure that no-one uses the same comb as you do. On these conditions, you would have a course of medicine and they would be treated, but again you would have to let the hair grow on its own pace.

If these do not answer to your questions, then I would think that it may be the time to look for business listings in your yellow pages and look for the trichologist. They are specialised people for scalp and hair problems.
I hope I have been a little bit of a help and feel free to ask questions. I will answer to them as much as I can.

Help for thinning hair

2009-01-02T07:04:00.000-08:00

A sister with concerns of her hair thinning inspired me to write this, and hopefully I can offer advise or help to anyone who is suffering from hair loss. If you can not solve the problem or work out the cause of your hair loss, then I would suggest that you could pay a visit to a professional trichologist, who would be able to give you an accurate advise on hair problems of all sorts.

It is perfectly normal to loose some hair daily. Normally we do loose approx 100 strands a day. The hair starts thinning, when this number grows considerably and there is not enough new hair growing to cover the lost hair.
The most common reason for loosing hair would be hormonal changes. When we are pregnant, it is vary common to loose hair, or when we reach the menopause, the hair could thin out. If you are loosing hair and have been pregnant recently or breast feeding a baby, then it is normal to loose hair. The only cure is to be patient and trust that it will grow back.
You could also have a hereditary hair loss, and again there is nothing much you can do about it. There would be the obvious cosmetic solution to add some fake hair, but as muslims, we are not allowed to do this and also, this could promote further loss due to an extra weight and stress this would put on remaining hair.

Some chemical services can be a cause for hair loss. Excessive chemical straightening or coloring would ultimately cause a hair loss. The only cure for this would be to stop the use of the chemicals and a good cut. When the hair is thinning, a good hair cut would be essential, as this would lift hte hair, give an illusion of good volume and healthy hair. After a new hair is formed, the volume should build up again, unless there is a damage on the scalp. I have seen one case during my time in hairdressing, where the propable cause of thin hair would have been an over processed permanent waving, in this case, the scalp was slightly burned by the chemicals and the hair did not grow back. This is why it is very imnportant to have any chemical service done in the good reputation hairdressing salon or with the freelance, who is able to proof the qualifications they have had and that the insurance is valid.

I will continue this on a later post, but hope this will help anyone who is suffering and if not, feel free to post or leave a message to me and I will try to help you as much as I can.

New year and old me....

2009-01-01T08:25:00.001-08:00

It is now over again.... To be honest, I don't pay any attention to the whole thing any more, it is the same thing every year. Last night 12 o'clock I was making my needle work and watching tele. Earlier in the evening I made new curtains for the girls, finished off a cushion and folded some laundry. I don't even want to make any promises to my self. I have let them down too many times, like I suppose everyone, and it is just a game.
Today I have got kids biking helmets, second hand, but in a very good condition, I collected some bikes from a fellow free cycler ( they are brilliant and already have a new proud owner ) and got a inflatable bed for the little one for the trips on a holiday. Not bad considering all that was for free and would have been worth of quite a lot of money if bought new. Generally I expect a quiet time for business now when everyone have had their hairs done for the christmas or new year, but never mind, that time I can use for organising my self propally. I need to pay a visit to my allotment during this week end and turn some ground around. this is going to be nice and messy job, and the perfect time to rest the brain.
Happy new year to everyone and despite the fact I don't really take notice of this change of the numbers, I still hope happiness and joy for everyone!

Gingerbread art

2008-12-30T15:29:00.000-08:00

Last couple of days everyone in my family, except me, have been ill. So I have found myself working early in the morning ( hairdressing clients ), and then come home, tidy up and pamper everyone. So, I desided to pamper them with home made gingerbread, which I molded on the shape of the mosque. You see, in scandinavia gingerbread houses are a tradition, the best of them are really stunning. Now, my peace of art is not as skillfull as the real masters on this craft, however, I am quite sure that this would be the first gingerbread mosque ever produced. And with a little practise and developping this may become our new Eid tradition!!!!

I have made everything by myself from the scratch: Obviously gingerbread dough, icing ( mixed icing sugar, food coloring and water ), glued parts together with melted sugar ( that is a fire hazard, so if you try be careful ), and again the arch on the roof has been made from melted sugar. I suppose I could have decorated the base by making flowers from icing, but this time I desided to keep this simple. Although, I must say I had an idea of getting some rocks and "tieing" the camels on it with a sugary tie. But this will do this time, next time I will put a little bit more thought into this and see what could i do. I am now searching some pastry cutters on a palm tree shape.....

Early bird tomorrow!

2008-12-28T15:12:00.001-08:00

My two little girls are ill. Ihave been up from bed for the last two nights to give a medicine and sympathy. I am absolutely flushed. Tomorrow morning I have two jobs early in the morning. So right now I should really be in bed, but I am enjoying this quiet time too much to let it go wasted. I must admit that during the time the girls have been ill, I have had some time to continue my cross stich project which is pictured on the right. It is not ready yet, but I am quite excited about it. It is shahada mosque.

My auntie from France came to visit us today and I was really happy to see that she was so relaxed in our house, mashallah. She is staying with her daughter, who is working a year here in London, and they both came for a dinner to us. It was lovely to see them.

I still need to put all my things together so that I don't have to spend too much time in the morning for thinking what should I take with me. So I make this short tonight and say good night to all of you and I will talk to you later insh-Allah.

Linas birthday, 7 years now, mashallah!

2008-12-24T17:00:00.000-08:00

Today we have been eating a cake, presented in a picture, made by me and I am not a professional so please excuse any mistakes with the decoration you may find. I bought her a knitting kit, with huge needles so it is easy to learn and thick thread. She loved it. I do attempt to get her something that keeps her busy, but not technology. I think that there are too many kids out there who have been pampered with so much technie things, that if you tell them let's go outside, they look at you as if you just came out of space. Well if you tell to my kids to go outside, you can not keep up with the speed they put their boots on and go to the garden to find slugs or other greepy grawlies. She now has started to make her own scarf with the huge needles and she loves it.
Preparations included me buying this massive cake tin for her cake, which I will utilise insh-Allah on other parties and thought even that I might make some cakes without a deco to sale. I am proud to say that what ever you see on the cake is made by me from the scratch! Well everything apart those rainbow springly things you put on the cake. They came from Asda, but everything else came from the ingredients in my cupboard. I did love it, but I love to make anything you can make with your own hands. And if there are any cake lovers out there who are reading my blog, well the place to go to shopping is http://www.sugarshack.co.uk/ . They have everything, it is a virtual candy shop for cake makers and others too. You can nearly smell the sugar when you look at those pictures. And oh so inspiring!!!!! I am sure that I was a baker in my previous life, well we don't really believe in that, but if we did, that is what I would think.

It is now nice and quiet in the hair department. People are finally got to the christmas spirit and relax at home. I did receive a phone call today for a haircut. She asked me if I would do a hair cut for someone who has got nits in their hair???? It would be as bad as ask me if I am suicidal! why not to ask if I wanted to start a massive infestation on my clients and loose my business! I know what has happened, she went to the salon and they found nits in her hair. She then was desperate and decided to call anyone to do her hair for the christmas. Good luck for her, but I would like to call her back and ask if anyone did it, cause I would not want to go to that hairdresser. The marks of the gingerbread house are still on my fingertips, they are bruised now. I did receive my camel pastry cutter today, so gingerbread mosque is on the drawing board. I will make the dough tomorrow insh-Allah and then bake the actual mosque the day after. I love this time of the year, I finally have the time to do all the things I love!!!!! Now all I need is a holiday, and I am working for it!

I wish we could all be perfect!

2008-12-23T07:49:00.001-08:00

Before anyone thinks anything, this picture has been drawn to me bu my lovely daughter and I took a picture of it to make sure that I don't loose it. I just thought that this time this could be the perfect pic for this blog.

I belong to Finnish muslim womans forum too, and replied to a post with regards of muslim women travelling on their own. As I believe the hadith says, we should not travel a tip lenght of one night and one day without a mahram. I posted that I work as a mobile hairdresser and sometimes, exspecially before Eid, we are working to the early hours of next morning with cuts and colors. I had one reply from someone saying, would you take your hijab off if your husband would ask you to? As she sees it I do wrong by working and driving the car on my own to the clients house..... errrrrmmm, those of you who know me, well you know what is about to come out from my mouth, how ever I put it here nicely..... I am an independent woman with a family, with a motgage and a trade skill that is needed even in London as there not too many of us who are working only with ladies. Surely muslim ladies are more comfotable to get their hair done by another muslim as this person would understand their world. So what am I missing here? Why are some of use so judgemental and would like to knock down every effort of a "normal life" which can include being a muslim. I make sure that myu husband knows all the addresses that I have been called to, and I guard my dignity. I go to the houses and if the men are there, they usually go to another room, these ladies know the rules too, they will not leave me alone with their husbands or grown sons. I would not work on anyones house on those hours, but before Eid it is different. And then it is only muslim women.
I must say I did reply to this basicly saying, well we all need to make our living somehow, there are no free gifts in this world and that we really should not judge each others, but support and understand. The first thing that popped into my mind though was: " How lovely it is to live in a such a supporting islamic community!" After this I really appreciate to live in UK, this just goes tho show how little Finland is and how small are the circles in there. I love my country, but it is the cases like this that make me think that I am really lucky to have moved away.
I am just dissappointed to them now..... :(
Insh-Allah, one day...

Noras corner

2008-12-20T06:31:00.000-08:00

I have now some new products on sale in my shop. These are for hair and there for a trial to see how they go..... inshAllah people will be interested. Anyone who wants to have a peak, this is the address:- http://stores.ebay.co.uk/noras-corner

I am still hunting the hijabs and jilbabs and even though I am turning some serious rocks around, it seems that the reasonable price ones are really hard to find. For some reason all the wholesalers seem to think that just because you live in the European country, your pockets are bursting of money... How can they sell the same hijabs to Arab countries with a friction of the price they sell them in here? This really goes out of my understanding. But I will not give up, I suppose I need to pay a visit to Whitechappel one of these days.....

I went to Stratford to do a cut last night. On the way back I had enough time to pop in to smyths toy shop and I found a nice knitting kit for Lina for her birthday. She has been watching me doing things and is keen to learn how to do them by her self. That is nice, at least some of the traditions will be passed down in the family.

It is that time of the year again!

2008-12-19T05:00:00.000-08:00

Salam,

I am sooo busy, have not had any time to log into the internet and this makes me feel a bit guilty, like I would be rejecting some of my friends.
I know, it does sound a bit sad to have virtual friends, but on the other hand we are living in the very small and virtual world now. Last night I came home 12 o'clock, did a long hair color and there was lots of it too. It does take time, my darling husband was on the sofa waiting for me, which is kind of sweet, but he was not sweet enough to help my stuff inside :( . I had to do it all by myself.

I need to build my brand during this christmas. Now when the clientele is growing alhamdulillah, I feel that I should offer a proper brand for my clients. My little boy has been ill now 4 days and at the moment he is a very grumpy young man. The last three days I have been spending building the gingerbread houses to my kids school and desided with the kids that we are going to build a gingerbread mosque during the holidays. I will post the pics once this is all done. Unfortunately all of those gingerbread art things come with the price: my fingertips are burned with the hot sugar..... that is painful, if you don't need that kind of pain into your life, don't try it at home. On typing this my index finger feels really weard cause it has a massive blister on it and I am typing like throught the cushions.

I am thinking of changing my ebay shop a bit more muslim friendly, I am considering taking on more hair products but also looking into selling hijabs and jilbabs on line. Inshallah this will lead into a having a proper internet shop, at the moment it is a bit boring, and I think that I do need a bit more challenge. The problem is where to find a good wholesaler who is selling with a good price. It is almost like they charge too much, never mind of selling the products on. I might have to look into arab countries to get my starting stock. I just am amazed with the prices online. Apart from that, the life is normal, there is way too much house work to do, but then again, we know that house work is an endless task, which never is finished. The laundry basket is challenging the limits of all physic laws and kids are running a riot for the new tighten up laws in the house. It is just so not fair!!!! ;)

Eid Mubarek!

2008-12-09T09:48:00.000-08:00

Another one gone. We had just a little family due, nothing fancy or amazing. I suppose the kids will remember the party bit and I hope that as we do celebrate it as a family, it will over rule this christmas merchantise, which is everywhere at the moment. I have been working, did a wicked color couple of days ago and start to be fully booked (alhamdulillah) before christmas. This hair in the picture is done with Majirel 900s, bleach and Indola 6.66x. Apart from red Indola, color looks very natural and the color is in the good balance with natural tones. I am suprised that I did not have the normal running all over the place this year before Eid, normally people call me 2 days before and tell me that they want me to do their hair. This results me to come home 2 in the morning and still need to wake up to do some more work in the morning. This year was very good. No extra running, nice and relaxed time before Eid.

After new year I start to plan my own shop. This has been my dream for a long time and people who know me also know that I am planning to open ladies only shop into Barking. There is none and the growing muslim community should be good basis of the clientele in that area. Plus it is only about 10 minutes drive away from my home and I should be able to do the whole children and home thing and working at the same time. I will not rent the permisses quite yet and I am only looking for a small place. I will ask deara darling husband to help me with the decoration, because I will not pay lots of money to get all the stuff, this salon is made with savings on mind. I just frimly believe that there is no reason why I would not be able to achieve an elegant and stylish end result without spending lots of money. I am looking the shops like Ikea, lots of visiting on the freecycle and there are lots of companies that sell second hand salon furniture. I know that there are lots of setties on offer in freecycle, so I suppose that my waiting area will be furnished purely with free stuff.

I have been thinking of putting a moroccan style panel on the windows, I think curtains are so uninviting. I also think that there are cases, on which men need to maybe access to the permisses, like post man, so I am thinking of separating the reception area and the salon area. I am not sure about the name yet, so any suggestions are welcome. I am thinking of looking for a business partner, someone who could do beauty more as I am planning to put a treatment area into the shop. Still the dream, but I think that husband finally starts to get around the idea of me having my own shop. Can't wait to get my hands on this project....

Happy Eid everyone!

Hunting freebies!!!!

2008-11-24T04:52:00.000-08:00

I have not been here for a while, I have been quite busy. I am on the mission to hunt as many freebies as possible. Currently I am after free mascara and Tomtom. I know, sounds really sad, but during the credit crunch I suppose every penny helps. I have been working a lot too. People do not have the money to spend any more and they rather look for the basic services at the bargain price. Well, I don't mind. I have gained some new customers and slowly but surely I am growing. I have also taken on to loose some weight. I know that this is the life long battle between me and the chocolate, but this time I have not set myself any goals, only just set a little steps to change the snacking and eating habbits. And in order to feel good about all of this, I have banned all the scales from my house. I see if I lost anything if the dress size goes down. Above all of this kids have been a bit ill, husband has been busy working and let's face it, the clock has not enought hours to fit everything in.
My freebie hunting has reached new hights thoug. I have joined sites to get free mascara ( www.freemascara.co.uk/free-mascara?referer_id=13303 )and free Tomtom (http://gifts.freebiejeebies.co.uk/33175). Only thing I need to do is to sign for an offer and then refer other people to join too..... Some things in life have been made easy. I always choose the free option for the offer, for example for the mascara I chose to order a free catalogue from Next and for Tomtom I chose to get a free dvd rental trial. Why not? At this society of spending, if you can grap some things for free and be a little bit of a winner at the end of it, then I would say well done. We are paying for everything, so its nice that for once someone is paying for us.

My course for Indian Head Massage is going fine and I am planning to sign in for the diploma course at the beginning of the January. Then by July, I would have my qualifications to add on my certificates. At least I am doing something positive to educate myself. In general, the life goes on quite smoothly at the moment and I haven't got many dramatic events to report really. Soon I will be needing volountieers for pampering to practise on..... I am sure that this is a service that people just are looking forward to. So life in general is good, alhamdulillah!

Celebrity Scissorhands

2008-10-29T14:48:00.000-07:00

Another series started. I am excited and at the same time, I do feel sorry for all of those clients, who come there for a hair cut.
I must say, they have produced some horror cuts, cuts that are beyond the belief. I do not konw how general public can let these people roaming free on their hairs, and even some professional hair dressers. I know it is all for the charity, but still, you have to face an every day life after the chair that chops your hair off, sometimes leaves bold patches all over your head. All that depends who is cutting though. Some of these celebrities have a talent, and they do become good cutters, but some of them, hide the scissors from them for ever! And sometimes as by accident, they produce something that actually looks quite funky and good, well it could if it would be finished professionally, but the idea is there. And on those moments, here I am sitting and thinking, why was I not there? why I could not come up with that hair cut. I just have to take it in and think, well my time is yet to come. A little more studying, a little more trying different things, and then, my time will come.
Todays show, hair raising, scary, horror with or without a hair. Some people say that the show makes them laugh, me, it makes my stomack to turn around, and I am begging on my sofa, oh please, dont do that, she has to go to work tomorrow..... They don't hear me, they just carry on. But can't they see that they have gone too far, or is it that they can, but they just carry on in desperate hope that somehow it will be ok. And what about all of those clients? They all sit there and smile, and they are happy. Give points 8 out of 10, and I am watching thinking:" 4, no more than 4!!!!!!"
But there we go, it is all done in the name of the charity, and I am happy for all those brave people who donate their hair and dignity for the children who need help. Thank you, only in Brittain!

Salon International

2008-10-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

It is now over and experienced. Couple of weeks waiting and excitement, and then this afternoon, slight disappointment. I was expecting some real education. I had set my mind to receive tons of information, but no...... most of it was selling things. I already have plenty of stuff. I don't really need any more. I am enthusiast about learning though. I want to see lots of new colors, new techniques how to make different finishes on hair. I want to get ideas so I can practise with my dollys and see what looks good and what may be not. I wanted to see Wella stand, I wanted to see L'Oreal stand and Matrix, but I saw none of them. Some of the biggest names in the industry and they were not there. I have noticed lately that it is so hard to get education from Matrix anyway. What a shame, they really don't realise how much of the market they end up loosing. I chose them to be my semi-permanent color range, but no information, difficulties to get color books and no tools on marketing their products at all. So to me, as a mobile it is difficult to market this to the client. I am only comparing on the fantastic support that I receive from Indola. It seems to me that for them, all the stylists are valuable. I always get the support I need, they are helpful and just visiting their stand, I was told to join to their point scheme which is running and they will give me free stuff.

I must say, there were two stands that I found really good;
Habia, educational as always, it is all about education and regulation of the industry and
Wahl, to my biggest surprise, Wahl is not only about clippers!!! Positive surprise, even though I knew that they do hairdryers, cause I have the limited edition pink one, they also do curlers, hearted rollers, heated bendis, the range is wide and almighty. And I loved their show, so did all the young girls who were screaming to the young boys on the stage...... They did have a lots of fun in there, but also , they really did the show case what can be done with the correct clippers. And I could not believe my ears, they do run academy as well!!!!! Something for me to look into. The biggest surprise from their stand was something I have never even thought, female cuts with clippers. Apparently you can use the clippers very much in the same way than you would use a razor. They can give you a soft, but textured finish and are excellent to cut a long hair, that's right, cut it, not to shave it. In front of my eyes they created a nice bob!
Absolutely something to look into. And I must admit that their stage show was quite something. There was a young martial artist girls kicking into the air and showing off her skills. Impressive, and very different. I liked it a lot. Free stuff was thrown to the audience, unfortunately I got nothing..... The show lasted 45 minutes and it was worth of watching. I learned a lot, and got some ideas. So watch out dolly, here comes my cordless clippers......

Level of Understanding

2008-10-19T04:22:00.000-07:00

Today I have been spending my time effectively. I have been studying. I thought that fine, if they don't want to take me to school then I just learn it by my self.
I have also filled an application form to another college in the area. I really want to start my level 3 next September and can't wait to get that all done. They will hold an interview and a practical test. I don't mind. I show them what I can do.

I have been reading about the pigments and tones in a natural hair. A piece of a puzzle has locked in and I feel I am learning. Feels really good. I am planning to master the theory of level 3 on my own and then I can cut the time of my studying, cause I can just hopefully write the papers off. So fingers crossed, I will get all of that done in a super fast time.
I find the colors that I use, very easy to use and I do think that the use of addititives and corrections have been made easy to understand.

Tomorrow I am going to Salon International and I would like to find a manufacturer who arranges advanced color courses, so I will be able to add into my skills. I don't mind to pay a little bit of that, but find, that the rates my college was asking this year to do my course is much more higher than what the other colleges are offering. Currently I have seen a £500 difference. And I was going to pay for it by my self. I can't stop wondering, where does the difference come into a picture? Neither is a private schools, they both are colleges that offer the same qualifications. I am confused.... but when it comes to a decision time, then it is obvious that I will choose the cheaper one.

I also am in the process of applying my state registration number. I hope it will go through soon. Then I will be on their list when people are looking for the hairdressers and also, it does give the image of being more professional. And to be honest, when I will apply the place to do a level 3, then at least I can proof that to me this is not a hobby, but a serious way to get an income.
And I do believe these organisations are a good way to deepen the knowledge and get some more information.
In the mean time, I will keep reading my books and learn more and more and add to my knowlegde.

Comment on my hair cut

2008-10-16T11:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to school to get my daughter from school. Couple of days before I have done a hair cut on someone in school, but not seen the person ever since.
So I asked from few mums around what did they like about my hair cut. I asked Debbie: " Did you see Janes hair?" Debbie answered with an angry voice: " YEAH! " I was slightly confused, thought that Jane did not like it and asked Debbie: " Why, what is wrong? "
And Debbie said to me : " I liked it better when it was long!"
But Debbie, IT IS NOT YOUR HAIR!!!!!!

Some people, they are unhappy, even for someone elses hair cut.....

Magical winter wonder land

2008-10-13T15:45:00.000-07:00

I went to East Ham today to do hair for a finnish lady who has lived in UK for 30 odd years. Funnily she still has her finnish accent when she is talking in finnish. She is from up north. We spoke about what do you miss from our country. I know that I miss the nature the most. Of coarse the family, we all do, but apart from the family, it would have to be a nature. The trees just aren't the same in here, the winter, well the magic of snow is missing and in the summer, I don't think that there is another like the summer in Finland with the sun never going down. It is funny how you can just have a common grounds with someone you just met and they know exactly what you are talking about. But I suppose these are the things that only your country man can understand, where ever you come from. How weird to have a connection with strangers.

Enjoy!

Picture taken by Alexander

2008-10-13T00:46:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share this. Nothing to do with hairdressing, but I think this is brilliant boost for my eldest son, who took a picture of an accident in Finland and his picture has ended up to the web page on the front. And this is not a bad picture, considering it was taken with a phone camera. I have seen worst! Well done Alexander!

A motor biker had fallen off from his bnike and hurt his arm. You see, even though there was a recent shooting in our school, when this makes it to the headlines, you can tell that nothing much really happens in there. And even though a columnist from a news paper asks us to look at our children, well in a country where almost 100% of children can read, there is no teen age pregnancies in a measure that there are in here, yeah, people consume lots of alcohol, but binge drinking is a common habbit in UK too, so we are not that bad. So the only thing I would maybe put the finger on, would be our geological location on the top of the big ball, but then again there is nothing much we can do about that. As a result of this location, our country gets a very little day light during the winter months and this may cause a depression. However, this has been taken into the consideration and lots of companies use the day light bulbs. However, when it is summer, the sun does not go down at all. And by the way, the shooting happened in the school where my mother used to go to do her vocational college. Scary....

Add some color!

2008-10-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

This week end I have been doing high lights. Lots of them, full heads, half heads. Different colors and tones, and they all love theirs.

I have been changing the color from too much gold to little bit more ash and making up colors as we did not have the suitable one. I have to keep the record of my mixtures too, because otherwise I will have a big problem when I need to go back and do the re-growth.

I got my tickets to Salon International. I can't wait. I am expecting to see some amazing tips on how to work hair, I would like to see one of the superstars of the industry at work, would love to get some nice freebies and of coarse with the good exhibition manner, would love to get some real bargains! It is in one weeks time, so I hope I have lots of pics and tips in my pocket after next Monday.
I went to Capital on Friday too and got my self Matrix color books on semis! Look at them colors! Purples, pinks, nice mahogany browns, lovely colors to add a bit spice on your life and the best thing is, they wash off in up to 8 washes! And there is a clear one to add shine on hair, so anyone with really dry hair without any shine, this would be perfect to add a little bit of zing zang like I say. I will post some pics once I have created something out of this world.

Friday night I came home 2 am and I was absolutely shattered on the Saturday, when I went to do my old college friend and her mum. I nearly fell asleep in a car when I was waiting them in the car park, because they have been shopping. I must say thought that earlier that day, I have been in a market to look for salons for a part time job. My dream salon has not been calling, so I thought It wont harm me to look something else too. I went to two salons, one women only but they were looking for nail technician, not a hairdresser. I do have a certificate, but I don't like doing them. I just like to stick on manicures and pedicures when doing nails. I got some bookings and my diary starts to look fairly busy, alhamdulillah! Got couple of day appointments this week and couple evenings waiting for confirmation.

I now am hoping that my business starts growing a bit more, Christmas is coming and I think that all the hairdressers will get a bit more busier. I am ready, and waiting the phone to ring!

It was not me!

2008-10-07T01:59:00.000-07:00

This morning everything has gone suspectively well. Kids were up without any complaining and even my eldest daughter understood without tantrum, when I explained to her that the reason she is tired would be that she does not go asleep when I ask her to go to bed. Amazing! Does this mean they are growing up? I mean they are only young, so there is no hurry really, but it was nice to have a calm morning for a change.

I took girls to school and maybe their bad mood has been transferred to others, because there were some parents arguing by the school gate. This was due to a parking. Some people do not understand the meaning and the purpose of the yellow zic zac, they don't realise that it is there to make sure if a child decides to run on the other side of the street, he can be spotted early enough to avoid an accident. They just feel they are sooooo tired and park straight in front of gates despite the fact that it is dangering other peoples lives. But we need to see this on the other way; what about if it was your child who would be knocked by the car because there was not enough visibility? Or if it was you who would drive over a child? I am sure that in large we all agree not wanting to experience this.

Last night my dear friend Sharon and I had a chat in the internet. We spoke about our college. She is currently doing level 3 in college. To do a level 3 in hairdressing, you need to work in a salon. She is deaf, and she found it hard to get a job, but finally got a work placement in afro salon in her area. Good luck for her! I hope she will do well.
If you are mobile hairdresser, that will not count to get a place in a college for level 3. Why? because they think that you are not serious and to you this is only a hobby. Now correct me if I am wrong; I thought that if you are serious about something, it is because this is your attitude, not because of the place you are working in. So the way I see it is, I do my own advertising, I do my accounting, I do my own stock take, Inland Revenue return, I don't have a receptionist because I do it all, I also plan ahead my business, decide how can I and how long am I willing to travel to do work and also if I would travel a bit further, how far that would be and how many clients I would have to have before it was a cost effective. I decide about my promotions and my selling prices and as a small business find it extremely hard to compete with Superdrug, because I don't have the same buying power. So to say I don't take this seriously is a bit of under statement. I probably am more serious about my job than a girl next to me who works in Tony & Guy as a stylist. On the top of this, when I put across my reasons of having difficulties of having a job in a salon, mentioned that I don't work on mens' hair and if working in a unisex salon, I would wear my head scarf, I was told by the head of a department that I should have thought of my career choice then a bit more ???? !!!!! Now how does that work out then? I am a muslim and want to be a hairdresser. So does this mean that in order to have a job, I need to take my scarf off? No way, I am not compromising my beliefs. And when the teacher of the college says that they find the people struggling the most in level 3 are the mobiles, and therefore they have done a decision not to take them, well I would ask about the quality of the teaching then. This rule in my eyes is braking equal opportunities, of which the college is so proud of. We don't have equal opportunities. The only people who would give us equal opportunities are the ones who are muslims by them selves. But hang on, aren't we suppose to integrate into the society, well I am trying, but can not run through the doors which are being closed in front of me. So its never really any ones fault, it is just an unfortunate twist of circumstances. What can I say?

I am moving

2008-10-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

I am moving. From one blog to another. I have packed my stuff and coming here, to amuse you and to show you another face of hair and beauty.

I start about me. I am a practising muslim and I am a qualified hairdresser. Currently I am working as a mobile hairdresser and in a salon for appointment only basis. I thoroughly enjoy my job. I deside what to do and when to do it. I love hair in any form or shape and truly believe that little trim from time to time will give you a virtual face lift without any invention and fresh look, weather you choose to cover it or to show it to the whole world.

Today I finally received my certificate. After months and months of waiting, it is now here. Hello to insurance companies to add to my insurance, and to show off to my clients something that I am absolutely proud of. It is a pleasure to finally be able to show that I truly did the 2 years in the college, that I am serious of what I am doing and am going to continue studying. Next year insh-Allah, I will enter the level 3.

I also have finished a search for my dream salon. I am now working in a ladies only salon for appointment only on Saturdays. This is a salon that ticks all the boxes in my wish list: it is near by, managed by muslim women and naturally ladies only. Surely a dream come true. Salons are so vital in keeping with touch of the development in the industry. They are places where the product consultants like to come to show their new products and to share that vital information you need to keep up to date. So I could say that life is pretty good.

I am passionate of ladies only salons. It almost seems like they are forgotten treasure, national history that happened long time ago and now everyone has gone unisex. But we have LOTS of women, who still want to be treated in a ladies only places. We ladies don't always like to show our heads when they are filled with foils, as we like to change our hair colors. Or when we have perm rolls in our heads and we look like something out of space. I think that beauty still needs some secrets, even when men can do anything women can do and they do not get labelled for it, still us ladies want to keep hidden what has been done to us and when. I also think that ladies only salons serve another important area, they are social meeting places where old community matriarchs will meet the young seireens and talk girly things without feeling embarrassed. What a glorious and uplifting way to show young ladies how to become a fully groomed and glamorous woman with a life experience. We need these things in our society now a days, when everything and anything goes and is allowed.

So I am in a mission of looking this industry from another point of view. I would like to do a post revolution in hairdressing, not only by creating amazing hairdos and really fantastic cuts, but also questioning, why should we always mix?
Isn't there anymore such a thing than femininity? Or why has it changed? I think that us ladies used to make ourselves pretty in a salon for many reasons, but one of them was definitely to look nice to our partners or husbands. So why not anymore? And when beauty is bigger and larger than ever before, why is it that people have the image of muslim ladies who cover them selves, not needing a hair cut? It almost seems like there is a stereotype saying that if you cover your hair, you don't need to look pretty. Well, we still want to look nice in front of our husbands and we go to the parties. We want to be fashionable but yet keep our treasures hidden. So when writing this, I have one big question in my mind: When is Vidal Sassoon going to open their Ladies only salon? And if they have one, please could I have the address?