Moving delusions.

#1. "I don't really have much stuff at all. It will probably fit in less than 10 boxes." Yeah, if you're talking about your baking stuff! Seriously, you say this EVERY time and lo and behold, you're running around three days before the move taking boxes from wherever you can get them and staying up until midnight filling 'em up. One box just says "OIL AND BAGGED SPICES." Really??!

#2. "I'm fine, I don't need any more help. I hired movers." Okaaaay, but who's going to help you cram your seven cutting boards and a rolling pin into a laundry basket full of shower curtains when your family sees your mess and runs in the other direction? Dear mother and sister: I'm sorry.


#3. "This place is pretty clean already. It won't take that long to finish." PLEASE!!!

I guess they're right.

Just stick with me until after the move, ok?





EXERCISE
I may be a tad dramatic about how much stuff I have. I mean, I don't collect anything, I almost never buy clothes and I literally own 5 pairs of shoes. But the kitchen is a problem. I like kitchen stuff. So today my exercise was packing five boxes of non-essentials in preparation for my helpers coming on Saturday. I know they will say (and have said) to wait until they come, but there will be so much cleaning to do I really can't justify waiting. Sunday would be the WORST if we weren't totally done packing and moving on to cleaning by then. The movers come at 3 p.m. on Sunday and I only have until 9:30 on Monday the 30th to be done. Why did I schedule my check-out for 9:30??
Anyway. Packing, like cleaning, is exercise. Lots of bending, lifting, and grunting about why a person would ever keep so many old yogurt containers filled with just-used-once frying oil. Guess what? YOU WILL NEVER USE THEM!

Health Tip of The Day: When you're stressed-out and you want to get Noodles & Co. takeout, it's probably a better idea just to cook up the last of your elbow macaroni and make a light bechamel sauce with 1% milk, a little parmesan, and some steam-in-a-bag frozen peas. The result will likely be much healthier because restaurants always add extra fat and salt for flavor. Plus, you don't want to move food—takes up too many boxes!

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ISLAM

Tonight while "exercising" my moving demons I listened to Podcast #4 of the seerah lectures from Qalam Institute. Today's topic was the religion of the people of Mecca before the time of the Prophet ﷺ. It was pretty crazy. They believed in Allah as the ultimate Lord and Creator for the most part, but thought they needed idols to communicate with Him or to intercede for them. I guess that's pretty common today as well, but it just sounds so counterintuitive. In one narration, the people built large idols out of a type of confection made of dates and other sweet ingredients. Kind of like those Rice Krispie Treat cakes on Ace of Cakes. Well there was a famine and people were so hungry that they had to eat the idol. A poet commented that it's astounding that they had so little fear of their god that they could eat him when hungry. 

Subhanallah. Allah is far above all of these practices. May He keep me away from such abomination.

The lecture was an hour long but I'm still going to practice Surah Al-Ma'un before bed. I really want to make this goal of learning five new surahs before Ramadan—y'all can support me with rousing comments if you like!