Kickstarting A Return to Blogging: Love InshaAllah Give-away!
Posted on February 3, 2013 by hijabman

For the past couple years, that’s the state of mind I’ve been in; putting that core principle into practice. What better way to nourish my soul than by becoming the best househusband I can be? Of course, I’ve made several mistakes along the way and those struggles pretty much threw my blogging out the window. I’ll write about all of that in the coming months, but for now, I’ve broken up my househusbandly duties into five areas.. and I’m excited to shift the content of hijabman.com to reflect these aspects of my life:
1. Raising our children. WarriorPrincess is almost 7 years old now and as feisty as ever. WarriorPrincess#2 is due in April. And we have begun the process of adopting a WarriorPrince in the future.
2. Nourishing our bodies through diet and exercise. We’ve done away with most processed foods (and the additives, ‘natural flavorings’ and crap that comes with it) and cook good, wholesome food throughout the week. MrsHM attends zumba classes regularly, and I’ve been going to a fitness bootcamp 3x a week for the past year. Next week, I start training for my first sprint triathlon. My biggest fear? Being a hairy pakistani dude. WarriorPrincess wants to compete in a kids triathlon this summer.
3. Keeping an organized house. I come from a disorganized family– I know the ‘junk drawer’ all too well. Training myself to create a system that I can work with has been a huge struggle for me, but I’m well on my way to banishing all the ‘junk drawers’ in my house.
4. Money management. With one kid edging toward tween-dom, one kid about to be born, and a couple big purchases coming up (more on that later), it’s become more important to track all of our finances and make sure we’re maximizing our savings.
5. Time management. While my official title is househusband, I do have a part-time work from home gig which makes my balancing act a bit more challenging.
That all being said, welcome back to the web site! For all you loyal fans of the site, I’ve decided to start a giveaway each month. This month, I’ll be giving away the book Love InshaAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women… (MrsHM is one of the contributor’s, remember?) All you need to do is 1. share this post on Facebook (Twitter, if you don’t have a FB account) using the FB button below and then 2. comment here, telling me what you’d like to see on hijabman.com. On Tuesday Morning… UPDATE: On Wednesday afternoon, I’ll pick someone randomly! Oh, feel free to like the FB page as well.
Have a great weekend!
Image1: BinGregory‘s son at the beach in Sarawak, Borneo.
Image2: WarriorPrincess and I on Eid.











Glad to see your back to blogging! Have you ever used the website mint.com. Great for tracking finances and creating budgets. All inclusive look at your money (and debt). I am looking forward to reading about you becoming a “new” dad since you missed WP early days. I would also like to see more pics (you call yourself a photographer right?)
Salaam,
So, I want the book! I know I might sound like a cheapskate but it’s rather hard to get the book online and get it shipped to KL (ok-ok! I was just to lazy to deal with the online purchase!)
And, I hope to see more of MrsHM on your blog. She seems like a very cool lady. ( I’m sure she is!heh..) She is effortlessly inspirational! Sorry to say this, as much as I enjoy your writings, I think I have girl-crush ( completely- healthy-non- romantic-way) on her! <3
And yes, all the best with the resolutions! xx
Asalaam’Alykum!
I was excited to see that you are returning to the blog!! I started my small one to become a better writer and a better person. But I need a push to get back to writing as well, even if no one reads it, I want to look back and read my memories.
I would REALLY like to see the adoption process through you and MrsHM’s pov. My parents have been talking about it for years and i’ve been doing my own research but I would LOVE to see your family’s journey.
Also I’d love to hear about more of your experiences doing wedding photography. Taking pictures is an art..it’s a skill and you are becoming a big part of their wedding. I think they become a big part in your learning experience and gosh, it’s such a pleasure to be chosen by someone to take pictures at their wedding. I want to see your outlook on it more!
How about an east vs west theme?
U.S. Muslim/Sufis vs. Asian and Middle Eastern Muslim Sufis
and or
U.S. West Coast Muslims/Sufis vs. East Coast
Comparing and contrasting similarities and differences.
So glad you’re blogging again. I would love to hear about your interfaith activities and see more photography. Recipes for all that delish food you’re always making would be awesome too. Also, you should check out pioneer woman’s blog, you have a lot in common in terms of the kinds of things you cover, and she organizes her stuff really well…congrats on being back and g’luck!
Salaam bro…glad to see you blogging again. Item 4 is what I’d really really really wish you’d share with me. It’s what causes me to stay up at night and it is probably my biggest personal struggle…one I’ve never opened up to anyone about. Please share your strategies and ideas.
Muchas gracias and can’t wait to read along.
I am commenting first, and will then share the post. If that’s ok. I was assuming that by the numerical order above you were simply saying “hey, these are the things I’d like you to do” and they were not in an order of needing to be done first and second.
… I just read it again, for comprehension. And I think by using the phrase “and then” in between thing 1 and thing 2, you WERE in fact hoping we’d do the first thing first. In which case I’m doing this backwards. Hm. Am hoping I will not be disqualified from the Love Inshaallah giveaway. How strict are these things? I’ll continue, under the assumption that I am not disqualified. What I would like to see on HijabMan.com would be your adventures in preparing healthful yet still convenient foods for WarriorPrincess#2 (I am, of course, calling her Najwa in my head) (if that’s ok).
Hahaha its definitely okay, Najwa— but it looks like it may be the other “N” name I told you. MrsHM still wants to meet her first before deciding though.
Yeah I need to get some baby cookbooks
or maybe I should just steam veggies and blend em. Haven’t decided yet exactly! But definitely will record my experiments!
Mouna– thanks for commenting. For #4– money management. I think thats the one I struggle w/ the most, but now there are tools like Shannon mentioned: Mint.Com which I’ve kinda-started using.
Sounds good
Yeah, I’m a fan of pioneer woman as well. She’s just way better than I am at all of the above.
Wasalaam Sanya…. great name btw. I’m gonna have to pitch that one for WarriorPrincess #2.
Definitely write, even if no one’s reading. That’s how I started! Will definitely make sure there is a post about doing wedding photography.
Farha, MrsHM is kinda shy– you’re gonna have to convince her to start writing more.
Shannon: I’ve had mint.com for a couple years now but I have to make myself look at it and categorize things it miscategorized and entering cash transactions (like farmer’s market purchases). When I have that down, I’ll be much happier. More pics can happen
How about a photo-friday?
I’m particularly interested in more recipes! I have recently started decreasing the packaged, processed foods I buy for my family (and nearly completely removed them from my own diet), and, being a lousy cook, I need all the help I can get. And my daughter thinks WP1 is the cutest human on the earth.
Welcome back, Javed! We’ve missed you! I’d love to hear (a lot) more about the dietary changes you’ve been making, including recipes, as I have begun this journey myself and could use the guidance. Budget friendly meals are particularly appreciated
Everyone has already suggested all the things I would love to read on your re-blog…but wait. Did someone say you should give us photos and descriptions of your decluttering inventions? You’ve been doing that already, and one of my all-time favorites is the treadmill-desk. Please keep inventing and sharing! I am currently embroiled in identifying Everything I Own…and so far I have re-organized my dresser drawers and done the dishes. I never seem to get past that point. Boo Me!