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Showing posts from March, 2018

From Denial to Delight

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As many of you know by now, I am a criminal in the eyes of Arizona State. My life is an open book, which means everyone knows that as a result of protecting my children from their abusive father, I have two counts of felony custodial interference on my permanent record. Now, this has not been an easy thing for me to overcome. I've turned down on some very nice paying jobs, I cannot get a job working as a teacher (regardless to my extended teaching experience), and I've been denied nice housing because I am labeled as an felon . But it doesn't end there. Then, I have to deal with the attitudes of some of the people who discover my past too. One day they are talking to me; the next day they will not even make eye contact. Well, let's put it this way, it's not been an easy uphill climb since my return to America. And for this reason I've really become sympathetic to others that are trying to get their lives back on track, only to face persecution and phobias f

Recipe Excerpts from upcoming book: Paklish Cooking 101

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Now that I mentioned the cookbook in my last blog post, I have cooking on the brain. So I thought it would be fun to write about cooking in Pakistan. Here is an excerpt from the book  Paklish Cooking 101 ,   and two recipes highlighted in the book . Silver dishes a re a vital part of every kitchen. Silver dishes ( panday ), shallow flat mixing bowl ( thrami ), tea bowls ( pyalas ), sauce pan ( dedgi ), round griddle ( tava ), bread basket ( chooket ), teapot ( chinook ) , flatbread cloth ( tutahanas ), hand-held fan ( punkias ) and wooden spoons. Moms are always ready for the traveling junk man ( panday valla ) when he comes thru the alleyway on his bicycle. Collections of old plastic shoes, old silver dishes, odd-and-end metal pieces are weighed and traded in for a new silver pot or clay tea bowls. Dirt is smeared on the bottom of clay and silver  pots and pans ; not only to make it easier to clean the soot, but to help prevent the clay pots from cracking during cookin

A New Day, A New Name

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Seems like I've disappeared for weeks from my blogging. But with good reason of course. I've been working on a total overhaul on several aspects of my life. One of those changes was to my online jewelry business. We have changed the selling formats, the stores, and even the name. Introducing again,  S. A. Spirit Jewelry Design and Resale Boutique ! Our online store for vintage items and jewelry flipping. I am totally excited about the new look of the website, and our new stores on Etsy and eBay. Our new website is  www.saspiritjewelry.weebly.com . And I especially love the new photos of our inventory! My daughter is doing an amazing job on them. Check out some of my favs. Setting up a new business is hard work, and sales are starting to come in. I love this new chapter in my life!! (But my writing is still pushing forward. I'm actually working on a family cookbook, Paklish Cooking 101, By Marsha Marie and Shahbana Azmi . Coming Soon!)