ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
Middle East and North AfricaMENA diet/exercise thread
We had an all meat chili for dinner. Well...I should say I had the all meat chili (Hicham added some spicy chili beans to his). It is really good and better than using the prepared mixes as it has no sugar in the recipe. What I did not tell Hicham is that I substituted 2 pounds of ground turkey breast for the ground beef to reduce the fat content. whistling.gif This recipe is really good and you can add what you like to make it more spicy. For instance, I doubled all the spices and added some cayenne pepper for good measure (yes...we like things hot around here). It cooked all day in the crock pot and was delicious!

Twila


All-Meat Chili (6 servings)

2 pounds of ground beef
1 chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 can (14.5 oz) tomatoes with green chilies
1 can (4 oz) tomato sauce
4 tsps ground cumin
2 tsps dried oregano
2 tsps unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp paprika

1. Brown the meat and drain. Add the onion, garlic, tomatoes, tomato sauce, cumin, oregano, cocoa, and paprika. Stir to combine.

2. Turn the burner to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover and simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the chili thickens a bit. Serve with your favorite toppings.
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2008-01-03 20:37:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA diet/exercise thread
QUOTE (chaishai @ Jan 2 2008, 12:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Jenn! @ Jan 2 2008, 12:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (tnh9479 @ Jan 2 2008, 12:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I made the decision in September to go about losing weight. I started a low carb, low fat diet and have lost 50 pounds since then. I have plateaued over the holidays, but I consider it a great feat to really look at what I eat now and to not binge eat. My New Year's resolution was to really use the recumbent bicycle we bought about a year ago. That is my plan for today!


50 lbs!? Wow! Congrats!


50lbs is awesome! Congrats! If you dont mind my asking, do you eat carbs in veggie/fruit form? If you dont, how do you get energy? Just curious because the times that I did try to be low carb I felt lethargic and was wondering how people stuck to it...


I did low carb before and lost a lot of weight. Then I got married and let myself go. So I decided around the time of Ramadan that the time was now. So when my husband started fasting, I started my diet. I had read about this specific diet in Woman's World magazine and decided to give it a try. There was a one-time fee to join the website. I love the women I have gotten to know from it.

As with any low carb diet, you have an induction phase where it is only protein. That should be short lived (like a week or two at the tops). Then you add some lower carb fruits (berries and apples are great for this and my favorites) and some of the lower carb vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, greens, etc). Do I follow the diet precisely? No. I add in things when I crave them (no white objects or sweets though). The main thing I have found is portion control and, as strange as this may seem, eating enough calories to keep the weightloss going. There is nothing more eyeopening than entering your daily diet into fitday.com (and it is free). It keeps me honest with myself.

Twila
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2008-01-02 13:10:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA diet/exercise thread
I made the decision in September to go about losing weight. I started a low carb, low fat diet and have lost 50 pounds since then. I have plateaued over the holidays, but I consider it a great feat to really look at what I eat now and to not binge eat. My New Year's resolution was to really use the recumbent bicycle we bought about a year ago. That is my plan for today!
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2008-01-02 12:05:00
Middle East and North AfricaHappy Eid for all MENA
Eid Mubarak!
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2009-09-20 08:28:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
We usually buy our dates directly from this farm in California. They taste soooooooooo much better than what you can get other places.

I always make Harira for DH. Yum!

Does anyone know of a good young children's book on Ramadan (in English) that I could read to the babies?




tnh9479FemaleMorocco2009-07-11 04:11:00
Middle East and North AfricaSalaam from Houston, Texas
July 22nd -- What a great day!

Welcome Iysha! Your birthday happens to be my husband's birthday and our anniversary!

Twila
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2007-04-04 15:22:00
Middle East and North AfricaHello Ladies and Gents
[It is taking me a little bit to get used to the new look, but I like it!

Twila

Edited by tnh9479, 28 January 2006 - 12:03 PM.

tnh9479FemaleMorocco2006-01-28 12:02:00
Middle East and North AfricaLET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR RED FLAGS

Chi,

Let me see if I understand you correctly. Part of the consulate's duty is to identify and investigate potential fraud cases. Presumably they are more qulaified to do this then USCIS due to the cultural differences among individual consulates, i.e. a "red flag" in Morocco might not be the same as one in the Philippines. BUT, McKeever et al. are claiming that they only have the capability to do the identification, but not the investigation. Therefore, in lieu of doing the investigation, they are returning the petitions, the mentality being that if DHS is not going to provide the resources for the investigation, they have no other choice but to send the case back to USCIS.

The way I understand that it works at some other consulates is that couples with some suspicion of fraud are placed on AR while the fraud investigation takes place. This is what is missing at Casa. Instead, they are misusing the 221g avenue to return a petition, simply because they lack resources to do their own fraud investigation.

Am I understanding this right???

I wonder whether other "high fraud" consulates receive more funds to do these investigations. If DHS agrees that Morocco is a high fraud consulate, why are they not giving them the necessary funds to carry them out? Seems then that the problem, is NOT with Casa, but rather with fund appropriation by DHS. Why is USCIS not pushing DHS to allocate more funds to Casa?

Interesting info, thanks.



Jenn --

I think you hit the nail on the head.

Twila
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2007-04-15 08:08:00
Middle East and North AfricaB'Stilla
I so totally suggest you all go invest in Paula Wolfert's Moroccan cookbook. It is awesome! I made the pastilla from there and my husband said it was just like home (only it took me 3 hours to make it...start to finish).

Something interesting my husband told me...his family and friends rarely (if ever) make it at home because it is so time consuming and can be difficult (especially if you are to make werka). He said they go out and buy it from a local business. He was so impressed I could make it.

Twila

P.S. I have searched for a really good shrimp pils-pils recipe. If anyone has one, send it my way! I had it from one restaurant in Essaouira and it was to die for. It is more a Spanish recipe (from what I could gather) and I tried one version. It just wasn't quite what either one of us remember.
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2006-08-10 15:23:00
Middle East and North AfricaWhere / how did you buy your recent tickets for travel to Morocco?
We want to fly to Morocco this summer with the twins (before they turn 2 and we have to buy them actual seats on the plane). I am curious where others have bought their tickets. My surfing on the internet has led me to believe that we'll be staying here. Has anyone tried a travel agent or have other suggestions?

Twila
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2010-02-28 11:06:00
Middle East and North AfricaNew Magrehbi
Congrats Amy on the arrival of Ayman! It looks like he is improving and I am sending nothing but the best wishes to your family. Hopefully this part will soon become a distant memory.
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2010-04-18 20:02:00
Middle East and North AfricaLooking for cheap flight to Morocco.
We wanted to take the twins this summer but the prices are insane. We are sending my husband in November instead. I would say to try to be creative with flights. There are some cheap airlines flying in Europe that you could take. If we all were going we were probably going to take Air Berlin.
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2010-04-28 09:27:00
Middle East and North AfricaUPDATE on Casa Interview
I see things in Casablanca have not changed a lot in 5 years. It's not surprising due to what I have seen over time.

I was reading your interview synopsis and basically agree with what others posted previously. It really does seem they think you are being paid by the family to marry him for immigration reasons. They see you on a Muslim dating site, but you are not Muslim or reverted. You gave up your work position for a period of time to go there and you have a child to support. He has a brother in the States who could have arranged this. I am not saying I believe this, but it really seems to be what they were hinting at.

Anyway, I hope you get through!
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2010-06-26 21:46:00
Middle East and North AfricaFavorite dish from SO's country
I loved chicken pastilla when I was in Morocco. I usually will make it once or twice a year for a special occasion. When in Essaouira, the favorite dish of my husband and myself was Crevette Pil Pil. It took us quite some time to find out that actually it is based on a Basque recipe. We have experimented over the past five years and have come close (but still slightly off). Basically, it is shrimp in a tomato/garlic/olive oil/hot pepper sauce. OMG...so good!
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2010-05-20 19:26:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA pregnancy/baby/parenting thread
What a cutie Amy!
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2010-07-31 13:19:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA pregnancy/baby/parenting thread

I wanted to resurrect this thread to get some feedback on circumcision. If it were up to me, I wouldn't even have it done but of course my husband would not allow him to remain uncircumcized.

Ayman didn't get to be circumcized because of not being stable enough after his birth and being transferred to a childrens hospital right away. The childrens hospital wouldn't do it at the time of his discharge because he wasn't born there.
I took him to his pediatrician last week and she said that she won't do it because he has already passed the age where it can be done in the office and that she will give him a referral to a urologist when he is one year old.
My question is if anyone has waited this long to get their son circumcized and isn't it more painful for him to wait until one year old?


You have until two weeks after their birth to get the circumcision done. I tried while at the hospital and the ob/gyn on call would not do it. So, I had to run to get my two insurance coverage 2 days after getting home from the hospital so Zak could be circumsized when he was one week old. They told me after two weeks, it requires anesthesia and a urologist has to perform it (I did not hear that you had to wait until one). After our experience, I would want to get it done ASAP because it was horrible to look at and I could not imagine a child dealing with that when they are more self-aware. My husband still remembers his when he was around 5 or 6 and had no problem with Zak getting his when he was days old.
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2010-04-29 12:38:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA pregnancy/baby/parenting thread
I have two tall skinny ones too. We have to have them wear shoes around the house so that their pants stay on! Last time they were measured in January they were 32 and 33 inches tall (at one year). They have definitely gotten taller as they don't have to stand on their toes to reach our door handles (and they have figured out how to open half the doors in our house now. :( They are into everything and Hana thinks if she bats her eyes and puts her head on us that she can do whatever she wants. Aye! Aye! Aye!
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2010-02-28 11:18:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA pregnancy/baby/parenting thread
Hi! I am Twila and mom to boy/girl twins who will be ONE this week! Yikes! Where has the time gone?

Anyway, my babies are Muslim as well. I have no issue with that. We celebrate my family's holidays as well. The twins need to respect both families' heritages. There is a lot, after getting by the initial differences, that we have in common (what drew us together in the first place).

I guess I am lucky to have a wonderful husband. He was there for me and the babies from day one. I was a wreck after they were born and it took me a while to bond with them, whereas he bonded instantly with them. He is soooooooooooo much more overprotective than I ever thought of being and he doesn't think twice to jump in and do something for them. He just draws the line at giving them a bath -- it kind of freaks him out. That's ok. Now...if I could get him to remember to pick up his coffee cup!
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2010-01-11 21:02:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2008
QUOTE (Ash * Habibati @ Aug 31 2008, 02:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Has anyone tried this program / website? (I'm sorry in advance if it's been mentioned before)

http://islam.about.c...hanDownload.php

the Download (go from server 1 ) - http://www.download....l?tag=pdl-redir


It's by IslamicFinder.. And gives athan for any city.. as well as lists the daily prayer times.
I installed it and it works very well. We put in our town and a few other preference selections and let it be and at 1:10 PM here on the east coast the computer started adhan for Dhuhr (scared us at first, we were in the other room ) hehe
Jihed really likes it.. There isn't a mosque close enough to us that he could hear the call to prayer, so this seemed like a really good program.
If you have a constant internet connection and a computer that you can leave on, it's a really good solution.
The best is that it is free. There are lots of interesting features too good.gif
If you upgrade and pay for the pro version you get even more, qiblah finder, quran recitation with any language, etc. (We may do that later depending on how much we like it)


good.gif


I was reading on moonsighting.com tonight that there are many problems with the program (my husband has used it the past two years). You might want to read up yourself and decide if you want to use it. We are getting the prayer times from the local mosque.


Oh....and let the confusion begin. Our local masjid is saying Ramadan starts Tuesday.
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2008-08-31 22:54:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2008
Our dates should be delivered fresh from the farm by UPS tomorrow (if the tracking is right). These dates are WONDERFUL! I also got a bread machine last night so I can try making some Moroccan bread for Ramadan.
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2008-08-21 17:55:00
Middle East and North Africanot fasting.... :(
Venusfire -- you are not the only one to have fasted during Ramadan, even though you are not Muslim. The first few years of our marriage, I fasted with my husband. He appreciated the support, and in a lot of ways, it brought us closer together as a couple. When I was pregnant two years ago I did not. I have yet to fast again. I am hoping to again next year to be an example to our twins, since this will be their faith (even if I am still debating if it is mine -- I have issues with any organized religion).
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2010-08-16 05:13:00
Middle East and North AfricaTHINGS TO MAKE THEM FEEL AT HOME
I would definitely say learning to cook some recipes from his "home" and getting Arabic satellite will work WONDERS. However, it still is a tough process and be prepared.
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2008-02-14 13:30:00
Middle East and North AfricaTHINGS TO MAKE THEM FEEL AT HOME
I would definitely say learning to cook some recipes from his "home" and getting Arabic satellite will work WONDERS. However, it still is a tough process and be prepared.
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2008-02-14 13:30:00
Middle East and North AfricaHow is your Arabic?
I know Jenn. I want to learn but time is now the real issue. :(

The words I know are exceptionally funny. I do know what my husband talks about with his family. I pretty good at guessing from intonation, etc. He is always amazed. :)
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2010-08-29 10:23:00
Middle East and North AfricaBuh Bye USCIS
Is he thinking about citizenship in the future? That was the easiest part of this whole damn crazy process.

Congrats again Jackie and Ibrahim!
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2010-09-17 22:58:00
Middle East and North AfricaProblems calling Morocco today?
My husband finally got through last night to a cell number.
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2011-01-31 17:44:00
Middle East and North AfricaProblems calling Morocco today?
Just wondering if anyone could call Moroccan numbers today? My husband calls his family every weekend and hasn't even been able to connect to a neighbor. I told him it may be too much traffic to the region.
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2011-01-29 19:03:00
Middle East and North AfricaHEY MENA!!!!!
Good to see so many survivors! Congrats on the oath ceremony! It is such neat ceremony and my husband's ended with both of us in tears. What a trip it has been!
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2011-02-10 20:40:00
Middle East and North Africaoldies but goodies?
Another member of the K-1 Class of 2005 here! We will be married for 6 years in July and have 2.5 year old twins. So glad we finished with USCIS well over a year and a half ago! (Just can't leave here.)
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2011-06-12 09:16:00
Middle East and North AfricaMoroccans
We had fun at school two years ago when all of my students of Cuban descent were called down to the office to fill out a new registration form. Apparently they are not Hispanic any more, but Caucasian. They came back asking me what was going on. All the new state forms now have our Central and South American students check Caucasian for race and then Hispanic for ethnicity. Would be nice to be able to add Arabic to ethnicity too. :)
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2011-07-08 20:54:00
Middle East and North AfricaAnyone use TV2MORO?
Just wondering if there are any testimonials about TV2MORO. We are contemplating dumping the Arabic package from DISH and switching to this.
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2011-07-15 20:44:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA class of 04-08 ladies
The US paperwork was quick, but I had to get my senator involved as the packet Casa sent out with his interview date never showed. Senator gets involved and things happen like dominoes.
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2012-05-06 21:42:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA class of 04-08 ladies
Nice to see lots of familiar names! We filed a K-1 from Morocco in 2005. We are coming up on our 7 year wedding anniversary this summer. We have almost 3.5 year old b/g twins and hubby was naturalized a day before their first birthday. We both come back occasionally to check in and read. I have a fellow teacher at my school who married a woman in China over Christmas break. So...I am cheering him on in his visa journey. :)
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2012-04-30 00:24:00
Middle East and North AfricaThe hoping not to be denied at Casablanca thread
Just another option: we use IDT's Global Call Calling Card. It is 29 cents / minute to Moroccan cells. We have been using this for quite some time.
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2010-07-30 20:18:00
Middle East and North AfricaThe hoping not to be denied at Casablanca thread
Visas issued by Casa in 2009: K1 = 232 K2 = 3 K3 = 140 K4 = 3

link
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2010-07-06 19:58:00
Middle East and North AfricaThe hoping not to be denied at Casablanca thread
Ok...not specific to Casa, but worldwide...application numbers and denials for all visa categories at this link.

29127 K-1 applications 27678 K-1 visas issued
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2010-07-06 19:54:00
Middle East and North AfricaThe hoping not to be denied at Casablanca thread
I was wondering about stats after reading this thread this morning as well. Here is the link.

Check out XVII - lists types of nonimmigrant visas and numbers by issuing office. On page 9 it states only 378 K visas were issued by Casa in 2009. I really would like to know how many applications are received by that (or any) office and how many are denied. I wish there was a link for XX because that would be real enlightening.
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2010-07-06 16:59:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA Baby Names
We had a hard time with names when picking too, because we wanted names both our American and Moroccan families could pronounce. My husband was adamant our son have a name that is in the Quran. These ended up being our favorite names : Boy = Zakaria Girl = Hana .
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2009-11-01 11:10:00
Middle East and North AfricaLet's hear it from spouses of Morocco whose marriages are working!
We have been married for 8.5 years, have 5 y/o twins, and my hubby got his citizenship 4 years ago. It has been a journey, but no one else would I rather spend it with!
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2014-02-07 14:24:00
Middle East and North AfricaReturning Petitions to the United States via 221g

That statement about K1 Visa's doesn't make sense at all to me. I think that is just someons wrong feeling, because are coming to get married those of us that married in Morocco notified the Consulate before we even started the marriage process so I think that is a bunch of BS and nothing more. Sorry, but it makes no sense and can only give people false hope that the K1 is better than the K3 because of a false statement.


But they should be handling all family based visas before any others. And to say they are checking these people out for the family visas is a lie, they have been checked out before they come to the Consulate and they only sit and wait to be touched to set up our interviews, then more waiting for the big interview date. They don't start checking our security until the interview when they finally take the fingerprints. Why can't they take the fingerprints when we are doing the physical exam, that way the security check stands a chance to be back before the interview so if approved they don't scare you to deaf with limited scary imformation, making you worry for up to a couple weeks that you will not get the visa, until you get the visa finally. Morocco must have a policy of not explain anything or letting you really know why you are not getting the visa, if you are getting the visa they don't tell you until you get the visa call come and pick it up. They must want to not mislead so they don't share any information worth anything.

Paula



At first, I had wondered that too. Why not get the fingerprints done at the time of the medical? After I thought more about it, however, it made financial sense. Not everyone going through the consulate is going to be approved. Can you imagine the FBI backlog if ALL applicants had their fingerprints submitted? Holy heck! People would be waiting 5 times as long as they are now. I also had wondered why when entering on a K-1 and having to adjust status you had to go back through all the checks. I have since found out that fingerprints/IBIS check/etc. have a 90 day limit. So...if it has been longer than that, here you go again!

Twila

BTW...I saw my name on the inside of my husband's folder at our AOS interview showing they had done an IBIS check on me too! (YES...I kept my eyes on his folder. I was amazed at the stuff they keep. All the envelopes you ever mailed anything to them in, etc.)
tnh9479FemaleMorocco2006-03-13 08:27:00