With only a handful of days left to Mother’s day, celebrated globally each year on May 11th (sunday) , a day when children express their great gratitude and appreciation for everything done by their mothers. Have you made some plans for it?

If you want to buy her something, it doesn’t have to be fancy and expensive. It can be a hand-made special gift or a card, wonderful bouquet of flowers, just a little something to entertain her, to express your love and affection towards your mother. Or maybe you can throw a surprise dinner party for your mom (as i plan to, Insha Allah! :) )

First make a list of all the family members or friends you plan to invite and send invitations. Then finalize dinner/lunch/brunch menu, don’t forget to include her all time favorite dishes.

Later set a clean lovely table, place attractive fresh flowers, arrange food in a special festive way and enjoy a lovely meal. A great gift for mom, isn’t it?

Can’t decide on anything yet, here’s a cool fun site to fuel your creative side.

1>>> Family Fun -Mother’s day.
2>>> Cards and gifts, ideas for Mother’s day.

In the end i just want to say, for all the work Mom does throughout the year she deserves to be pampered particularly on Mother’s Day!

Many had doubts on the fairness of these elections after several acts of the previous government referred to pre-poll rigging, but majority of them have blatantly been proven wrong.

Former ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Q) is loosing grip even on its strongholds of power as Pakistan Muslim League (N) and the late Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) continue their sweep drive in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh respectively.

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Early results and speculations are literally pointing towards a total victory for PML(N) in Lahore, both on National and Provincial Assemby seats.

More astonishing has been the defeat of stars of PML(Q) in their own home constituencies. PML(Q) Chairman, Ch. Shujaat Hussain lost in his native Gujrat while Rao Sikander Iqbal (former Defence Minister), Khurshid Mahmood Qasoori (former Foreign Minister), Sheikh Rashid Ahmed (former Information and later Railways Minister) and Farooq Leghari (former President of Pakistan and a prominent Q-league leader) all fell victim to the shattering voter power of the PML(N) and PPPP in their respective home towns of Okara, Kasur, Rawalpindi and Dera Ghazi Khan. On the other hand, former Chief Minister of Punjab and the key PML(Q) nominee for Prime Ministership, Ch. Pervaiz Ilahi was successful in winning both National and Provincial Assembly seats for himself.

Looking at the present state of PML(Q)’s falling frontiers, we can surely understand all was not lie in the government’s claims of holding free and fair elections; another omen for strongly needed change and progress of democracy in Pakistan.

Yes,to our utter surprise the dengue virus spread by the bite of an Aedes mosquito is back in town. According to The News, dengue virus takes the life of a woman and 29 more tested positive.

To prevent the spread of dengue fever, you must first prevent the breeding of its vector, the Aedes mosquitoes. The Aedes mosquito is easily identifiable by its distinctive black and white stripes on their body. It prefers to breed in clean, stagnant water easily found in our homes. You can get rid of the Aedes mosquito by frequently checking and removing stagnant water in your premises.

Use bednets, spray sufficient amount of Mortein Mosquito killer or a similar insecticide in your bedroom before going to bed, cover water jars if any, wear mosquiot repellent lotion, every other day change water in flower vases. Clean and scrub the inner sides of vases. Wash roots of flowers and plants thoroughly as mosquito eggs can stick to them easily and read this - Dengue facts to safeguard your family against this deadly fever.

While ordering Pizzas from Pizza Hut, the dude taking my order had the audacity to tell me that, no sir, there are deals to offer at the moment.
Hey, fella, even Benazir gets a deal, even when all she is doing is selling her soul yet again for a mere odd billions of rupees. She gets deal. MQM, the right-arm of the government gets to get a deal, without ordering any eatable item! Why can’t I get one? It’s in the air, isn’t it?
Deal, or no deal? Deal all the way brother… maybe these eateries want me to give me a clean sheet i(free food for life perhaps) f I am willing to overthrow their CEO. But my soul is worth more than just free food - but why can’t I get a deal? Why Why Why?

Prayer for the Day:

“Let not our hearts deviate now after You have Guided us, but Grant us mercy fromYour own Presence; for You are the Provider of bounties without measure.” Ameen (Al-Quran, 3:8)

Today’s To-do:

Have iftaari with the family. Simple and sweet.

Thought for the Day:

Tie Your Camel. One day Prophet Muhammad SAWS noticed a Bedouin leaving his camel without tying it. He asked the Bedouin, “Why don’t you tie down your camel?” The Bedouin answered, “I put my trust in Allah.” The Prophet SAWS then said, ” Tie your camel first, then put your trust in Allah” (Tirmidhi).

Recipe of the Day: Moroccan Date Cake
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Everyone knows the importance of charity in a society. Everyone talks about it. Everyone donates; some a little, some much more. Everyone does what everyone can.

But are we doing enough?

Looking around while on the road, watching TV, surfing the net, reading papers, it becomes pretty clear that we are not doing enough. It’s just not enough. We all know that we have poverty in our country; extreme poverty in extreme remote areas, half of our population is still illiterate, half has less than normal access to medical facilities, many have no access to clean drinking water, many are wronged but don’t have a support system to seek / attain justice, many just don’t know what to do. We all know that. We read it in papers.

We also know that these deficiencies, the extreme inequality in society, leads to rising crimes, social tension, law & order chaos, terrorism. We all know that. We have it all in our society.
Read more

Prayer for the Day:

On leaving the house: “I seek refuge in Allah, lest I go astray or be led astray, that I trip or be tripped, that I oppress or be oppressed, or I be ignorant or ignorance be done to me,” Ameen (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi)

Today’s To-do:

Clean out your closet and set aside all the clothes and shoes you can do without which would benefit another for the harsh winter ahead.

Thought for the Day:

The Prophet SAWS said: “Every Muslim has to give in charity.” The people then asked: “(But what) if someone has nothing to give, what should he do?” The Prophet replied: “He should work with his hands and benefit himself and also give in charity (from what he earns).” The people further asked: “If he cannot find even that?” He replied: “He should help the needy who appeal for help.” Then the people asked: “If he cannot do (even) that?” The Prophet said finally: “Then he should perform good deeds and keep away from evil deeds, and that will be regarded as charitable deeds.”

Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Hadith 524

Recipe of the Day: Just Peachy Smoothies
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Prayer for the Day:

“O my Lord! Grant me that I may be grateful for Your favours which You have bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may work the righteousness that will please You: And admit me, by Your Grace, to the ranks of your righteous servants.” (The Holy Quran, Surah Al-Naml - 27:19)

Today’s To-do:

Be your own best critic and try mending a habit you don’t like. Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

Thought for the Day:

You’re one-third into Ramadan already. That means being one-third closer to realizing your characteristics and potential to be not only a good person, but also a devout Muslim. Just one-third. You still have two-thirds of yourself to discover.

Recipe for the Day: Banana-Nut Bread
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LMB’s Ramadan Diary is a short fun page to make your Roza more enjoyable ;)

Dua of the Day:

‘O, God! bless our parents for everything they did for us’ Amen!

Today’s To-Do:

Pick up at least 20 pieces of wrapper, rubbish paper, banana peel in and around your office or neighborhood and dispose them in a proper bin. There is no shame in keeping your surroundings clean. :)

Thought of the Day:

“Such Bolo, Such Tolo, Jhoot Mutt Bolo”
Tell the truth, weigh fair, do not lie

Recipe of the Day: Lebanese Chicken Shawarma

Ingredients:

1/2 cup malt vinegar
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs

1/2 cup tahini
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste

4 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 cup sliced onion
4 cups shredded lettuce
8 pita bread rounds

Instructions:

1. In a glass baking dish, mix together the malt vinegar, 1/4 cup yogurt, vegetable oil, mixed spice, cardamom, salt and pepper. Place the chicken thighs into the mixture and turn to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a small bowl, mix together the tahini, 1/4 cup yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper, taste, and adjust flavors if desired. Cover and refrigerate.

3. Cover the chicken and bake in the marinade for 30 minutes, turning once. Uncover, and cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is browned and cooked through. Remove from the dish, and cut into slices.

4. Place sliced chicken, tomato, onion, and lettuce onto pita breads. Roll up, and top with the tahini sauce.

Recipe from AllRecipes

With mission statement “Make Lahore Clean, Bright & Green”, Parks and Horticulture Authority just in seven days planted 19760 trees in different areas of Lahore according to the Jung on 18th August.

“PHA was created by merging the horticultural wings of LDA and MCL on Sep 21st 1998. The rationale for the creation of the PHA was to lend focus and autonomy to the Horticulture in Lahore, in the wake of Road Rehabilitation Projects. The main objective behind the creation of PHA was to make Lahore clean and beautiful. PHA is implementing on large number of ways to accomplish its goals. Mr. Kamran Lashari was posted as first D.G. of PHA.”

See more details on their website.

The government would plant more than 150,000 saplings in the city by September 10 and to ensure the participation of citizens, PHA offered free sapling on a phone call and as far as I know 19th August was last date to avail the opportunity. I saw their banners all around Lahore and lets hope they got the best response by 19th from Lahorees.
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Logo Source: PHA website