Eid Al Azha Mubarak ❤
May this Eid be the brightest and best you’ve ever had.
I pray that the Almighty helps all amongst us who are helpless,
worried, heartbroken, and waiting for His rehmat, ameen.
Please don’t forget the less fortunate ones in your prayers & celebrations.
Today I celebrate the fourth birthday of my blog (and my own as well – don’t ask how old I am now). Honestly, I didn’t think I’ll make it this far in life but I did. Just like the past three years, I wanted to jot down my Thankful list for this year to look back next year and be even more grateful.
I’m thankful to the Almighty – I continued to fail. He continued to be the most merciful.
I’m thankful for phone calls with mom – they always end with ‘I love you too Rima’.
I’m thankful for family for always standing by my side. Despite my failures.
I’m thankful for friends who pray for me without me knowing.
I’m thankful for my health & being able to eat whatever I desire.
I’m thankful for being able to learn/do things I always dreamt of.
I’m thankful for being able to read & write.
I’m thankful for another successful business year (say mashaAllah).
I’m thankful for having an amazingggggg team. Extremely talented & trustworthy.
I’m thankful for being able to cover destination weddings.
I’m thankful for finally being able to travel in business class.
I’m thankful for my home, great halal food, free home deliveries.
I’m thankful for the sound of Azaan.
I’m thankful for being able to learn from mistakes – mine & others.
I’m thankful for my clients for continuing to shower me with their trust & love.
I’m thankful for everything I have now that I longed & prayed for last year.
I’m thankful for lessons that people/life taught me.
I’m thankful for being able to laugh & cry at the same time.
I’m thankful for another year – and for continuing to learn.
I’m so very thankful for my blog, clients, followers, friends, and family who make me more ME. Who listen to what I have to say and understand without judging. I’m grateful for all that I have and even more grateful for all that I don’t have.
Happy Birthday Learner….
Thankful List – 2014
Thankful List – 2015 – Bring it On
Thankful List – 2016 – Dreaming Big
May Allah fills your Life with Happiness,
your Heart with Love,
your Soul with Spirituality,
your Mind with Wisdom,
and give you all the blessings of heaven above.
Be very kind to each other…
Eid Mubarak to all of you!
For the past several days months, I have been working like a machine.
It is funny how I wanted (and waited) for this time for so long yet when it arrived, I feel overwhelmed.
I remember the time I used to refresh my inbox just to see if a client sent me an enquiry. Now is the time that I got overbooked (Alhamdullilah & mashAllah) yet I found myself falling behind. Behind schedule. Behind work. Behind Life.
When I tried to regain my life back, my work started to suffer. It felt like my own personal life was getting in my way…
At times like these, I remind myself why I started this business…
When life seemed to slip out of my hands, I held back. Promising myself to go easy. Cut myself some slack. Take lesser bookings so I can also do other things that I enjoy (like reading books, writing, spending more time with the family, exploring the world, etc).
If life/work is getting in your way, take a step back and take a look at the broader picture. Remind yourself WHY you started this and try to figure out HOW to make it better.
You only have one life.
Live it Right!
Sometimes all you need is time to yourself.
Laughing with friends, eating what you desire, reading a good book, and exploring new cities can have long lasting impact on your life.
Live simple. Dream big. Be extremely grateful for what you have.
You only have one life. Make it worth while by living it right.
More importantly, live a good story.
If order to solve a problem, we need to identify it first.
If something is bothering you, try to find the root and see how you can fix it. If you can’t fix it, then simply let go. I’m not saying it’ll be easy, but give it your best shot.
Here is a list of 10 things to let go to be happy…
Learn to let go of the things (& people) that are holding you back.
When life gives you lemons, be ready to clink your lemonade glass. You know where to find me 😉
Life is too short to hold back on happiness.
Cheers!
I read somewhere that just as we feed our bodies with good food, we should feed our minds with good quotes. Following is a list of 10 quotes that I believe can be life lessons and my take on them…
Whatever you are, be a good one. – Abraham Lincoln
You may follow the hashtag #RimaSays on Instagram to follow up with my collection of quotes.
I would love to know which one of the quotes stuck out to you most and why….and if you have any of your favorite quotes / life lessons, feel free to share in the comments below.
Stay Fabulous,
~ Rima
Dearest You,
I know our life is unusual. We work at different days of the week, our personalities are two different poles, and our point of views may differ at so many topics (including menu). Especially when looking at it from a third person’s eye but it doesn’t matter because we get each other.
Thank you for always having my back. Thank for letting me chase my wildest dreams. For helping me grow both as a person and professional. For being patient through my semi-dramatic moments, goofiness, and being okay with my split personality. For best advices during our late night conversations because I couldn’t sleep. For working on business branding with me although you had work in the morning.
Regardless of our differences, thank you for making our odd life so joyous. I am grateful for our different dimensions that are bonded by trust & love. I’m grateful to cherish our contrasts while balancing each other out. Complimenting each other….
I appreciate you, your selflessness, & kindness with all my heart. This journey will never – ever – everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr – be the same without you.
Love,
~ Me
“I love reading your blogs. How do you get time for them though…?!?
A friend of mine – who works for a photography studio as a manager- asked me this question at a wedding summit we both were attending in Dubai.
I said with a smile “I make time for it.”
When you do something you love (in my case – photography & writing), you just make time for it. Or better yet, you should make time for it. Running a successful studio by myself, following up with past clients, meeting new ones, emailing enquiries, album deliveries, managing social media along with being a housewife is not easy. Not easy at all!
I love my business from the core of my heart but it doesn’t mean I don’t make time to read books, to watch television, travel the world, update my blog, or simple things as catching up with my family back home. I chose to be an entrepreneur so I don’t have to wake up at 6 am, get ready, work tirelessly and make money for someone else. I chose to be an entrepreneur so I’m able to do things that I love.
If you feel like your work is taking over your life then take some time to think. Take sometime out for yourself to do things you love. If you can incorporate the things you love into your business, its a win-win situation. Remember why you are doing whatever you are doing and always remember who it is for!
Life is too short to hold back on – anything!
2015 – My oh my…. (phew)
This past year has been nothing short of a blessing.
The journey wasn’t a carved straight path. And it definitely wasn’t all happy-happy. I cried a few times at the verge of giving up, missed a few goals, stayed up late half the year to keep things on track, tried to avoid blunders (okay I wasn’t 100% successful in that but the key word is tried 😉 ), but celebrated each failure.
I am proud to exceed my goals of weddings this year, booked weddings that felt right, got to meet amazing couples & some extremely creative wedding industry vendors, completed my lens kit, extended my team, the blog-visitors increased exponentially, and I explored 4 new countries with 10 destinations in 5 international trips throughout the year *high five*.
I feel so grateful for experiencing life in so many new ways & also feel overwhelmed by how gracious God has been. I can’t thank HIM enough.
I am so incredibly excited for what 2016 has in store. The calendar is filling up with fabulous weddings, new business ventures, goals to be achieved, and dreams to be chased. I feel a stronger desire to be a better wife, daughter, friend, and artist.
Thank you so much for being a part of journey. I wish you a super Happy New Year – 2016 – from the bottom of my heart. May it be filled with joy, love, peace, & success, ameen.
Cheers to a Fearless & Fabulous year!
