Happy New Year ............

Happy new year everybody
In Iraq all the Christians celebrate in New Year as well as some Muslims …….
My family & I used to celebrate in new year with my relatives who lives in my neighborhood ( I talked about them in my post "at relatives house") , & I used to decorate our guest room & my room … every new year we play some games like Bingo, monopoly , play cards , domino, etc .we tell jokes, My mom and I used to cook for this celebration (I can make delicious meals yummy, yummy) …..
Or we celebrate with my grandparents in Baghdad we used to , aunt Rose 's family , with some friends & relatives , We used to spend great times together..
Hopes that the next year, my aunt will come back to Iraq & then we can all celebrate together as we used to do ……
we will go to my relative house who live near us to celebrate I am sooooo excited … my mom will do some shopping today, but unfortunately I won't be able to go with her, because my French teacher will come tomorrow (I take private French lessons every Friday), I asked my mom to buy me a hat just like Santa Claus's … hope she will find one..
In this New Year celebration my mom will prepare a turkey, she makes it very delicious…
I will be so busy in the coming weeks because of my mid year exams , I am studying so hard , I want to get very high marks ,but I promise , I will write to you when I will have time … wish me luck I will need it……
Happy new year everybody ……..
Enjoy your time………
Sunshine…..
Note , my English rate is 97% but I will try to get higher than that in the next exam …………..

It could happen to you ......

Hello friends, hope you are fine, as I believe that anyone should have confident in himself I never doubt about I could be wrong!!!!
today a funny thing happened to me, I was talking with Luke skinner we kept talking & talking ,for about 30 minutes & I thought he is another Luke , then he said that he will be right back to me , to help his mom with her shopping , I said WOW you came back to USA I didn't know that , congratulations ,after one second he said Sunshine , I am in Australia , I got surprised & said "really ? , you went to Australia , wow ", I didn't doubt that he might be someone else , I thought he was only making fun of me !!!( that is the confident I was talking about)!!!...
Then I realized that it was Luke skinner & not the other Luke (too late, too smart)…
At that time I felt sooooooooooooooooo much embarrassed, he said that he will tell gee-oh &that he might write a post about that, I said , oh noooooooooo please don't !
After that I had to go because the electricity was out of work (as usual), he thought that I was angry from him! He kept saying "no don't go, I am joking, I won't tell gee-oh ", hehehhe Luke I am not angry from you, that was very funny ….
As you know that we have exams almost everyday, but what you don't know is I feel terrified from the exams ,that I don't take my breakfast , or sleep well at night ,& I suffer from nausea !!( I know I know like my mom always say "chicken , chicken"), but I feel so because we don't have enough time to answer & the teacher keep saying "HURRY UP , TIME IS OVER " one day I was out of my mind that I wrote my sister's name instead of mine on the exam's paper !!.
Once I kept searching for the TV remote control , I didn't find it ,& it was the time of my favorite serial , I kept saying" WHERE IS THE REMOTE ? WHO TOOK IT ? IT IS MY TURN TO WATCH TV" My mom kept laughing ,she said "it is in your hand!" It happens to me all the time … I have more & more examples about self confident but for my prestige I won't talk about them in public….
See I have a humor sense.. (Grandpa I forgot to worn you to put away your cup of coffee, I hope nothing tragic happened to your keyboard)
Ok , that is the end of my post today …….
Stay safe, & always make sure that you are talking with the right person..
Sunshine …………..

Merry Christmas....

Merry Christmas everybody, hope you will spend a cheerful Christmas with your families…
The most beautiful thing in Christmas is its tree, & of course the presents underneath! It has adorable view ….
The must important thing is when family & friends celebrate together …
I like the Christmas songs; I listen to it every Christmas…
& how can I forget Santa Claus, he makes the children happy .He looks very nice with his set of clothes too!
Few days ago a friend of mine sent me a letter talking about Santa Clues' story, it is very nice , thank you Mr. William Smith ….
Merry charismas everybody ……
Sunshine...

Before , during , & after the Elections ....

Hello friends
the Elections day was yesterday ..
Early in the morning (7:00 am) my dad , grandma, & grandpa went & voted (before the terrorists wake up ! hshshshsh ).. my brother ( 19 month old ) was sick( flu &teething) so my mom couldn’t sleep at night because she had to take care of him , therefore she couldn't go early with them , but at 10:00 she waked up& went to vote with some neighbors, it was a great thing to see all the neighbors walking together to the voting station , men & women , girls & boys ,(ah I wish I am 18 !)
There were different opinions between the neighbors , about the candidates, but I think the most important thing that they went & VOTED , no matter for whom ……

If I could vote , I would vote for Allawy (731), but this is my OWN opinion , some people may agree with me , & some may disagree , I think that Allway is an educated & courageous man , & that what we need ….again this is my opinion & I might be wrong !

The days before the Elections ………
As you know we have a stroll ban , so we were stuck at home , but on Tuesday , we went to have dinner with our next door neighbors , I had fun there , we came back home at 9:30 & yesterday they came & had dinner with us …….
my grandparents who live in Baghdad , called us they said that they went to vote with some neighbors ,fortunately my grandparents could vote , but my mom's uncle's wife couldn't, the officials there told her that she have to vote in another voting station !!! and that voting station was faraway from their neighborhood !!! that was unfair I guess….
my grandpa's friend & his family went to vote & guess what ?!!! the officials told them that their names were in Basra ( an Iraqi city in the south) !!!! that is ridicules it Is about 8 hours by car !!! I know it is unbelievable but it is true !!
I will go to school on Sunday I'll have geography exam , the stroll ban will end on Sunday morning (at 6:00 am I guess ) , I will be so busy this week with the double homework, but I assure you I will write to you whenever I have time , my mom told me to study in this holiday but I didn't want to, I wanted to have a rest , but do you know?! she was right , I should have studied for the midyear exam , it will be on January..
"who makes no mistakes makes nothing ",……….

Stay safe , & live strong ! ………
Sunshine …..

MSNBC news , the famous actor Gary Sinise's interview , & moi (Sunshine) !!!, unbelievable!!!

( this post was published in December but i had to delete it for some reasons at that time, enjoy it )
Hello friends I received a letter from my friend , telling me that a famous actor mentioned my blog address in an interview he said :
Hello Sunshine,
I am predicting that you will have many new friends in the USA after today. A famous actor here mentioned your blog when he was interviewed on the radio about his work with supplies for Iraqi school children. His Name is Gary Sinise - He was in the movies "Forest Gump" and "Apollo 13" and many others. He is a very good man.
When I read that I started to shout MAMA , come here & I started reading the E-mail in a loud sound , I searched in goggle , trying to find the interview but unfortunately I couldn't find it . Anyway the funniest thing is that I waited for a long time ( because the internet services are sooooooo slow) trying to download the morning news & interviews that were shown on the american national TV ,after I watched them all ,& I couldn't find anything ! my mom said " I think your friend said in his letter that the interview was on the RADIO !" I said " OH , NOOOOOOOOOOO " & we started to laugh … Anyway , In the same day I wrote a letter & tried to send it to the famous Gary Sinise but I couldn't find the E-mail address , fortunately my friend Madcanuck was online, he helped me to find the address ( thank you ,sir ), my mom said "I am afraid he won't be able to answer you , he must be a very busy man , but there is no harm if you try to do that " ,'I sent the letter to him , I said :
" Dear sir … Hope you are fine , I am Sunshine , a 13 years old girl from Iraq , I live in Mosul & I have a blog www.livesstrong.blogspot.com One of my readers told me that you mentioned my blog address in one of your interviews it is an honor for me I know you are very busy but Please sir let me know if it is correct that you mentioned my blog address in your interview …….. I can't wait to hear from you …..
God bless you ……
Sunshine...
In the next day I was checking my E-mails and I was shocked ,I received so many E-mails , telling me that I was mentioned in news channel MSNBC & that they said something about me, I kept searching but I couldn't find anything either ! Then I received a letter, my mom was watching TV, when I told her I received another letter she said "from whom? " (I didn't even imagine that the letter came from the famous actor Gary Sinise), my mom said at once " oh ,he might be him, I said "I don't know yet I will see ," I wasn't expecting that a famous actor would answer me that quickly , when I saw the subject of the letter I shouted "OH YES HE IS " I don't know what happened to me, I couldn't wait to read it (as you know the services are slow ) , I read it in a loud shaky voice , I was so happy , & excited , I kept shaking , & laughing , it was the best day ever , & of course couldn't sleep that night !!! I asked Mr. Sinise if I can publish his letter , he said "ok" :
Hello Sunshine, So good to hear from you. Yes, I did mention your website on the radio because I think it is great what you are doing and I want people here in the United States to see what you have to say about life in Iraq today. We get a very uneven view of things because all we have is the media and they are sometimes very one sided. The media pretty much only shows us all the terrible things, the bombings and the death toll but not the everyday life of the Iraqi people. We do not know how the average Iraqi citizen feels about things there and you write very well about your life in Mosul. Just being a kid and going to school and trying to have a good life. I know that there are many bad guys there who are making things very difficult for all of you. But I am very optimistic about the upcoming vote this week and I know that someday you will live in an Iraq your parents have never seen. A free Iraq where you have the right to chose your own leaders, go to work, become what you want, say what you want and have a good future where you will not live in fear. You children are the future of your country. You write of your pride in the security police. I truly hope that with this new government more and more of the Iraqi people will come forward to turn in the bad guys and help to defeat them. But you all must be very very careful. I know that you all would rather not have the US forces in your country but I am hopeful that we will be there until a time when the new government is strong and the bad guys are under control. I was so sad to read your story of the two men who were killed putting up posters. In a democracy people are free to support the candidates of their choice and they were doing that. It is unfortunate that they died doing it. You keep on writing in your blog Sunshine. People are reading it. We need to hear from Iraqis who are optimistic about their future and who are excited by the possibilities that freedom can bring.
Your American friend,
PS. How did you learn English? You are very good.

After I received this letter I chat with Madcanuck , he was the first one I shared this letter with....
Am I lucky or what ???????????
Stay safe & take care .......
Sunshine (very very happy & excited sunshine)
Lucky lucky me.

Murder in my neighborhood....

Hello friends
yesterday a murder occurred in my neighborhood, while 2 guys were slinging posters for certain party preparing for the elections , two terrorists started shooting at them, one of them died , & the other was injured so badly, the policemen in my neighborhood chased them , killed one & caught the other ..
Those two terrorists killed innocent poor personnel & injured the other for what? to make that party relinquish it's participation in the Elections ? to disperse panic between Iraqis ? to stop the Elections operation ? none of these would happen, but the consequences are two families left without their breadwinner, more orphans , widows , bereft parents , sisters , brothers , relatives & friends .. & that is all because they were slinging posters on the wall?! …
I can't imagine how remorseless those terrorists are ! …
I pray that one day all the terrorism will fade away , & that we all will live in Peace ….
God Bless all the policemen ….
Sunshine …

Don't make fun of me !...

These socks were peculiar gift from my grandma ..
My family always makes fun of me when I wear it , please don't….
I was bored , & I wanted to do something crazy , so I decided to post this picture ! (my feet )
Have fun .....
Sunshine ...

My days before the Elections...

Hello friends , as you know the Election is next Thursday , but the situation isn't good at all , I even heard in the news that we are under emergency state in Mosul, we don't leave our house , I didn't go to school on Wednesday , I stayed at home, but I had to go to school on Thursday , because I had a French exam ( by the way, I did so well ) , I took with me some medicines , my inhalers , & other things I might need in case I couldn't reach home , my mom told me that if I couldn't reach home I should go with Najma & hnk to their house (it is near the school) , the headmistress don't allow the students to bring their mobile phone with them , but my parents insisted that I should take mine with me , ( although in these days we have a very bad phone services) ..to take it with me I had to cover it , I hide it inside my clothes , in case any one inspect us ,my mom said that I have to stay at home on Sunday although I will have 2 exams" biology & French "….
we hear explosions & shooting from time to time , specially after midnight.
There will be a stroll bans , in the few coming days , I will probably spend the time , working on computer & internet in case we have electricity , & Internet services ,
Hope that all the Iraqis will vote in the Elections , no matter for whom , all my family will vote , but I can't , I am under 18 , I wish I could , if I can vote I will choose Allawy , hope that the next government will be good , will dissolve the terrorism & re-build Iraq … I pray for that…
Stay safe , & take care ....
Sunshine….

Announcement...

Hello friends , my mom also wrote about our home inspection , she wrote about the whole family feelings , & of course about Me , it is very funny post , check it now …
(it is her first funny post , hshshsh) .......
Sunshine...

Home inspection again ...

Hello friends .
yesterday I came back from my school , I didn't have so much homework , so I decided to have rest & read my E-mails . At 4:45 pm I decided to take a shower , & while I was doing that , I started to think about home inspection( I don't know why?!) & how to start a conversation with the soldiers , suddenly my sister knocked on the door to tell me to HURRY UP because there is an inspection in the neighborhood, while I was saying to her" ok ok I will " , my mom came and said that the soldiers were in our house . I wore my clothes while the soap was still covering my face and went out!!! ..
& I said OH GOD MY ROOM !! it was sooooooooooo messy ( but today I organized my room & my bed before going to school…)
Anyway , they asked if any one could speak English , & I answered quickly yes ( interrupting my mom of course ) . They asked my mom if it is ok with us if they used the roof , to see the neighborhood & to cover the road for a coming troop, my mom & I said " yes of course you are welcome ", they were about 25 soldiers , three of them stayed with us ,while the others went up to the roof.
In spite of the hoarseness in my voice , as I had laryngitis this week ,( now my voice sound like a teenager boy's voice) but I kept talking & talking!!! .. all the family were wearing pajamas we didn't have enough time to change our clothes ( just like in pajamas parties)…
I did what some soldiers told me after the previous inspection and asked them about their names , their unit & who is the commander?!!..
from which states they came from & we kept talking for more than an hour .
Anyway , they were very polite & nice with us ,& of course I showed off & talked about my blog , I also told them that I copied my blog if they want to take a look . You won't believe what happened , every one from the three soldiers read some posts from my blog during their stay in my house , but that was very funny , they took off there weapons , sun glasses & balaclavas , sat & started reading, with suckers in everyone mouth showing a bulbous cheeks , they read the post "an adventure" , they talked with me about some posts … I asked them if they know some Arabic words , they said no , & one of them said that a soldier in their unit thought that he was good in Arabic but he was only ridiculous , I kept laughing about that.
Before they had left I took a photograph for them…
That is the end of my post for today take care all……….
Sunshine……………..