Negar & Nima

20 weeks down and 20 weeks to go! :)

2011-03-08T12:17:00.000-08:00

It looks like our little Honarjomand is a baby boy... we can't wait to welcome him into this world!!

Praised be Thou, O Lord my God! Graciously grant that this infant be fed from the breast of Thy tender mercy and loving providence and be nourished with the fruit of Thy celestial trees. Suffer him not to be committed to the care of anyone save Thee, inasmuch as Thou, Thyself, through the potency of Thy sovereign will and power, didst create and call him into being. There is none other God but Thee, the Almighty, the All-Knowing.

Lauded art Thou, O my Best Beloved, waft over him the sweet savors of Thy transcendent bounty and the fragrances of Thy holy bestowals. Enable him then to seek shelter beneath the shadow of Thy most exalted Name, O Thou Who holdest in Thy grasp the kingdom of names and attributes. Verily, Thou art potent to do what Thou willest, and Thou art indeed the Mighty, the Exalted, the Ever-Forgiving, the Gracious, the Generous, the Merciful.

Bahá’u’lláh

One trimester down, two to go!!

2011-01-26T08:15:00.001-08:00

So yes... the news is that baby Honarjomand is due July 26, 2011.

Thanks everyone for your constant love and support :)

Seems like I only post once a year now!

2010-11-08T12:28:00.000-08:00

November has rolled around again, and Nima and I celebrated 6 yrs and my 30th birthday all in one weekend. Next week is Nima's 31st birthday, but that we will most likely keep as simple as possible.

Here is a cake that my friend Lindsey made for our anniversary. It was very special and thoughtful.

Many of you our wondering what has been going on with our fertility treatment. Well we are in the midst of IVF and hopefully, as soon as we hear good news, we will definitely share it.

Prayers are most welcome :)

Pictures courtesy of Matin Pezeshgzad: 5 yr anniversary portraits

2009-12-09T08:05:00.000-08:00

Five years of marriage!

2009-11-06T08:04:00.000-08:00

Today marks our five year anniversary.

It's been a wonderful and loving journey up until now. Sometimes joyful, sometimes hard... but most of all trying to continually help each other to serve humanity in more effective ways.

A lot has happened since the day we got married.

To sum it all up ...

-got married in Nottingham, England

-went back to Haifa, Isreal to finish our term of service

-after 9 months brought Nima back to Canada with me

-did my Montessori teacher training program

-Nima ultimately found work at a really great company called Prollenium

-lived with my parents for two years

-moved into our own house in Newmarket, Ontario

-have lived in our house for over two years and serving along side our wonderful Baha'i community in Newmarket

-worked as a teacher at Montessori for Children for two years

-currently working for the Department of External Affairs at the Baha'i National Centre of Canada

Many of our friends and family might be wondering why we don't have children yet. To be honest, we've been trying for over two years and have recently found out that we have some fertility issues that we need to deal with. This is what we are currently going through... so please keep us in your prayers. What we are trying to learn from all of this is what detachment means for us and how we can truly submit our will to the Will of God. Some might be surprised as to why I'm sharing such private information over the internet. Well the reality is that many couples are going through this. At least in Canada, the statistics are 1 out of every 6 couples. That is not a joke!! I've seen many of these people with my own eyes. And if this entry might help another couple feel less alone in this process than my intention has been fulfilled.

July 12, 2009

2009-07-20T12:45:00.000-07:00

On July 12, 2009, my beautiful mother got married to a wonderful British man!! I guess like mother like daughter :)

The days before, the day of, and some days after were filled with laughter, joy and utter happiness for not only the union of two souls, but the union of two families.

I love the Towfigh's and feel so happy to be part of their family.

The only sad thing is that I have to say goodbye to my mom as she departs for England to live with her new husband.

Blessing in disguise...

2009-07-17T05:45:00.001-07:00

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/07/15/iran-airplane-crash512.html

Religious Discrimination in Iranian Sports

2009-07-06T07:19:00.000-07:00

Khashayar Zarei is a sixteen year old Iranian Baha’i. He is the judo champion of the Iranian youth and the national schools champion but he cannot be a member of the national team. Last year he was picked to represent Iran in the Asian youth judo tournament in Yemen but the Iranian Judo Federation declared that Zarei could not be a member of the national team because he was a Baha’i. This was later confirmed by the national coaching staff, the coaching staff of the Fars province and the Protection Office of the Sports Organization. The Protection Office found that Zarei’s participation in international tournaments would be against the law. The Office did not specify what law prohibits Baha’is from representing Iran in sports tournaments.

The Iranian youth judo trials this year was held on June 15, 2009. At first, the Fars Province Judo Commission did not issue Zarei credentials for entering the tournament. After some controversies, the chair of the Iranian Judo Federation, Mr. Amini, found no legal grounds prohibiting Zarei’s participation. Zarei entered the trials and won all his matches. Once again, however, the Federation found that since Zarei was a Baha’i, he could not be in the national team nor could he represent Iran in the world championship tournament in Armenia. The Federation authorities pointed out that the orders had come from the Protection Office and that the Federation was without authority to act.

The by-laws of the International Judo Federation and other national federations indicate that these organizations must operate independently of politics and be free of national, religious, ethnic or racial discriminations. Iranian constitution and the by-laws of the international Olympics Committee also do not allow religious discrimination. The discrimination against the Baha’is is not limited to the athletes as they are also prohibited from getting judo coaching or refereeing credentials. This is against the spirit of judo.

Issues like the discrimination against the Baha’is demonstrate that sports in Iran are politicized. This results in a flawed system as the athletes’ abilities do not determine their success.

Iran, the birthplace of the Baha'i Faith

2009-06-24T11:43:00.000-07:00

We entreat God to deliver the light of equity and the sun of justice from the thick clouds of waywardness, and cause them to shine forth upon men. No light can compare with the light of justice. The establishment of order in the world and the tranquillity of the nations depend upon it. - Baha'u'llah

From Wikipedia: Built in 1971, the architect, Hossein Amanat, won a competition to design the monument, which combines elements of Sassanid and Islamic architecture. Ironically, he practices a religion—the Bahá'í Faith—that is persecuted by the current government. Amanat integrated a degree of Baha'i symbology in the design, such as having exactly nine stripes on each side, and exactly nine windows on either of the long sides of the structure. It is part of the Azadi cultural complex, located in Tehran's Azadi Square in an area of some 50,000 m². There are several fountains around the base of the tower and a museum underground.

Junior Youth Service Project

2009-05-27T08:50:00.001-07:00

After completing a Junior Youth animator course offered by the worldwide Baha'i Community in different localities, Nima and I were able to start our own junior youth group in Newmarket, Ontario (one year ago). There are 12 youth that come, all of which are from various racial and religious backgrounds.

The program focuses on strengthening the power of expression – literacy, comprehension and eloquent speech – and critical thinking, helping youth to recognize the moral implications of speech and action and aiding them to make sound life decisions.

To build and sustain truly prosperous communities in a time of rapid global change certainly depends to a great extent on the effectiveness of the preparations the youth make for the world they will inherit. All Baha'i inspired junior youth programs are offered with the conviction that people of this age group (11 - 14 yrs) represent a vast reservoir of energy that can be directed toward the advancement of civilization. For more information, check out http://www.wordswell.ca/.

Since service to the community is an important aspect of the program, some of our junior youth recently participated in a road clean up. One boy said to another, "If we do things like this, it will help make our community better!"

Happy Ridvan!

2009-04-22T06:50:00.001-07:00

Baha'i International Community sends letter to Iran's chief prosecutor

2009-03-06T06:38:00.000-08:00

http://bic.org/areas-of-work/persecution/prosecutor-general-iran-en.pdf

The seven "Friends in Iran" to be put on trial

2009-02-12T11:37:00.000-08:00

GENEVA — Reports that seven imprisoned Baha’is have been accused of espionage and other crimes and that their case will be referred to the Revolutionary Court next week are deeply concerning, potentially marking a new and dangerous stage in Iran’s persecution of Baha’is, said the Baha’i International Community today.
“The accusations are false, and the government knows this,” said Diane Ala’i, the Baha’i International Community representative to the United Nations in Geneva. “The seven Baha’is detained in Tehran should be immediately released.”

For the full story, please visit:

http://news.bahai.org/story/694

http://www.bahainews.ca/

We are ashamed!

2009-02-04T11:41:00.000-08:00

Editor’s Note: The following is an open letter from a group of academics, writers, artists, journalists and Iranian activists throughout the world to the Baha’i community. This letter has been signed by a large number of the most prominent Iranian intellectuals.

http://www.iranpresswatch.org/2009/02/we-are-ashamed/

Toronto Regional Baha'i Conference

2009-01-12T12:23:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, Nima and I had the priviledge of attending one of the Regional Baha'i Conferences (held in Toronto). We met up with lot's of friends and more importantly, gained more insight and motivation with regards to our community activities.

For more information, please visit: http://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/toronto.html

To see some photographs taken at the conference, go to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbns/

Goli & Navid's engagement party!

2008-07-03T12:31:00.000-07:00

My cousin/sister/best friend, Goli, recently became engaged with Navid Hamraie from Paris.
Their engagement had a lovely spirit to it and was a lot of fun!!
Nima and I look forward to go to their wedding in September. Did I forget to mention that it's going to be in Paris :) YAY!

2008-03-24T07:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Naw Ruz to all our friends and family!

Moved in... finally... of course with no furniture yet!

2007-11-04T10:28:00.000-08:00

2007-09-11T15:42:00.001-07:00

Father and son-in-law before going to feast:

Daughter also going to feast :)

One step closer to moving in...

2007-08-27T16:08:00.000-07:00

October 10th still seems to be our closing date. Nima and I are getting more and more excited because the house is finally starting to look like a real home. The builders are now putting the finishing touches inside and out. Newmarket, Ontario... here we come!

Surprise visit by Maha

2007-08-14T11:26:00.000-07:00

So after months of planning with Nima, my cousin Maha (from Australia) showed up on my door step and surprised me with a two week visit. It was great spending time with each other after so long. The last time we were together was when we served at the Baha'i World Centre in 2003-2004. Love you so much Maha joon, and thanks again for flying around the world to see me :)

Naysan & Nahid's wedding - July 20, 2007

2007-07-24T07:55:00.001-07:00

2007-07-09T15:14:00.000-07:00

Our new home in progress... a cute little townhouse (it is the 2nd of the four units):

Went "camping"

2007-07-06T08:12:00.000-07:00

Over the Canada Day long weekend, Nima and I went camping with two of our favorite couples (Lindsey/Shervin & Laura/Reza) near the Niagara Falls area. We had a great time ... and here are just a few pictures that capture our time together!

Just some pictures

2007-06-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

Nima and Nura's Jr. Youth Group

Ziba and Varqa's beautiful new baby boy

Summer has officially begun

2007-06-23T18:42:00.000-07:00

One year of teaching has come to an end. The first year is never easy, especially with 27 students, but all in all it was truly great! Looking forward to many more years of teaching, and really looking forward to my two month summer vacation which started TODAY :) This picture captures just one of my favorite moments throughout the year: one girl trying to help the other tie her shoe lace. If you would like to know more about Montessori, don't hesitate to ask me or click on the link provided.

Canada's Wonderland

2007-06-17T08:22:00.000-07:00

So after almost two years of being back in Toronto, I finally took Nima to Canada's Wonderland (a massive theme park) ... or shall I say he took me. It was family day on behalf of the company he works for, Van Rob (they design automotive engineering parts). Anyway, we had a great day... all though both of us realized that we don't react so well to roller coasters anymore! As a consequence, we're both suffering from a major headache today... LOL

Construction has begun!

2007-06-03T14:29:00.000-07:00

Excitement is definitely in the air. For those of you who don't know... Nima and I invested in a town house last Fall. We bought it off a plan not knowing exactly what it's going to be like. But we trust the builder and we are finally looking forward to watching the house being built. October 10th is our closing date... einshahllah! The first picture is supposed to be the finished product. Our house is "Ridley D". The other two pictures is what it looks like now... hahaha... just dirt... but it is still exciting!

Melanie & Faran will verily abide by the Will of God

2007-05-18T17:23:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night (May 11th), we attended Melanie Smith and Faran Vafaie's wedding. They are a beautiful young couple and it was a pleasure to be able to witness their union.

Happy Ridvan!

2007-04-22T17:37:00.000-07:00

We couldn't have had a better Ridvan this past weekend. The weather was gorgeous (22+) and the company even better! Nima and I got to see Pat & Peter Smith (friends who are still serving at the Baha'i World Centre), who are currently here for their daughter's wedding. Anyway, getting to the Ridvan celebration was a bit of an ordeal because our car decided to have a flat tire right on the Hwy. And the fact that Nima had to chair the event didn't help our state of mind. Thank goodness Nima loves cars and knew exactly what to do... I on the other hand just took pictures of him ;)

Arjomand festivities

2007-03-26T15:16:00.000-07:00

So every year we have our typical Arjomand festivies where all 50 of us or so get together to celebrate Naw Ruz over a couple of different nights. Nima keeps insisting to change his name to Arjomand, but I think I'd rather stick with Honarmandan. Sorry jeeguar... there are already enough Arjomand's in the world! Some of you may recognize the "Negar pose" in picture 4. I think my cousins are doing it better than I do ;)

Happy news!

2007-03-19T15:20:00.000-07:00

Last night we celebrated the recent engagement of Nahid and Naysan. Naysan is one my dearest friends that I've grown up with, and I also had the pleasure of knowing Nahid when I used to serve at the Baha'i World Centre, in Haifa. They compliment each other beautifully.

We started the evening by breaking the fast at East Side Mario's and then headed to the Toronto Baha'i Centre for the last of the series of talks by Mr. Douglas Martin, former member of the Universal House of Justice. Needless to say... it was a great evening!

Nima's annual pilgrimage to the Auto Show!

2007-02-19T16:34:00.000-08:00

On Saturday Nima and I went to the auto show. This year we went with some good friends of ours, Shervin & Lindsey... a beautiful couple that live just 8 minutes north of us! Shervin and Lindsey both work with Nima, so basically they get to see him more than I do :(

Anyway, we had a great time in the world of shiny vehicles and ended our evening with some seafood at Toronto's famous Captain John's Seafood Restaurant (which is on a boat sitting on the lake). I guess you could say it was our post Valentine's Day dinner (for all of us)...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2007-01-30T16:08:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago Nima and I visited with some friends of mine that I've known for at least 10 years. It was a great night with great food, great tea and great company. I don't think we left until 2 am, which for those of you who know me is huge. I'm such a grandma! The other picture... well that's just the scene in front of my parent's house right now. So for those of you living life in warmer countries ... ENJOY IT! Some might say that there is a certain beauty in winter... but when it gets to the point where you can't feel your fingers anymore... it definitely takes a sharp eye to find that beauty.

Back to work!

2007-01-14T11:18:00.000-08:00

I just finished my first week back to work. I was happy to see my kids again! Here is a picture of one side of my classroom.

Winter break 2006

2006-12-31T07:12:00.000-08:00

My first term of teaching has come to an end. It was hard but I learned so much and I am grateful that I was lead to work with children. For those of you who don't know much about Montessori education you can always check out the link I provided.
Since the 23rd of December, Nima has been off work as well. He will go back to work on January 2nd. It has been so nice to spend some quality time together without worrying about work. We went to Mont Tremblant, Quebec for three days of skiing with my cousins. It was a blast.
It is hard to believe that New Year's Eve has come once again. We wish everyone a joyful 2007 full of service and love.

Different events, but all good times... including jeeguar's [aka Nima] 27th birthday on Nov. 14th (last picure)!

2006-11-27T16:51:00.000-08:00

2 years married...

2006-11-06T15:31:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of pictures taken after two years of marriage. The first picture is Nima trying to be artistic. The second picture... well that's just us doing our typical camera pose... haha! I have to say that life is pretty wonderful when you are with the right person... thank you God!
"Each sees in the other the Beauty of God reflected in the soul, and finding this point of similarity, they are attracted to one another in love." The Baha'i Writings

26

2006-11-05T10:48:00.000-08:00

So today is the day that I turn 26 years old. I'm not quite sure how I feel about that yet... but I'm sure it'll be a great year anyway... at least it started off great yesterday when my husband surprised me with a luxury package deal to the spa. It was my first time ever (including a facial, pedicure, manicure and massage)! At night, he continued the festivities with a surprise party at Red Lobster with 18 friends. And funnily I thought we were going out for a romantic dinner... hehe :)

I love you Nima... you always treat me like a queen... and not just when it's my birthday!

Only if your tall...

2006-11-02T16:54:00.000-08:00

Our dear Icelandic friend Vahid recently came over for an evening of dinner and fun... obviously he was having a little too much fun bossing the hostess around!

Reunion time

2006-10-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night, I met up with two friends from the past.
The girl in pink, Stacey, was one of my girls when I was serving as a camp counsellor at Sylvan Lake Baha'i School over 9 years ago, in Alberta. I was shocked to see her all grown up now! And the other beautiful girl is my dearest friend Jamal who I handn't seen in 3.5 years. Jamal is getting married to a wonderful guy from Ottawa in December. Congradulations Joubes (old nick name... don't ask... hehe) !!!

Happy Birthday mom!!

2006-10-14T08:01:00.000-07:00

I decided to sing to my mom a little tune that I sing for my students when it's their birthday... I wonder why she feels like she wants to escape!

"Mandana has waited a whole long year to light her birthday candle... and so we sing and sit in a ring... for Mandana is ___ today!"

Updates!

2006-10-09T11:21:00.000-07:00

The last six weeks have been quite busy. Nima has changed jobs and is now fortunately working at an automotive engineering company (Magna... for those of you who are interested) just near our house. He is thrilled that he is finally working in his own field. I also started working as a Montessori teacher at a school in downtown Toronto. I have 26 children... needless to say very intense. I will hopefully post some pictures of my classroom soon.

One other very exciting news is that Nima and I just bought our first house. It is not built yet but they say it will be ready by August 2007... einshahllah! I think my parents are more sad than happy that we will be leaving them soon... even though we'll only be 20 minutes away... hehe :) It is a townhouse in a community called Newmarket (45 mins north of Toronto, 20 minutes north of Richmond Hill, which is where we are currently). Newmarket, unlike Richmond Hill, does not have many Baha'is ... so we think it'll be nice to move into a smaller community that probably needs as much support as possible.

In the last few weeks, one of our good friends Naysan went to serve at the Baha'i World Centre for 18 months (picture 1). Hope you're doing well Nayse! We also had a lovely visit from Melissa who is also currently serving in Haifa (picture 2). We showed her the lake that is right near my parents' house. And the last picture is with one of my good high school friends Sameer who I hadn't seen in 4 or 5 years.

These pictures were taken with my new sony ericsson walkman phone, which has a 2 mega pixel camera. Ever since we came to Canada last August, I've been bugging Nima to get us a phone... and as a surprise this is what he got for my first day of work... http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_w810-1402.php
Thanks my love!

Wedding Bells!

2006-08-27T10:36:00.000-07:00

Last night we participated at my cousin Sayeh's wedding. We wish her and her new husband Pejman many years of happiness, unity and especially service to the most Blessed Beauty.

The beauties of nature

2006-08-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

Vesal and Nima at one with the greenery of Massachusetts...

Wilbraham, Massachusetts

2006-08-01T20:29:00.000-07:00

We are currently visiting my family in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. We are having a great time with my cousins and mom's sisters... and definitely enjoying my uncle's famous kabobs!!

Bon voyage Navid!

2006-07-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

A day in town

2006-07-23T08:39:00.000-07:00

Dinner at Oma's

2006-07-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

Last night we were all gathered at my grandmother's house (dad's mom). Ever since we were young, we would call her Oma joon. Oma is grandma in german. Long story... don't ask! She is the cute one next to our friend Sarah (in white). Anyway, many people think my aunt and I look very similar... you be the judge! She is the one standing next to me... that is if you didn't already assume that!!

Day of fun!

2006-07-19T12:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took our canoe to the lake near our house. Even though we are close to the city we are still very much surrounded by nature. This is why you must all come to visit us!

The dinner

2006-07-18T08:18:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures from a dinner we had a few nights ago at our place. A mix of both family and friends attended. It was in honour of my aunt Homa who is here from France. She's the beautiful blond one!

Luggage found

2006-07-15T06:45:00.000-07:00

Finally Zoom has decided to find our missing suitcase after two weeks.
We were just getting used to this whole concept of detachment!

Pilgrimage photos

2006-07-07T07:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from our recent Baha'i pilgrimage in Haifa, Israel. It was great going back after one year, having time to meditate and to visit with old friends.

2006-07-06T06:20:00.000-07:00

Today Nima and I have been married 1 year and 8 months... how time flies... God has really blessed me with a wonderful husband. We have a few wedding pictures posted at www.arjomand.com for those of you who haven't seen any yet!
We went to my cousins place a few nights ago... the first picture is with my mom and the second with my cousins Goli and Jenna. Goli, aka Gloria (in green), has been recently appointed as the new junior youth coordinator for all of Ontario. So her work is very intense but extremely exciting!

N & N Blog inception

2006-07-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

So I have finally decided to start a blog... mainly for all of our friends who live in all parts of the globe. It will mainly be a picture blog so don't expect too much literature :) I wanted to use this picture (taken on our 1st anniversary) for our profile... but I couldn't figure out how to do it yet... oh well!