The Simple Life at Home

Facebook - My Addiction and Blessing

2011-06-06T20:09:00.003+03:00

Are you as addicted as I am to Facebook?

I just can't seem to stay off it. I love hearing from friends from near and far, new friends and people I haven't heard from in 20+ years. I love the opportunity it provides to stay in contact with so many people, especially people who once meant the world to you, but through time and circumstance lost touch with.

I know some people hate those "I ate a meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner" status messages and deride the posters for being mundane and boring, but I love them. I love the little peek Facebook provides into other people's daily ins and outs of life. I love knowing I'm not the only one who's lost her hairbrush or who is still watching "Survivor." I laugh hysterically and am thrilled each time I'm reminded how funny my friends are. I can weep when I know my friends are hurting - when a child is diagnosed with a serious illness or a parent passes away.

Living so far away, I often marvel how missionaries and others who left their homes and travelled far, far away coped. How did they manage without a reliable, quick mail service? How did they stand not having Skype, which allows me to not only hear loved ones' voices, but to actually see them as well? No email for quick little jots home. No Facebook to keep up with the lives of those you love.

So, yeah, I spend waaaaayy too much time logged in to Facebook. I usually have it open in another tab while I'm doing a myriad of other things. I'm down near addicted, but I have no desire to cure that addiction. I love having the live updates to find out what my peeps around the world are up to and I'm not ashamed!

Life is great in the 21st Century!!! Can you only imagine how life will change in the next 50 years??

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2011-06-03T23:52:00.002+03:00

I am less that two short weeks away from our annual trip home to the States. In between now and then Daniel will finish his last year of middle school, Emily will become a high school junior (meaning it's just two short years we have left with her at home), and I just have to make it through the next 10 straight days of work while still preparing for an almost three month vacation.

There are so many things I look forward to about being "home." Family, friends. Shopping. Freedom to do what I want, wear what I want, say what I want.

As if to reinforce the desire to escape Doha for the summer, the weather has recently been very cooperative. It's suddenly gotten very humid - combined with temps above 110, it's been simply miserable. Then today we a horrible dust storm blow into town, lowering visibility to a couple of hundred feet. Yuck!! Yep - it's time to get out of Dodge!

Being Focused on the Truly Valuable

2011-02-13T17:00:00.002+03:00

We live in a world where we are constantly being bombarded by media and messages that are often not consistent with how a woman of God should live. The radio, the television, movies, even the grocery store check-out lane shouts at us to be thinner! sexier! prettier! a perfect mom! a perfect wife! a perfect woman!

And the truth is, we often fall for it. I know I do, at least. I want to be that perfect woman that I see on the screen or the cover of a magazine. And maybe, just maybe, if I buy into whatever tip or trick is being offered, I will be completely satisfied with my life.

That's yet to happen.

And don't you find yourself in the trap of comparing yourself, your husband, your children, your home to others around you? Isn't it easy to wish you had a bigger, nicer home? A husband who is ultra-romantic and helpful around the house? Children who are accomplished and well-behaved at all times? A tinier waistline and bigger budget?

It's just all too easy to focus on the wrong things, isn't it?

A while ago, I found on a wonderful blog, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, the perfect antidote to this trap. It's a simple prescription to help us keep our eyes in the right place and, in so doing, to help us keep our hearts content with all that God has blessed us with. Here it is:

1. Ignore all the books, mags and ads that convince me I need to buy them in order to find out their secrets.

2. Focus my life, my mind and my heart on Christ.

3. Drown out all the voices that dictate what you and the children are "supposed to be doing"- (everyone seems to have a plan for our lives, don't they?), take your eyes off what your friends/neighbors are doing by not comparing and then reexamine false standards or high expectations you have made for yourself and your loved ones.

4. Pray and ask God to give me focus, ability and wisdom to prioritize my husband, children and home. Ask hubby for advice that He has to offer.

5. Expect for Him to answer in a powerful way and then....

6. Obey and listen to Him!

Sounds so simple, doesn't it?

Life is Good

2011-02-07T03:12:00.003+03:00

I don't know if anyone is ever even checking this old, practically defunct blog anymore. I wouldn't imagine so, but if anyone ever happens to check in, I thought I'd give an update. After all, it's 3:15 and I'm up watching the Super Bowl. Not for the football, mind you, really for the commercials. After all, the only bowl my team (Denver Broncos) went to this year was the toilet bowl!! Anyhoo, this seemed like a good time to pop in and say hi to anyone who's still interested.

Since my last real substantial update, lots has gone on. We had a fabulous trip to Rome in November!! It was so nice to be in a place where you found something beautiful around every corner - a park, a fountain, a piazza, a church, something. We had a great time. Could have been a little bit better if the apartment's heat had been working since it was in the 40's but, hey, let's focus on the positive, shall we??

We had a nice Christmas break, during which we traveled to Abu Dhabi, just an hour south of Dubai. Hubby's sister lives there, so it was really nice to visit her and her family. Daniel really enjoyed visiting with his cousin of the same age and Emily got to participate in a youth retreat put on by Youth for Christ for kids from all over the Gulf region. We had a great time visiting Dubai, but the highlight for me was bookstores!!! We spent well over $200 at the Christian boostore (yippee!!!), and then stocked up at this amazingly huge bookstore we found in Dubai as well. That's one thing I really miss living here. Another great treat for us was some of our favorite restaraunts - PF Chang's, Wendy's, Taco Bell and more. Yummy!

Daniel got to participate in January in our middle school's Week Without Walls. 8th graders get to go to either Malaysia or Sri Lanka. Daniel chose Sri Lanka because it had more of a service element to it and involved more contact with animals. He had an amazing trip during which he worked to help refurbish a local primary school, visit an elephant orphanage and tour cultural sites all over the country. The highlight, though, was that leeches apparently got into his shoes and sucked his blood. Very cool stuff for a 13 year old boy!!!!!

Emily went to her winter formal also in January and looked so beautiful and grown up I thought I would cry. I can't believe that we only have another 2 years or so to have her in our nest before she'll be out on her own. It's been such a change to start relating to her as more of an adult than a child. Sadly, she had to learn some grown-up lessons last week when the mother of a friend passed away. The situation brought up so many conflicting emotions for her - how to deal with mortality, how to talk to the friend about it, and more. I'm so thankful that she's really built a good relationship with one of the school counselors, who's both a friend and neighbor. He spent a good deal of time talking to her since it happened, helping her process and deal with her emotions.

Overall, life is pretty darn good though. Emily is preparing for her spring break mission trip to Jordan again. The kids are doing well in school. We're looking forward to summer. I learned today that I'll have almost three months off, so we'll have a nice long visit home. We are considering spending some time looking at colleges while we are there. My mom and dad will be sick of us by the time we leave, we'll be at their house for so long!!

Thanks to those of you who have kept me on your "follow" list. I promise to try to get back to form soon!!

Whoo-Hoo!!!

2010-09-14T07:59:00.000+03:00

I'm so happy about the way that the living room turned out!

I did end up second-guessing myself and going back and getting another paint color. But it didn't seem right either, so at the last minute, decided to go ahead and paint the first color. I'm so glad I did. It came out beautifully!! It's kind of a caramel color, and it looks so lush and rich. I just love it.

Hubby and I took some time to rearrange the room as well - moving artwork, furniture and plants around. We also put up some of that vinyl lettering you can buy with the pre-cut letters in different sayings. While I was in the States I picked up one that says, "Live. Laugh. Love." It's looks so nice up against the rich color. Now it looks like a pulled together room rather than just a place we just moved into and haven't really worked on. I'm so happy!

Pictures will follow when I figure out how to get them out of the camera!! (Hubby's still home, so hopefully later today!)

I'm Back with a Quick Update

2010-09-09T09:36:00.002+03:00

Moving to another blog site seemed to be the right thing at the time, but it just never felt like "home." So here I am, back at my bloggy home. I'm not making any promises about the frequency that I'll be posting, or that my posts will instantly revert to dispensing of wisdom and tons of homemaking advice. Life is still the same with me over here - still working, still struggling to make it all work, but here I am.

Here's a quick run-down of what's going on in my life to get you all caught up:

1) Those of you who followed my workplace drama during my early days of working might be relieved to know that it's really turned out very well. Over the summer I received a promotion which was designed by my new boss to really let me know how valuable he considers me. It's really helped me be happier with being there.

2) It's September 9 and it's still 115 degrees outside during the day. Ugh!

3) Emily seems to have really blossomed and settled in here finally. This is a huge answer to prayer.

4) We had an excellent vacation in the US over the summer. 4 weeks in Tucson, 2 weeks in Miami. A great time of re-connecting with friends and family, not to mention experiencing all the little things that make American "home."

5) Today is the last day of Ramadan. This month long period of fasting and reflection for Muslims has quite an impact on the lives on non-Muslims living here as well. Hubby has been lucky enough to finish work each day at 12:30, the kids finished school at 2:30. Everything runs on different times to accommodate the day-time fasting fatigue which most Muslims struggle with.

6) However, tomorrow is the first day of Eid. This comes with a week off school for the kids and I (actually we've been off since Wednesday), and four days off for Hubby. Restaurants will resume regular hours, as will stores, I can drink a bottle of water in the car, and I won't have to hide my fruit or glasses of water at my desk.

7) During this week off, we are going to be painting the living room. Hubby painted our dining room a gorgeous red while the kids and I were back in the U.S. over the summer, and we painted the kids' rooms the weekend after we got back and now it's time for the living room. I'm a little nervous about the color I've gotten to be honest. I couldn't find the paint chip I had selected when it was time to buy, so I tried to pick the same one there, but now that it's home and the paint chip has been found, it's quite different from what I chose. I'm debating whether I should just try it out or waste the paint (which is pricier than it is in the States) and go back and get what I really want.

8) Did I mention there are TWO Eids? Yes, that's right, there's an Eid holiday now and another one in 40 days. So in November, we are off for our first big family vacation (to somewhere other than visiting family) to. . . . . . ROME!!!! Yep, that's right - we are going to the Eternal City. I've rented us a great 2 bedroom apartment smack dab in the middle of the historical center of Rome, just blocks from both the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. The Coliseum will be within walking distance. I was in Rome a long time ago with a friend and I'm so looking forward to going back!!

9) And in December we get three weeks off for our winter break (Heaven forbid we call it Christmas break!!), we are planning on driving to Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Yes, this means we will be once again driving through Saudi Arabia, but this time it will only be a matter of hours rather than days. We'll be staying with Hubby's sister who lives in Abu Dhabi, but the really exciting part is going to Dubai. We can't wait to try the indoor ski slope!!

10) My current reading list is: Crazy Love, by Francis Chan; The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold; Just Take My Heart, by Mary Higgins Clark; and a quick re-read of Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women, by Geraldine Brooks (for the book club I'm joining this fall). Quite a variety!

So that's it. Life is good right now. It's good to be back.

Moving Again!

2010-04-25T10:55:00.002+03:00

No, we aren't leaving Doha.

(Shucks!)

I've just decided that it's time for me to leave The Simple Life at Home behind. It's just not what I had originally envisioned anymore and I don't know how to make sure that I'm not disappointing people who come here looking for something that I can no longer offer here.

But if you are interested in just little ol' me and my life here in Qatar, feel free to join me at my new home, Middle East Mama. It will be more personal, more about my life now. I still hope to offer the occasional bit of wisdom, delicious recipe and more, but I'm not going to feel obligated to. And that will make all the difference. I'm hoping that this move helps get me back to loving blogging again, rather than feeling guilty if I don't post often enough or am able to dispense wisdom from on high.

I'd love to see you there!!!

Have a Blessed Easter

2010-04-04T22:39:00.002+03:00

Happy Easter, everyone!! I pray that you spend today with friends and family, being ever mindful of the resurrection of Jesus. His death on the cross and his resurrection, conquering sin and death, allow us to have true fellowship with God. Here is a beautiful song celebrating the resurrection by one of the all-time great Christian artists, Keith Green.

(P.S. I'm taking today as one of my "grace days" in the 90 days through the Bible. There are two built into the plan and with the holiday and celebrating Hubby's birthday, today seems to be a good day to use one. Be back tomorrow!)

Menu Plan Monday - March 29

2010-03-29T14:55:00.005+03:00

Back again for another edition of Menu Plan Monday! Two weeks in a row - wow! I'm on a roll!

We are on Spring Break here this week. Emily is off in Jordan on an outreach trip with our youth group, Hubby is busy working and Daniel and I are hanging at home relaxing a bit. I've been on an organizing spree, and boy, can our home use that! Ever since we moved in to this house in late October, I've just never really found a "home" for lots of things. Consequently we have been living in chaos and it's contributed a lot to the stress level. I'm so much more relaxed already and I'm only a few days into getting it all done. I can't wait until I get everything done and settled.

This week we are still trying to be frugal and "shopping from home." Tostadas are a great bargain dish, as are most meatless dishes, and easy to boot. The Potato Lover's Salad is also very inexpensive to make and it's one of Hubby's and my favorites, full of flavor and delish. I found a great deal on shrimp this week, inspiring me to make the shrimp scampi. The stuffed squash dish needs just 1/2 lb. of ground beef, rice, squash (very inexpensive here) and a few tomatoes. Our big splurge will be dinner out on Easter, but frugality should also include a splurge once in a while, or everyone becomes miserable, right?

Monday - Tostada bar

Tuesday - Baked shrimp scampi over fettucini, caesar salad

Wednesday - Koosa Mahshi (stuffed squash)

Thursday - Potato Lover's Salad

Friday - Pizza (for lunch - don't forget Friday is our day off here); sandwiches for dinner (then off to the airport to pick up Emily!!)

Saturday - Rosemary and lime chicken (one of Emily's favorites to welcome her home), basmati rice and steamed vegetables

Sunday - We'll be going out out eat to celebrate Easter this year. Hams are not available here in Qatar, turkeys by themselves cost as much as a meal out anyways, and we will be celebrating two birthdays in our family which fall this week (not mine - yet).

And now, I'm off to organize my entertainment center cabinets. Bliss!!!

Happy Monday!

(For more menu ideas, be sure to visit The Organizing Junkie.)

Well, I've Been Surprised Again!

2010-03-23T13:42:00.002+03:00

You know, after two years of being in the Gulf, I thought I'd already had all the new, funny experiences I was going to have. I've fallen down stairs only to be stared at by passers-by, I've had workmen show up at my house as early as 6 am and as late as 10:30 pm without an appointment, I've seen camels riding by in pick-up trucks, I've learned to hoard precious and rare ingredients like vanilla pudding, learned to deal with bureaucratic incompetence at the doctor's office, and much, much more. I thought I'd seen it all and that nothing could surprise me anymore.

I was wrong.

I should know in Doha there is a never-ending supply of things to surprise you. Though I don't even bat an eye anymore when a car come barreling towards me, heading the wrong way down a one way street, and the sight of men greeting each other by rubbing their noses together barely gets a giggle anymore, yesterday I something new happened that caught me totally off guard.

I had run up to the little supermarket nearby. Now, when I say supermarket, think of a tiny little stall of a storefront where the aisles are about 2 feet wide and so jam-packed you have to navigate carefully to avoid knocking everything to the ground. All I needed was a can of corn. I was roasting a couple of chickens (chickens come small here, so two are always needed) and I was just craving mashed potatoes and gravy. And, to me, mashed potatoes MUST always be accompanied by corn. It's the law, which I'm sure I could prove if I spent enough time looking through the books.

So I find my can of corn, make my way up to the little man at the front. There's someone ahead of me so he indicates for me to put the can on the cooler of ice cream in front of him while I wait. I do and he tells me it's 5.50 Qatari riyals. Because coins are very rare here (which is why you will often get your change in candy!), I handed him six riyals. He must not have had change either because he looked in his drawer (yes, drawer, not cash register) and gave me back the 1, keeping the 5. Remembering that I had one 50 cent piece that I had been hoarding, I got it out of my wallet and tried to hand it to him.

He instantly started gesturing at me, pointing at the cooler again. When I just looked at him in confusion, he finally started yelling, "Down! Down! Put it down!" Startled, I put the coin down on the cooler, from where he picked it up and put it in the drawer.

He didn't want to take the chance that he might accidentally touch me while I handed him the coin.

Shocked I walked to my car and just couldn't get over this. I don't know why it is bothering me so much. I know that Hassidic Jews often do the same thing and that it's a sign of respect to them. But trust me - this was not a sign of respect. The last word you could use for how most Muslim men view women, particularly Western women, is respect. It's more a fear of contamination. Seriously.

So, once again, Doha managed to pull it off again. Shocking me has become more and more difficult the longer I live here, but hat's off to you, little grocery-store man. You did it!

Menu Plan Monday - March 22

2010-03-22T12:33:00.000+03:00

Gosh, it's been ages since I've been able to participate in Menu Plan Monday. The whole time difference thing totally throws me off. By the time I get online over here on my side of the world, y'all have gotten posted so quickly that I'd be #973, so it just kind of seemed silly. LOL! But now that it's going up at a new time (6 am PST, 4 pm my time) there's a slight chance I might be able to crack the top 200!! ;)

This week I am doing a frugal version of menu-planning. For one thing we are pretty tight on finances from now until the end of the school year what with paying off school fees, saving for vacation and such, so it's good to just tighten the belt and make do on what we can. Also, since the kids and I will be vacating the house for 6 weeks while we are in the States for the summer and Hubby will probably eat out a majority of that time, I figured it's a good idea to begin "shopping at home" as much as I can, using up what I already have.

Here's my menu plan for this week:

Monday - Homemade pizza using this fabulous pizza crust recipe. The kids' pizza will be cheese and pepperoni, but Hubby and I will enjoy pizza Margherita, fresh sliced tomatoes, fresh basil and cheese (no sauce). Yummy!!
Tuesday - Roasted chicken in the crockpot (I recently discovered this great tip - ball up tin foil at the bottom of the crockpot and place the chicken(s) on top of it. No more slimy chicken!
Wednesday - Lentils and rice with a lemon-dressed salad - the ultimate frugal meal!
Thursday - Ribs with baked potatoes and steamed veggies. I'm so excited about this meal!!! A friend of mine, whose husband is stationed at the US airbase nearby, has kindly given us this rack of (shhhhhh!!!!) pork ribs!! I'm dancing gleefully around the computer right now just thinking about it. (Well, not really, but in my imagination I am!)
Friday - Tuna salad sandwiches (hitting the bottom of the barrel, here, right?!)
Saturday - Mezze - homemade hummous (recipe below), pickles, olives, cheeses, crudites, and pita bread
Sunday - Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup

Hummus seems to be gaining in popularity these days in the U.S. It's healthy and a great dip for breads, carrots and other veggies. But when I see those small little tubs of it selling for close to $4 in the deli section, I want to cry. It's SOOOO easy and so cheap to make, it should be a crime to charge that much for it. Here's how I make it at home in less than 5 minutes:

Hummous

1 can chick peas (liquid reserved)

3 Tbsp. tahini (kind of like a sesame seed peanut butter)

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

2 cloves garlic

salt to taste

Put all ingredients and about 1/3 of the liquid from the chick peas into a blender. Blend, adding more liquid as necessary, until the mixture is smooth and is the consistency of a thick dip. Put onto a plate and drizzle a swirl of olive oil onto it and sprinkle on a little parsley and paprika for an authentic look. That's it! You've just made hummous!

Be sure to visit Orgjunkie.com for more great menu plan ideas!

The First Step

2010-03-21T08:22:00.002+03:00

Yesterday I was trying to think back to how things got so far off track. How did we go from being a happy, Christian, loving family to this creation I don't even recognize? The constant arguing, the sniping at each other, the antagonism - I look around and am heartbroken.

The cause could be any number of things. We have gone through major changes in our lives over the last two years. Moving overseas has created a lot of turmoil and even some resentment. Putting the kids into school for the first time has exposed them to a whole world from which we had always tried to shield them. My return to full-time work has left our home without a full-time "manager" and has left things in low-level constant chaos. Hormones are raging through my soon-to-be 15 and 13 year olds, creating mood swings which take us all by surprise.

The first step in rectifying all this mess? Resume our daily time of Bible reading and prayer. When we homeschooled, it was always the way we started off our day. But lately we're all in such a hurry in the mornings - packing backpacks, preparing lunches, getting out the door on time - that our daily time with God and His word has fallen by the wayside, I'm ashamed to admit. I feel like we have lost our focus as a family and this is where our focus should be - on God.

It might not solve all our problems overnight, but it is the firs step in the right direction.

"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth."

Deuteronomy 11: 18-21

Caps for Sale

2010-03-16T12:19:00.004+03:00

I've decided that I wear too many caps. (Not actual hats, of course. I have an unusually large head and hats don't generally fit on it.) What I'm referring to is the number of roles I play. It's nothing new really, this multiple hat-wearing. As any mother knows, we all wear enough hats to fill Imelda Marcos' shoe closet - wife, mother, cook, housekeeper, nursemaid, teacher, chauffeur...the list could go on and on.

Adding in full- time employee has seemingly pushed me right over the edge. I've been working for one year now. It's been a hard year, full of adjustments and letting go of expectations. I've had to learn to give myself permission to not feel guilty for being the perfect Suzy Homemaker that I always dreamed of being. To be honest, home-cooked meals only happen about 2/3 of the time - our local Arabic restaurant's number is stored in my memory and I can dial it in my sleep. Dominos and KFC are getting quite bit more of our business than ever before, as well.

Housekeeping standards haven't been exactly up to snuff either. Mind you, I was never the best housekeeper in the world to start with. (Mother - stop laughing!) But in the last few years I had really gotten on track by implementing routines and was so proud of myself for really pulling the house into shape. Now I'm happy with myself if I get the dinner dishes done. By the time I get home, prepare dinner, help with homework and do a very basic tidying up, I'm D-O-N-E.

Having the weekend be reversed doesn't help either. Since weekends here are Friday-Saturday, and church meets on Fridays because many people, Hubby included, work on Saturdays (yes, he works a 6-day week!! UGH!), that means that the weekend starts off with the day of rest/church. Somehow that has completely thrown me. I absolutely don't want to do anything on Friday after church, but then that lethargy carries over onto Saturdays. I always grew up that the first day of the weekend you did your housekeeping, gardening, errands and then the next day you rested. I just can't seem to get the hang of it being swapped. It just seems...wrong.

So much as I would like to, I can't really sell any of my hats. I just have to find a way to wear them with more panache. One issue is the overwhelming fatigue I've been dealing with. The last few nights I've been in bed by 8:30 - totally out of character for me. I've been trying to get more exercise, attending Zumba classes and hitting the gym a few nights a week, but that just seems to make me even more tired. I'm thinking that maybe some vitamins or something, but I don't know what. Any advice?

I'm thinking that I strongly need to get back to using routines - even if they are vastly different from the previous ones I had in place. Less ambition, more accomplishment. I think I've just kind of given up - since I can't get as much done as I really want to, why bother. All my wonderful meal plans have fallen by the wayside as well. :(

I think I'm at the point now where a year is long enough to get into the flow of things. It's time to stop making excuses and start making things happen. We have spring break coming up next week, so I guess I should use that time to sit down and figure out routines and plans that realistically work for me in my current situation, so be looking for some "Routines for the Working Woman" in the next couple of weeks.

That gives me one week to continue my sluggish ways. I'd better go buy some Cheetos and soda and clear a space on the couch!!

In the Desert

2010-03-15T13:10:00.003+03:00

I've gone back to my desert-themed layout here on the blog. As temperatures rise and the sun becomes more intense, it just seemed like the right 'feel' for the postings.

As I look at the picture, I'm struck by how diverse Qatar is. To be sure you do indeed see things like this camel (though usually only at the markets or in the back of a pickup or out in the wild) and the man in the robe (known locally as a thobe). But right alongside those sights, you'll see skyscrapers and Lamborghini's.

Qatar is one of the most multi-national places I've ever been. One of the things I enjoyed about living in Miami is how diverse it was - Cubans, Haitians, South Americans, Europeans and native-born Americans. Miami has nothing on this place. Not only do you have the local Qataris (who make up only 20% of the population), but you have Indians, Filipinos, South Africans, Brits, Canadians, Nepalis, and just about every other place you can imagine. The school my children attend has students from 70 different countries.

While we are very strong in our Christian beliefs, I am thrilled that my children are friends with people of other faiths and cultures. I think their entire world view is being shaped by the fact that they are getting to know real people from all over the world, not just radicals who get on the evening news. It's very easy to just paint everyone in a group with a broad brush and not get the whole picture.

Living here in Doha it's very easy to take out your frustrations on a certain group of people - these people are rude, these people are the worst drivers, you name it. But then you meet someone from that group and realize that it's just people. That there are rude people where you are from too. That there are bad drivers in your hometown. It may be more prevalent here because there is such a mix of cultures where people have come from that it's like a melting pot of expectation and backgrounds, but the truth is there is good and bad in all of our cultures.

I'm glad that my kids are getting to know that now instead of when they are my age.

Bugs and Heat

2010-03-14T11:17:00.003+03:00

Now in Miami, this would be a whole different post. Mosquitos there grow to the size of rodeo-type bucking broncos. And they thrive in the summer heat of Miami, congregating by the thousands at your front door, ready to pounce on you the second you crack the door open.

The kind of bug I'm talking about today, however, is the insidious computerus virusium. Foolishly, Hubby and I allowed our security software to expire on our home computers and we have been hacked. Big time. To the point where the government-run internet provider has blacklisted our IP address and we can't use the internet at home. Every time we turn on the computer, thousands of warnings pop up - key loggers, email worms, trojan viruses, you name it - I've got it. Then I was even too scared to attempt to renew our software license because they'd have access to our credit card info. So we bought new security software, but the hackers are too smart and the system won't allow us to load it. And so, the only solution?

Wiping out the hard drive and starting clean.

Do you hear my whimper coming out through the speakers of you computer? Wiping out everything - all the programs, all the documents, all the pictures (though thankfully Hubby had uploaded many of the most special ones to Facebook). The guys at the computer shop were going to see what could be saved, but we are preparing for the worst. Sigh...why do people come up with stuff like this? What kind of people are they?! (Evil, I tell you! They are just plain evil!)

Ok, now that that little rant is over, let me just update you on what it's like in Qatar at the moment. Yesterday I had to run the kids over to the school for homework purposes (multiple times!!! grrrr...) since we couldn't use the internet at home. Once, at about 1 pm, I happened to glance at the thermometer in my rear-view mirror as I got in the car. It read (drumroll, please!!) 105 degrees.

Now, it dropped pretty rapidly down to a near-chilly 95 degrees. What on earth am I complaining about? I mean, here it is mid-March and it's already 95 degrees. Can you imagine what it will be like around here when summer really arrives?

95 Days

2010-03-12T11:45:00.005+03:00

We're finally down into the double-digits!! Only 95 days until we get to fly back to the US for the summer! I bought our tickets last night and it seems so close I can taste it.

(That sounded dumb. What exactly does the US taste like anyways??)

Well, let me tell you what the US tastes like. Here's a list of all the places my kids and I have been dreaming of and that are on our "must visit" list.

1. Wendy's - Oh, how I have missed you, Frosty!

2. Taco Bell - Yo quiero Taco Bell!

3. P.F. Chang's - Ok, that's just me, not the kids, but, mmm...Mongolian Beef and Chicken Lettuce Wraps

4. Sweet Tomatoes - Best salad bar restaurant - yummy!

5. Panera Bread - need I say more?

6. Cracker Barrel - Okay, honestly, it's more about the shopping than the food. :)

7. KFC - Yes, we have it here, but they don't offer mashed potatoes and I'm ALL about KFC's mashed potatoes!

8. Wienerschnitzel - Chili dogs, chili dogs and more chili dogs. A smile just crept onto my face.

I'm thinking that over the course of the next 95 days there will be more lists of what we can't wait for in store here at ye olde blog. Sorry in advance - we are just a wee bit excited over here!!

Be Careful What You Wish For

2010-03-05T00:15:00.002+03:00

My mother would tell you that I was something of an impatient child. If I didn't get my way, I might even be prone to going outside into the street and stomping my feet and screaming. Personally I don't remember that, but she claims it's true.

This propensity to lose my temper easily has always been a source of frustration for me. For as long as I can remember I've prayed that God would give me patience. Well, we all know that patience isn't just given, but that it's instead developed through situations which God allows into our lives to grow us.

And I just want to let you know that if you are praying for patience, I'll be happy to be your Doha tour guide when God sends you here, because this is the ultimate training ground for people with a shortage of patience.

It's not only that you will soon not even care about the people who are going the wrong way down the street to skip to the head of the long line of cars waiting at the stop sign. But you'll also find yourself barely batting an eye at the people in the grocery store who blithely stand in your way and don't even bother to move when they notice you are waiting to pass but continue to peruse the 50 different varieties of canned corn on the shelf.

But the ultimate game of patience for me seems to be what I've come to think of as The Ingredient Game. As I've mentioned before, keeping store shelves consistently stocked with a regular line up of products seems to be a problem here. For the life of me I can't understand why since this is the richest country in the world, but such is life.

This means that it's like a game to try and made something special. You have to carefully collect the different ingredients over time and wait for that magic moment when you find the last missing piece. For Valentine's Day the stars all aligned just in time to make one of Hubby's favorite desserts - Oreo Pudding Pie. Pudding mixes are extremely hard to come by here for whatever reason, particularly chocolate. For months I had been hoarding the chocolate Oreo Keebler pie crust and when I found the chocolate pudding in early February I knew it was a sign that I was meant to make this dessert as a sign of my love and effort for Hubby. He loved it.

And now I've moved on to my next challenge: collecting the ingredients for Hawaiian Wedding Cake. I've had the crushed pineapple for several months, the instant vanilla pudding mix I found at the same time I found the chocolate pudding and last week found yellow cake mix. Now all I'm lacking is Cool Whip. I've gone from one grocery store to another trying to find it, all with no luck. It's not normally so hard to find, but that's life in Doha. You might lose access to anything at any time. And so I wait (yes, patiently) for that little tub of creamy goodness to appear once more on the store shelves.

And then I'll start collecting all over again.

My New 101 in 1001 List

2010-02-20T22:00:00.002+03:00

(I just updated this post I wrote in April of 2009 and realized, after nearly a year, that I had never published it!!! Yikes - bad blogger!!)

-----------

Well, having completed about half of my previous list, I was very motivated to make a new list and try to accomplish much more of it. I've been working on it sporadically for the last month or so and finally finished it this morning.

I'm setting my start date as tomorrow, which gives me a target date of January 5, 2012. The thing I like about having 1001 days to complete the list is that it gives you approximately 2 3/4 years, so if it's something seasonal, you have more than one shot to do it. I'm going to be putting a countdown clock on my sidebar to keep me motivated.

And now, without further ado, The List:

1. Read through the Bible start to finish
2. Memorize Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians
3. Watch sunrise on the corniche
4. Do Advent wreath and readings
5. Sabbath dinners
6. Go a week without saying something negative about anyone
7. Begin praying with Ibrahim
8. Pray for Ibrahim daily
9. Read & complete all Fascinating Woman assignments
10. Do character study with Emily
11. Teach Emily to cook 14 meals well
12. ~~Paint first floor rooms~~
13. Do the Grand Plan
14. Save QR 5000 for an emergency plan
15. Pay off debt
16. Learn Arabic through Rosetta Stone
17. Read a six classic books each year
18. Visit Doha’s other museums
19. ~~Learn to bake homemade bread~~
20. ~~Make porch more welcoming~~
21. Get my BMI down to at least 24.9
22. Eliminate soda
23. Stop eating at night
24. Take vitamins and calcium daily
25. Floss daily for a month
26. Go to bed by 10:30 on most nights
27. Get a complete physical (with bloodwork) and mammogram
28. Take better care of my skin
29. 45 minutes of cardio, 4x a week
30. See an endocrinologist
31. Christmas letter (via email)
32. ~~Take the family to visit a historical site~~
33. ~~Take the kids to the Dead Sea~~
34. Do a 24 hour fast once a month
35. ~~Get braces~~
36. Stop interrupting people
37. Visit Biosphere 2
38. Figure out how to play Settlers of Cataan
39. ~~Attend symphony~~
40. ~~Go dune bashing~~
41. ~~Visit the Inland Sea~~
42. ~~Plant flowers in flower bed~~
43. Try to learn some type of needlework
44. Start keeping track of my grocery budget
45. ~~Refine menu plan to work with new schedule~~
46. Host a Christmas cookie swap
47. Identify 25 things I like about myself
48. ~~Go to Doha Open tennis tournament~~
49. ~~Have a date with Hubby at least once a month~~
50. ~~Join a book club~~
51. ~~Set up laundry room as a storage room for household backups~~
52. Get grill propane tank replaced and refitted
53. Volunteer at QAWS (animal rescue shelter here in Doha)
54. ~~Start carrying a makeup bag with me for mid-day touch ups~~
55. Go to the Doha Debates
56. Go to the theater
57. ~~Get the kids to an orthodontist~~
58. ~~Decorate seasonally~~
59. Fight the frump
60. Use body lotion every day for a month
61. Entertain other couples once a quarter
62. ~~Spend time at the gym’s sauna and steamroom~~
63. ~~Go to the movies at Royal Plaza~~
64. No tv for one month at least once a year
65. ~~No tv for a whole day at least once a week~~
66. Get a new cleaning plan in place
67. Follow said cleaning plan for 30 days straight
68. Walk the entire corniche
69. Read Blue Like Jazz
70. Re-read Hinds Feet on High Places
71. Go through The Power of a Praying Wife
72. Learn to “sprout”
73. ~~Clean out email folders~~
74. Learn how to do blog design myself
75. Create a list of 52 “life skill” to teach to the kids and teach them
76. Finish touring Islamic Art Museum
77. ~~Convince Hubby to install Wi-fi here at home~~
78. Use reusable bags for grocery shopping
79. Phase paper towels and napkins out of the home
80. Check for new podcasts once a week
81. ~~Get a clothes dryer~~
82. Get a free-standing basketball hoop
83. Finish Christmas shopping at least two weeks early
84. Do a monthly family fun night
85. Make a birthday calendar of friends and family
86. Learn to make homemade pies, including the crust
87. Do the 30 Day Husband Encouragement Challenge twice
88. Leave 101 comments on others’ blogs
89. Learn to make egg rolls
90. Make homemade jam
91. ~~Buy extra shelving units~~
92. Organize this list
93. Find a doctor I like
94. Complete the Love Dare
95. ~~Try an ethnic cuisine I’ve never tried before~~
96. ~~Give up something sacrificially for Lent~~
97. Find 6 recipes from restaurants I like and try them
98. ~~Thoroughly understand how to get all over town~~
99. ~~Try to find L from high school and apologize~~
100. ~~Get new curtains for living room and family room~~
101. Make a new 101 list when this one is completed

Things that Strike Me as Odd

2010-02-17T14:55:00.000+03:00

So enough seriousness in my life already. Between my bout of homesickness and this horrible cough/sore throat I've come down with, I'm ready for something a bit more lighthearted. So today I'm just going to point out a few things that I still find strange about living overseas.

1) First Floors - In the US, the first floor is actually the first floor. But in most other places, it's called the ground floor and the first floor is what we would call the second floor. I don't get it. I mean, it IS the first floor, why not just call it that? You don't call the first car you ever owned your "starter" car and then the next car is actually the first car. But that's how it is. So you always have to be careful to think who you are talking to - North American or elsewise - when you are giving directions as it can be confusing.

2) Military Time - Apparently much of the world, not just people dressed in camouflage, uses military time. TV shows are advertised as being at 20:00 hours, not 8 pm. Store hours are also posted this way. I'm just now getting to the point where I don't have to count to figure it out!

3) Light Switches - A couple of things about light switches strike me as odd. First, in the US up is On and down is Off. It's the other way around overseas. But the thing that really makes me wonder is that bathroom light switches are located outside of the bathroom. I can only image how that can make for an easy torture tool for kids who want to annoy their sibling.

4) Electrical Outlets - In the US it's so easy. You buy something, take it home and plug it in. Not so easy here. Things come in different styles - either two-prong or three-prong. But you can be certain that whatever you buy, your home will probably have the opposite system, necessitating a myriad of different style converters. But you should still expect popping and sparks when you plug or unplug things.

5) Toilets - No flush handles. Just little buttons on top of most toilet tanks. It doesn't change life in anyway, but it's just a little reminder that you are in a different place.

6) Apparently there's a different expectation of comfort here - Sorry, I couldn't think of a shorter title. But it seems that people are not so much into comfy here. Couches, chairs and beds are all firm. Really firm. Really, really firm. Am I communicating that well. You might as well sit on a concrete slab. I'm SOOO glad that we brought our own furniture over with us!

That's all the useless information I can come up with at the moment. I'm so very happy to have provided you with a few minutes of wasted time. :)

The Friendship of a Woman

2010-02-16T14:50:00.000+03:00

Yesterday was a bad day.

I suddenly was overcome with a horrible bout of homesickness and spent much of the evening and night crying my eyes out.

Things here are okay, but just okay, you know? We are all settled and such, but I don't feel like I've really developed any deep friendships. I've got lots of acquaintances and casual friends, but I haven't found that one woman whom I just click with and call to chat and laugh and hang out with. It's been two years and I miss that.

I miss laughing with someone until your sides hurt and crying with them until you can't cry anymore. I miss girls' nights out and I miss just picking up the phone even though you have nothing to say. I miss having a girlfriend to go walking with, even though the focus is less on exercise and more on catching up. I having friends pop in, even when the house is messy. I miss our small group of couples, sharing joys and heartaches.

I know that God is always with me. That really does bring me through some bad times. But there is just something special about the friendships of women.

We are planning on being here for a little over 3 years more. I've just got to pray that God brings that one person along for me.

Emily Growing Up

2010-02-14T16:11:00.003+03:00

So yesterday the kids and I joined some friends on a little desert adventure. We went to see some rock outcropping that were rather neatly shaped and to see Film City, a place where movies have been shot, although no one could actually name one.

Hmmm.

Anyways, we were out there in the middle of Nowhere-ville and Emily asked if she could try driving. We had stopped for lunch along the shore (don't forget Qatar is just one big, I mean tiny peninsula), so I handed her the keys and let her practice going about 1000 yards up and down the shore. She did so well that I decided to let her try her hand at actual driving when we left. Here's how it went:

No, seriously, she actually did do pretty well. I just put that there to totally freak out my mom.

Don't forget that Emily isn't even 15 yet. Legal age for driving in Qatar? 18. But, my friends, this is a land of scofflaws and rebels! If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!!

Now before I get scolded by anyone, there was nothing around for miles and miles to hit (as you can see in the video), she barely got about 30 miles per hour and I got permission from all other drivers in the caravan and the father of Emily's friend even let her ride with us while Emily was driving. Until SHE got the bug and called her dad and asked if she could drive their car!!!

So we mark another milestone, albeit illegally. LOL!!

The Stuff of Which Life is Made

2010-02-11T17:17:00.006+03:00

Ok, due to an overwhelmingly guilt-inducing email from my sister, I have been dragged back to the blog. It's not that I don't love blogging and appreciate all of you who, for whatever reason, choose to follow and keep up with my life. It's just that it has become a blur lately centering on work, homework help, cooking and cleaning. Not exactly the stuff that makes for thrilling reading, but, I suppose, the stuff of which life is made up of. So here's an update on our life for the last month and a half. (Yikes, it sounds awful when I say that!)

The coolest thing right now is that I'm working through The Love Dare book with a group of friends. We are on Day 4 today and I think we are all being challenged and stretched already. The great thing about doing this with a group is that we are all picking up on different things and encouraging each other. This is a group of women whom I have been friends with for 14 years+, started from a chat room for women with kids about the same age. We live all over the place (well, okay, I get credit for being the most far-flung - the rest are in the States) and have all different backgrounds, but are bonded together after years of commiserating about infancy, the terrible twos, childhood and now teenage angst. We are all in different places in our marriages, but have found that most of us have our ups and downs. Marriage is hard at times. Doing The Love Dare is a way for us all to learn to put the value we place on our marriage before our emotions, which can be very fickle.

Daniel had an amazing trip to Oman. 5 days without Mom. I think it was much harder on me than on him. (Although, privately, I will admit the quiet was a little nice.) Rock climbing, mountain biking, snorkeling, and more were all on the agenda. Next year, in 8th grade, he'll be heading a little farther away probably to either Malaysia or Sri Lanka. That will really freak me out.

I'm getting braces. Braces. At 41. Unbelievable. But due to my overwhelming vanity, I'm only doing the top teeth right now because the orthodontist says they can be done by summer, so they'll be off for my trip home. And because my kids and I are all doing them, he's giving me the clear ones for no extra charge. Words cannot begin to express how excited I am about this. I mean, really. Wouldn't you be excited? Not.

Grocery shopping has been pretty good lately. At least I've been able to find most of the things on my lists. This week's big find? Instant chocolate pudding which I have NEVER seen here. I stocked up so I can make Hubby's favorite desserts - Oreo pie.

Hubby and I are locked in a battle to the death over whether or not to hire someone to help us clean house once a week. To my way of thinking, it would cost us about $35 dollars a week for 5 hours of help and since I'm working full-time I think it's a justifiable expense. He feels it's not necessary if we all pitch in and work a little harder. But truthfully I don't want to work harder. I'm tired when I get home and by the time I do dinner and help with homework and pick up, I'd be happy to let someone handle the general cleaning - dusting, bathrooms, mopping, etc. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

Summer vacation is just 124 days away. Not that I'm counting or anything.

I Think I've Got a Crick in My Neck

2009-12-31T09:23:00.004+03:00

Before I start, I just have to ask - do normal people say you've got "a crick" in your neck when you've strained your neck? After I typed the post title, I started thinking that I don't know if I've ever heard anyone say that outside my family. Being from Western PA, they've got all kinds of weird sayings and expressions that this might fall under. Like red meaning to clean or yuns being a strange version of y'all or a licking means a spanking.

As in, "Yuns better red up the living room or I'll have to give you a licking and I might get a crick in my neck!!"

I'm just a hillbilly at heart, it would seem.

But I digress.

As I was considering what kind of post to write for New Year's Eve, I thought I should write something kind of summing up the year. But then I realized that I had already done that. In fact, it seems I've spent the better part of the year looking back. Thinking about how my life used to be. Wishing for the way things were.

And isn't that just a waste of time?

The reality is that my life is now here in Doha. That I'm no longer homeschooling. I don't get to be a stay at home mom anymore, but instead I work full-time. I have teenagers who don't listen to me as though the sun sets and rises upon me anymore.

And that's life.

Life changes, people change, things happen. It's time to stop wallowing in missing my old life and embrace the changes that have come to me.

Living in Doha is providing us with opportunities we never wold have had in Miami. Especially given the current economy, we might well have been jobless had we stayed there. My children have the opportunity to receive a better education than I could have ever given them had I continued to homeschool. The school, paid for mostly be Hubby's company, is top-notch. We, eventually, hope to be able to travel to places we never would have dreamed of going while living in the States.

And even though I miss being the one to introduce my kids to new things, and spending every day with them watching them learn and grow, I know that putting them into school was absolutely the right decision. They are learning and doing things which I could never have given them. Some of the lessons have been hard (girls can be mean!), but all in all, it's been good for them to have people who aren't so lax and have higher expectations from them than "Mom."

Harder than giving up homeschooling even, was giving up being a stay at home mom. To be honest, I'm still trying to find the positive in it, but there are some things to be grateful for. My salary covers the balance of the kids' tuition that Hubby's company doesn't cover. Being at the school allows me the opportunity to get to know the kids my kids are with and to watch them interact with others their age.

And, no, my kids question me and challenge me and push my buttons every day. It's frustrating and maddening. But it's also part of the process of them learning to be adults. I want my kids to be strong-willed and independent. I am proud of them and how they deal with events in their life. They've been challenged and changed and stretched in every direction just as much as I have over the last two years and, for the most part, have come through it beautifully. I'm so proud of them. I know that the struggles we are having right now are like the butterfly emerging from the cocoon - the struggle of it makes the butterfly strong enough to fly on its own.

So my point to all this rambling? It's time to stop looking backwards. It's time to move forward, embracing where I am now. I've got to be excited about what the future holds and live each day fully rather than just making it through the day. I have a good life and it's time to make the most of it.

Or my mama might just come over here and give me a licking.

What Christmas is All About

2009-12-24T15:47:00.000+03:00

Merry Christmas to all of you!!

Reflecting Back

2009-12-23T23:45:00.003+03:00

It's the night before Christmas eve. The gifts are all bought and wrapped. The turkey is defrosting in the refrigerator. The (beef) sausage for the apple, sausage and cranberry stuffing is waiting patiently in the freezer. The house is as decked as it can be. The year is drawing to a close. And what a year it has been.

In January, we made the very difficult decision to end our homeschooling journey and enroll our two amazing kids in school here in Doha. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but we felt it was the Lord's leading. Two months later, it was my turn to leave home and enter the workforce. A job opened up for me in the high school office of the kids' school. It has been a perfect way for me to keep in touch with my children's lives, get to know their friends in some small way, earn some extra money and expand my social life somewhat.

Over the summer, we made the long, long journey through Saudi Arabia to visit Hubby's family in Jordan. It was a trip which none of us were looking forward to following last year's horrible experience when our kids and their cousins didn't get along and made everyone miserable. After 3 days of travel, wearing the traditional black abayas and head coverings all the way, we pulled into Amman, only to be sideswiped 5 minutes after entering the town. Not an auspicious start. However, we were happily surprised when everyone got along, was happy and enjoyed their time together.

Sadly, just weeks after we came home, we got the call that no one ever wants to get. Hubby's father passed away at the age of 91. He was a deeply loved man, a godly man. The knowledge that he was already in Heaven with the God whom he loved so offered comfort, but he remains missed every day. Knowing that the next time we go, we won't be seeing his smiling face, or hearing his words of wisdom, or feeling his strong hugs makes it almost impossible for me to think what it will be like without him. There will be such a void.

And this fall we moved to a new home. Our new home is perfect for us. It's a five minute walk to school, closer to friends, allows us to use the amenities at the school like the weight room, track, basketball courts, and pool, and is easier for us to maintain.

And so, again, it's been a year full of change. In fact, I wonder if we will ever again have a year that seems "normal." This life we have chosen certainly has its ups and downs. It's good to know that as we enter a new year next week, we have the promise that God will be with us. That He is always with us - through the good and the bad. The highs are made much sweeter by His presence, and the lows are softened by His comfort.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,

who have been called according to his purpose."

Romans 8:28

Chasing Contentment

2009-12-19T23:00:00.001+03:00

"I have learned to be content, whatever my circumstances."

Philippians 4:11

Let me start off by saying that I am still learning. In fact, I'd have to say I'm in the kindergarten of contentment school.

Living in Doha has been a challenge in more way than one. Besides the whole matter of adjusting the the culture change, there is another issue which is like a constant thorn in my side. You see, most of the people who live here (well, Western expatriates anyways) are here for the money. Salaries here are much higher than in the States. And there's nothing wrong with that. Heck, that's why we are here. Hubby is making much more money here than he would ever make in the U.S.

However, because of foolish choices we made in the past, we aren't really seeing the benefits of making all that money. We have quite a bit of debt that we are working hard towards paying down. Which means that almost everything we bring in which either doesn't go towards groceries, school tuition, or the orthodontist pretty much goes towards that cause. Which is a good choice. I know that, I really do. But...

It's really hard to remember that when almost everyone you know is going on fabulous trips all the time. Now, to understand why this is such an issue for me you have to know that I love to travel. If I won a million dollars, I would first tithe and then blow it all on traveling. Just a sampling of where some friends are headed to this vacation:

Rome, India, South Korea, Bali, Switzerland, London, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bethlehem, Dubai, Hong Kong, Barcelona and Vienna. There's not a single place I wouldn't love to go to.

But the worst? The one that is like sticking a knife in my heart? It's the people who are going home. They are so lucky and it stinks that I can't be happy for them. I'm just so jealous and borderline depressed. I mean, I know that in the grand scale of life, not being able to travel is so unimportant, but it's feels awful not to be able to do what everyone else is doing.

I find myself resenting being here. Resenting that we gave up so much back home and still aren't able to just do whatever we want, whenever we want. Resenting that I left all my friends behind. Feeling like we are the only people here who ever even think about money. Disappointed that life here didn't turn out to be all that we hoped it would.

And then today I found this quote on a friend's Facebook status message:

"I found out that the things that hurt us the most can become the fuel and the catalyst that propel us toward our destiny. It will either make you bitter or it will make you better." T.D. Jakes

I can allow myself to wallow in self-pity and become bitter by my disappointment or I can use this situation to draw closer to Jesus. I firmly believe that it is in the hard places where we grow to depend more on God and see His hand working.

I have to cling to the knowledge that God is in control of my life. That in whatever circumstances I am in, it's His will and He is working to accomplish His purposes. That I can trust Him to do what is ultimately best for me.

I hope that I can learn to find contentment in that. The knowledge that God is always working in my life, through the good and the bad, should help me to keep things in perspective and to stay positive.

My life is in His hands.

At Long Last...

2009-12-17T17:48:00.026+03:00

So I am a big, fat liar.

Back during our Thanksgiving/Eid break, I promised to have pictures of our new house up by the end of the week.

Well, that didn't happen. I'm lazy. Sorry. (I think subconsciously I was waiting for Christmas decorations to be up. Everything looks better with Christmas decorations, doesn't it?).

But, finally, here they are. Please be gracious and remember that we are still working on the place. We haven't painted and we still need to find some artwork to grace the walls. But I'm happy with how it is so far.

They are in pretty random order, but here goes!

Let's start with the important thing.

My bathtub.

Finally I can take a nice, deep, luxurious bubble bath. At the old house, I had an awful tub. It was too short, too shallow and too narrow. Trying to take a bath in it was like trying to take a bath in one of those banana split dishes. This one is fabulous!!

This is a view from our dining room to the living room. I love how our front door is all glass and let's in tons of light. Even though this picture is really dark. You'll just have to trust me on this one.

This is just inside the front door looking towards the dining room.

See what I mean about needing artwork on the walls? The whole wall along the right, which you don't see is plain, plain, plain. Blah!

This is the other half of the living room. Since we went from having a living room, family room AND loft in the other house to just having a living room in this house, it required a little creativity in trying to fit in the furniture. So this couch kind of divides the room in half - a tv watching area, and behind it, a sitting area for reading or visiting.

This is from the dining room into the bedroom area. That's our door to the right of the piano. Unfortunately, you won't be seeing the bedrooms. Well, your eyes probably consider themselves fortunate. It's not pretty back there.

This is our piano that we got for free when our church was going to throw it away. Free is good!!!

And here's the living room from the other angle. Don't ya just love my fake poinsettias there in the bucket? I do!!

This is our guest bath. I don't know why I thought you might want to see that. Sorry.

Here's my kitchen. I love it, but it just drives me a little crazy that the table and cabinets don't match.

Call me crazy.

Here's the kitchen from the other side.

See my cute little Santa cookie jar on the counter there? He was cause for much excitement in the house when I bought him. Not, as you might think, because of all the cookies he might hold or because he's so cute, but because...

Wait for it...

He came with a Wal-Mart sticker on him. Wal-Mart. My son was more excited about that than about the cookie jar itself.

It's the little things that make you happy, I guess.

And, here it is. The one item that is most beloved and appreciated in this house, besides my husband.

The dryer. (Do you hear a choir of angels singing?? I do.)

After 18 months of not having a dryer, this little gem is like manna from heaven. Oh, how I love it!!

Here's the front of the house. Well, there's a wall around the house, but here's the front from inside the wall. Doesn't that make you feel special? Like you got to go inside and get a secret scoop??

You should.

See me in the glass of the door there? Hi!!!

And here's our little yard'ish area. (I just can't bring myself to call it a yard.) The pampas grass was already there, but almost dead when we moved in. We've resuscitated it, made the rock border, added the bougainvillea in the center and put in hibiscus along the wall. Hopefully it will all fill in and just be gorgeous someday.

And that's it. Home, sweet home. I cannot tell you how our quality of life has improved since we moved here. Walking to work/school in the mornings. Seeing friends in the neighborhood (remember the bulk of houses in our neighborhood are leased by the school for faculty). Not being looked at like we have three heads. Being part of carpooling since we aren't on the "wrong" side of town. It's been great.

Life is good. God is good.

2009-12-02T16:52:00.003+03:00

So my daughter joined this group on Facebook. When I clicked on the link to see more, I thought it was just hysterical. The title?

You Know You Grew Up in the Middle East If: (italics things that I find especially true for us here in Qatar)

1. You can't answer the question, "Where are you from?" (And when you do, you get into an elaborate conversation that gets everyone confused and/or makes you sound very spoiled.)

2. You flew before you could walk.

3. You have a passport, but no driver's license.

4. You think California is cold.

5. You watch National Geographic specials and recognize someone.

6. You run into someone you know at every airport.

7. Conversations with friends take place at 6:00 in the morning or 10:00 at night.

8. Your life story uses the phrase "Then we went to..." five times.

9. You can speak with authority about the quality of various international airlines.

10. You feel self conscious around all white people.

11. You get offended when someone turns down an offer for food.

12. You live at school and go home for vacation.

13. You treasure pork and root beer as highly-valued commodities.

14. You have ever had to wait for prayer call to be over to finish shopping.

15. You are fascinated by any wildlife bigger than a gecko.

16. You know the true meaning of "football." (and in your mind can hear the shout, "GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!")

17. You know that it truly is a small world.

18. You have ever gone to the "hammam" or endured a "shamal."

19. You get all the jokes in Aladdin.

20. Rain is still one of the most wonderful sounds in the world.

21. You haggle with the checkout clerk for a lower price.

22. Your wardrobe can only handle two seasons: hot and warm.

23. Your school memories include duck-and-cover drills.

24. You are used to being stared at.

25. You think VISA is a document stamped in your passport, and not a plastic card you carry

in your wallet.

26. You call a chicken burrito a "shwarma."

27. Your dorm room/apartment/living room looks a little like a museum with all the "exotic" things you have around.

28. You've heard of or tried "hubbly bubbly."

29. You've woken up in the middle of the night to watch the Superbowl on cable.

30. You have sat in a "men's" or "women's" section in an airport, hospital, or restaurant.

31. You know the geography of the rest of the world, but you don't know the geography of your own country. (Isn't Philadelphia its own state?)

32. Your best friends are from 5 different countries.

33. You're spoiled. You know it. You're VERY spoiled.

34. You ask your roommate when the houseboy is scheduled to come clean.

35. You have never spent a summer with your friends from high school because you all go back to your home town/state/country June - August

36. Camping involves duning, getting stuck, and counting how many camels you saw.

37. A sports tournament involves flying to another country in the Middle East.

38. You remember when the first McDonalds in your country had its grand opening.

39. You got days off school for Christian and Muslim holidays.

40. You secretely wished the rulers of other Middle Eastern countries would die so that you got days off school.

41. Not being able to eat in public during the day during the holy month of Ramadan.

42. Traveling to the states required buying candy, CDs, and Abercrombie and Fitch clothing

for your friends back overseas.

43. You are used to giving directions according to landmarks, not street names.

44. It's normal to wake up and have four or more Pakistani men fixing your AC.

45. You didn't know how to do your own laundry until you left for college.

46. How come the houses in America don't have servants' quarters?

47. You are used to seeing Arabic commercials dubbed in British English about Lux soap, Carnation condensed milk and Dove shampoo.

48. Seeing police drive on the shoulder of the road and cut people is not unusual.

49. You understand that being addressed as "ma'am/sir" by Filipinos is not an insult.

50. You know someone is referring to Pepsi when they say "Bebzi".

51. Having a walled in, cement house is standard.

52. Ford Explorer sized cars seem small compared to Toyota Land Cruisers and Nissan Patrols

53) You could hear the call to prayer anywhere in the city.

53) You covered your lunchbox with SunTop stickers.

54) You ate La vache qui rit and thought the "Laughing Cow" was laughing because the cheese tasted so bad.

'Tis the Season (To Get Things Done!!)

2009-11-29T23:25:00.003+03:00

Well, the Thanksgiving weekend is almost come and gone. Luckily for us, we still have several more days of vacation, thanks to a handy little holiday you've probably never heard of called Eid Al-Adha. (Which, by the way, thanks to Wikipedia, I can now semi-reliably inform you celebrates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Issac out of obedience to God.) There are some perks to living in an Islamic country after all. Hubby is off work until Wednesday, while the kids and I are off until next Sunday.

Since that ends up to be a grand total of 10 days for me, I came up with a to-do list for the time-off. Here's a little snapshot (which means it's the things I can remember off the top of my head):

1. Landscape the front yard'ish area (I just can't call it a yard - it's a 15' x 10' plot in front of the house)

2. Finish organizing the house so I can take pictures and post them here on ye olde blog.

That's pretty much the gist of the list. I mean, it's broken down more specifically, but those are the two main basics. Oh, and bake Christmas cookies. Can't forget the Christmas cookies.

So today was the landscaping day. Hubby and I went off to the local plant market and picked up some plants that were very familiar to us, being from Miami - bougainvillea and hibiscus. The bougainvillea we picked is beautiful! It's shaped like a tree and has branches from differently-blooming trees grafted on to it so it's producing purple, orange and pink blooms. I also picked up some hyacinth bulbs that are just about to bloom - can't wait for that!!

I've been slowly but surely getting other areas taken care of. The books that were just laid onto the bookshelf flat have now been re-homed to a different bookshelf so that it looks neater. Christmas decorations have gone up. The master bedroom has gotten more orderly and pleasant looking. Artwork is finding a home on the walls. It's all starting to really come together.

Tomorrow I'm planning on going through the kitchen and organizing the shelves, laying down shelf liner, and cleaning the refrigerator and stove. I just don't know if I can contain myself, I'm so excited!!!

*Ahem*

Yeah, so I have to tell you about my new love. No, I'm not leaving Hubby. But I have been spending more time with a new friend - the rowing machine. Hubby and I have been heading over to the school to exercise in the mornings. Tired of walking endlessly around the track I headed up to the gym a few days ago and decided to try the rowing machine when no one was around in case I made a fool of myself. I loved it!! I'm enjoying the fact that I'm getting my cardio in and also working out my arms and back muscles. And it's great for me because I have and old ankle injury that rowing doesn't aggravate. I'm starting small and working to build up my endurance, but so far it's an exercise that I'm finding challenging and enjoyable. Hooray!!

Well, I should be off to bed - it's almost 12:30 am and I want to get up early to hit the gym. (Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd say!!! Actually I just want to get there and get done before Mr. & Mrs. Fit-and-Snobby get there at 8:30 to do their 294 mile run and spot each other with free weights. Ugh!) I'm going to try to take pictures this week and get them up here. Emily is having some friends over, so I'm motivated to have everything looking all beautiful all at once, LOL!!

A Nearly Perfect Day

2009-11-12T23:43:00.002+03:00

Today just about everything went right.

When I got in the car to drive to work, the thermometer in my car said...78 degrees!!!! I haven't seen anything below mid-80's since March, so that was so exciting for me. Of course, it was only 7:15, but it only got up to the mid-80's. A beautiful day!

The kids were off school, due to parent-teacher conferences being held from 8 to 12 this morning. Shortly into my work day, I realized that the teachers would be leaving school once the conferences were over. Trying not to get my hopes up, I started hoping that we'd get to leave early as well. I mean, face it. There's not much to do at a school when there are no students and no teachers. But no one seemed to know for sure. The office manager, who was hired just before me in the spring, didn't know what happened and the principal was down in the gym all morning for the conferences. We were bored silly up in the office, giggling and laughing and just hanging out. Eventually, we made our way down to the gym and asked if we'd get a half day too. To our surprise and delight, the principal said we would. Whoo-hoo!!

I decided to take advantage of the time off and run up to the mall to look for a pair of khakis (which she needs as part of the school's travel uniform for her trip to Amman with the Forensics team next week) and a plain black blouse and pair of pants, which she'll need for her performance piece. We found the khakis and a blouse, but before we found the black pants, we ran into friends. Emily stayed with them at the mall and hung out while Daniel and I went off to do the grocery shopping. By 3:00 I had gotten the groceries and (most) of her clothing needs for her trip. I was so excited as I had planned on having to do it later and now here I was, when I had planned on still being at work, having that done already!

Ibrahim agreed to drive carpool for youth group tonight, and then he ran an errand or two, so I ended up with over 2 hours alone in the evening. And do you know how I spent it? I did laundry (with a dryer!). I made a huge batch of meatballs so that I can make our favorite family recipe for spaghetti and meatballs tomorrow. I tidied up. And I had an amazing peace about it. It felt so good to just be able to care for my home in peace and not be in a rush and a feeling of being overwhelmed.

I miss just being a homemaker more than I ever thought I would. I've been so frustrated ever since we moved because I just haven't been able to get caught up and get the house fully in order. Today, I was reminded of how good it feels to just care for my home and family.

One benefit of living here in an Islamic country is that you get the Muslim holidays off as well. So the second Eid is coming up the day after Thanksgiving. (Please don't ask me to explain what Eid is, or why there are two of them - I honestly have no idea.) Now generally people get off 3 days for Eid, but since I work at the school I'll have off a week for Eid, plus Thanksgiving Day. With weekends, I'll end up with 11 days off!!!! I can't wait to just have some time to focus on finishing up all that needs to be done here at the house. Pictures will then be posted, I promise.

In the meantime, I'll keep plugging away and hope for more days like this one!

It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year!

2009-10-29T12:26:00.002+03:00

Here in Doha, that is.

Fall has officially arrived in Doha and with it a host of fun activities. People finally emerge out of their air-conditioned cocoons and life bursts forth with a whole host of things to do. Temperatures have cooled off to a relatively mild range of the mid-to high 90's (like I said, relatively mild).

This weekend, the kids will be joining their youth group of an overnight retreat in the desert. It sounds like a ton of fun - dune-bashing, swimming at the inland sea, a barbeque under the stars and sleeping in tents on the sand. While they are off enjoying that fun, Hubby and I will watching some of the world's greatest female tennis players face-off. The WTA season championship is held right here in Doha and we've got tickets for Friday night. One of the nice things about living in Doha is that things like this are dirt cheap. I paid about $30 for two really nice seats at the match. It should be lots of fun. I'm hoping to see at least one of the Williams sisters play, but it's a round robin, so I'm not quite sure who will be playing when we go.

Also going on this weekend, the inaugural Doha Tribeca Film Festival gets underway with celebrities like Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorcese coming into town. We probably won't be catching any of the showings, but it's neat to think that such exciting events are happening right here in Doha, a place that many people have never even heard of! There's also a walk for breast cancer that will be happening this weekend and several holiday bazaars coming up in the next few weeks.

Both the Doha Community Orchestra and Doha Philharmonic are just starting their seasons, as is the Doha Players (our local theater troupe).

Also exciting news in Doha is that our first IMAX movie theater just opened up! (Not that we ever go to IMAX movies, but it's good to have if we decided too).

Last year, we left town in late October and returned in early December. Then there was settling back in and Christmas and we didn't get to experience any of the fun of this time of year in Doha. It's nice to be able to have so many great things to choose from!

Whew! It's Been Quite a Week!

2009-10-28T14:30:00.002+03:00

This week has been filled with a big high and one big low. I'll get the low out of the way first so that we can move on to happier things.

On Saturday evening, Daniel was telling me that he didn't feel well. He said he'd been coughing (though I hadn't noticed anything) and that he just didn't right. I shrugged if off, but let him stay home the next day as he did feel slightly warm in the morning. When I went home at lunch (thank goodness we moved so close to the school!!) he felt warmer, but still didn't seem to badly off. By the time I came home from school, he was significantly warmer and miserable. We thought it best to get him checked, so I dressed him (literally - he couldn't dress himself, poor baby!) and Hubby took him to the ER (he's become the official parent to accompany kids to the doctor since he can often communicate better with them than I here in Doha). His fever was 104.6 when he arrived, but soon reached a high of 105.8! He was given an injection of something designed to bring down the fever, which it did. He was diagnosed with the flu (swine or otherwise, they are testing so we'll never know) and given a raftload of drugs, including Tamiflu.

Happily, he has not needed even one dose of fever-reducing medicine since that first injection. He's felt much better ever since. He did stay home from school the rest of the week though. (They are off school today and tomorrow for Professional Development days). I figured since he was still coughing he didn't need to be spreading that all around. I'm just happy that he's well and back to his old self.

On the upside of the week, we got.....drumroll, please...A DRYER!!! A dryer. A dryer. A dryer. It's an amazing invention, you know. The first load I did was a load of towels. When you have been using scratchy, stiff towels for a year and a half, the feeling of softness of a load of towels just fresh from they dryer is amazing. I just kept rubbing my hands all over them and giggling.

Then I did jeans and they came out soft and warm and weren't able to stand up by themselves. And they were done in an hour!! I got all 8 loads of laundry (I'd been saving it all up for the big arrival!!) done in less than 24 hours. That would have taken me days and days to do before since I'd have to line dry everything and wait for it to dry so that I could use the dryer rack for the next load. I was so excited and I'm so thrilled.

But, we are in Doha, and that means that there's always a little something that goes wrong. The guys who delivered it weren't putting in a vent hose. So I asked them about it and in their broken English they informed me that it only puts out a little heat, so it's not necessary.

Excuse me??

But they could not be persuaded and claimed to not have any on them. Finally I let them leave, figuring it's just easier to install it ourselves than deal with the people. Since I was desperate to do laundry, I just shoved the machine over to the back door of the kitchen, opened up the door and vented it directly to the outside. Ingenious, aren't I?!

A Million Tiny Pieces (of Information, That Is)

2009-10-20T11:11:00.002+03:00

Wow - it's done. We moved.

We moved fast. We moved hard. We moved until we were ready to drop and were left crying, in fetal position, on the crowded, dirty floor of our new home. (Of course, that may have just been me. Hubby is just slightly more in control of his emotions.)

And the house? It's fabulous! It's about half the size of our previous house, but it's so much better designed. Here are some things I love about it:

The dishwasher is right next to the sink where it belongs, not across the room. The bathtub is wide enough that I don't have to have my arms pinned to my sides when taking a nice hot bubble bath. Oh, and the hot water heater must have some kind of control on it, because I haven't been burned once!! Amazing!! There's tons of cabinet space. Their are closets. Closets, people. You never realize how much you appreciate something until you don't have it.

We are still working on getting everything in place, but once that's done, I'll post some pictures. I'm excited to show it off, I just don't think you'd enjoy seeing the chaos that it is now.

Moving on, yesterday was a big, albeit unpleasant one, for my kids. Braces went on!! Emily just got hers on the top, bottom to come later. Daniel only got them on his two front teeth for now, pending some necessary extractions. But I'm amazed. He has always had a huge gap between his two front teeth and in just a matter of hours, it was almost gone. The doctor said it will be completely gone by Halloween. How is that possible?! He picked red (his favorite color) and Emily got green and orange, the closest she could get to the colors of University of Miami. Believe it or not, I'm considering doing it as well, but just can't get over having braces in my 40's. Any thoughts?

I bought my Thanksgiving turkey last night. No guarantees I'll find them later, so figured I'd better grab one now. Pumpkin pie filling, however, still eludes me. I'm thinking I'll do pecan pie instead, but it just won't be the same. Sigh...

Exciting news for Emily! She has joined the forensics club here at school and tried out and made the travel team!! She'll be traveling with the team to tournaments here in the region and competing against other international schools. She's so excited!! We are really proud of her and excited too, knowing that forensics is a great way to improve public speaking skills and make her into a more well-rounded person.

Daniel, too, will be getting to travel soon. As part of the curriculum here at the American School of Doha, all middle schoolers participate in something called Week Without Walls. Last year, the kids started school during that week, so Emily didn't get to travel, sadly. Daniel did take part, but 6th graders stay here in Doha and do service projects. This year, he'll get to go to either the United Arab Emirates (Dubai/Abu Dhabi) or Oman in February. Either one will be exciting. They'll be doing adventure camps and other activities meant to stretch them and help them grow. It's a great opportunity for him.

Well, that's our update from here. It's been a busy week or two, but I'm hoping things will start slowing down now and we will get all settled in the house and in life in general!! Thanks for hanging in there with me!!

Finally, Resolution!

2009-10-12T21:14:00.002+03:00

So several weeks ago I mentioned that we had found a house we wanted to move to. It was a perfect house for us for a number of reasons.

Ever since then we've been in a holding pattern. Hubby's company, upon being given notice that we were moving, informed him that they expected us to fulfill the contract which THEY had signed even before we agreed to move into the house. The THREE YEAR CONTRACT!!!! This, of course, after they told Hubby when we moved in that he could take this house permanently and move out when he found something we liked better. Now, remember that he took this house before I even arrived in Doha, so I had no say in the matter.

It seems that with the slowdown of the world economy, Hubby's company is also feeling the squeeze and was determined that no properties they rented would sit empty. So we have been going back and forth with them in regards to whether or not we would be allowed to leave the house. Finally, today, we got final permission to leave and move into the house of our choice. Hooray!!

I'm so excited. I really think this is going to be an excellent move for us and here's why:

1) We will be thisclose to the school. Two minutes. I timed it tonight. That means I can drop off the kids quickly during our weekly half-days, we could walk to school once it cools off, if one kid has an after-school activity I won't have to sit there and wait for an hour, but can easily run home and back when they are done.

2) We will be surrounded by school staff. This means loads of kids, mostly American or Canadian. It will be really nice for me too, to have neighbors who are friendly. Not like the man currently to our right, whom I've met a total of three times, each one to complain about something that wasn't even our fault. I don't know everyone in the neighborhood, but I know a lot of them and I think it will be great.

3) We'll be more centrally located for things like carpools and such. Where we are now, there's only one family from our church anywhere even close to us. In our new home, we will be right smack dab in the middle of all the carpooling families so the kids can more easily be part of the "group."

4) The house won't require as much upkeep. I think I mentioned that our current house is big. About 4000 sq. ft, with 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, two kitchens (one inside, one outside), a loft, dining room, and both a family room and a living room. The new house is 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, with just one roomy kitchen (with place for a dishwasher right next to the sink, instead of across the room like here!), and a large living room. I'm not sure how I'm going to fit everything in, but it will be a relief not to have to spend all of our free time cleaning.

So we are hoping to be able to start moving our things into the house over the weekend and be fully moved in by the end of the month. It's going to be a busy few days, since we are hiring movers to move just the big furniture and will have to do the rest of it bit by bit in my car. But I'm excited and can't wait!

Thank Goodness THAT is Over!!

2009-10-02T23:29:00.003+03:00

Well, we survived our week of virtual school. Just barely.

(In case you are behind the times, the government of Qatar closed ALL schools in the country last week due to H1N1.)

The first day or two was crazy. Teachers and students were both trying to figure it out - how to communicate solely through websites and email, how much work is too much, how to make it work when you have more kids than computers. It was nuts. But as the week went on, everybody learned and adapted. Now, with regards to my kids specifically, Emily definitely handled it better than Daniel. She got her work done every day and even managed to have the most active week ever socially. She was out every night except Sunday!

But then there's Daniel. He struggled with understanding exactly what was expected of him. So did I, truth be told. One of my main complaints is that each teacher did things a different way. You had to look everywhere to make sure you weren't missing things. I've just sat down and made a list of all he's got to do by the time school resumes on Sunday (yes, Sunday - don't forget in Arab countries school goes Sunday-Thursday) and it's quite a bit. He'll be a busy boy tomorrow!

But in talking with a friend of mine about how the week went the other day, she pointed out that, while the kids may not have gotten as much done academically as they would have normally, they learned other valuable skills. They learned to be more self-reliant. They learned to be bold enough to speak up when you don't understand and seek out the teacher's help. They learned to help each other out (without cheating and giving each other the answers!!). They learned flexibility and self-discipline.

It wasn't a week I'd want to repeat again and I still don't feel it was necessary. I think the government completely over-reacted, as if swine flu would disappear within a week. But it's good to know that in the event of an actual emergency, their education would be continued with minimal disruption.

This is Not Working Out As Expected!!

2009-09-28T17:56:00.002+03:00

So I mentioned that the kids were off school this week in my last post.

Well, not exactly.

Our school is very high tech. Which is great. Usually. But they decided to have kids do "virtual school" this week while they are home. Assignments are being posted on our school website where each child is enrolled in their individual classes. Kids are to go online, do the work, and submit it electronically. That way we won't need to make up the days we are missing on weekends or **horrors** in the summer. So that's great. However, the implementation of that idea is causing quite a bit of frustration.

For one thing, internet access can be unreliable here. It's generally good but, like everything else here in Doha, things go wrong with no explanation or warning. Also, sporadically throughout the day, the servers for the website (located in Holland!) have gone done, leaving people in the lurch.

Each teacher is doing their assignments in a different way, leading to confusion amongst the kids. Assignments are not being posted until mid afternoon, but are expected to be done the next morning, meaning kids are staying up late trying to get things done in time. Instructions are not clear, neither are due dates. Some teachers are seeming to forget that the kids have 8 different teachers assigning them work and are really pouring it on with short turn-around times.

I feel like I should be better equipped to deal with this, having homeschooled my kids for so long. But in that situation, I was giving the assignments, knew the due date, knew what was expected and was not at the mercy of 16 people who are trying to figure this virtual thing out for the first time with my kids as guinea pigs. Sigh...

And I'm dealing with it as both a parent trying to help her kids get everything done, correctly and on-time, and also as the front-line person in the high school, getting all the calls of complaint and confusion from parents and students.

And then today I hear that we may also be forced by the government to remain closed next week as well. If that happens I will bawl my eyes out!! Already I'm not understanding the purpose of closing the school for one week, as if the H1N1 virus is just going to disappear in that time. It's been a very unpopular decision and I'm hoping the government wakes up and lets schools reopen as soon as possible.

Ok, enough venting for now. Something more uplifting next time, I promise!

Why is Swine Flu Out to Ruin My Life?!?!?

2009-09-26T21:18:00.001+03:00

So, the last couple of weeks before school let out for the week-long Eid break were a nightmare due to swine flu. About 10 percent of the kids were absent and I got to be the lucky one who had to compile the lists of who was out, why they were out, if they had any siblings in the elementary or middle school, etc. It consumed half my day!

Now, the government of Qatar has opted to force all schools to remain closed for ANOTHER WEEK!!! Of course, just the kids get to stay home. Staff and faculty have to report to work. Yuck.

And yet, I'm reminded by this little ditty not to place blame on our friends, The Pigs.

I'm Trying to Stay Calm, But...

2009-09-24T08:33:00.002+03:00

I'm really excited!!

Our big goal for our Eid break was to look for a new house to determine if we should stay where we are or move. There are so many reasons to look for a new place. The biggest thing, though, is that our kids are really isolated here in our current house. We are in a very conservative Muslim neighborhood that looks at us like we have 3 heads. One neighbor has been somewhat friendly, an older Jordanian woman, although we have had our ups and downs with her. But there are no kids around.

Also, I've decided that this place is just too much for me to keep up with. Even though Hubby helps out a lot, I hate the fact that we spend most of our free time cleaning. The house is about 4000 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, 3 large sitting areas, an outside kitchen and maid's room that are constantly covered in sand and dust. Ugh!

So anyways, I think we've found the perfect place. It's just blocks from the school (the kids can even walk home once it cools down a bit more), it's in a neighborhood that is chock full of staff from the school so it would be kid-friendly (not to mention more Lori-friendly), it's much smaller but the rooms are still spacious, there's a place for (drum roll, please....) a DRYER!!!, it has built-in closets, and it has a nice space for a garden right in front of the picture window in the living room.

So now we just wait to see if: a) we can get out of this house easily enough, b) the landlord at the new place will accept our offer of 12,000 riyals (which is how much our housing allowance is and we don't want to go over that) even though he asked for 14,000 riyals and c) everything else works out.

Please say a quick prayer!!

Safari Shopping - Score!!

2009-09-23T11:18:00.003+03:00

Oh, it was an exciting day today!! I went to do my normal weekly grocery shopping and found some really exciting things.

Fresh chicken breasts - No IQF chicken breasts over here. If you buy frozen chicken breasts you get a 2.2 pound lump of freezer-burned horrible chicken breasts. For some reason, fresh chicken breast are impossible to get at the butcher counter as well. You can find legs, thighs, gizzards - everything but chicken breasts.

Calgon - I. Cannot. Wait. Calgon, take me away! 'Nuff said.

Clorox Clean-up - Please no lectures about using natural cleaners. There's nothing like some good ol' bleach to get things really clean.

Wheat Thins - Crackers seem to be hit or miss here. Usually I can only find Ritz (blah). Triscuits are my real dream, but they only seem to come in Rosemary and Olive Oil flavor generally.

Lean Cuisine Fettucine Alfredo w/Broccoli & Chicken - yumm-o!

Sadly, there are always some things that I can't find when I need them. Today's list of elusive prey included alfalfa sprouts, some American brand of frozen pizza, chocolate chip ice cream, and more. And, frustratingly enough, I once again saw the cleaning fluid for Swiffer Wet Jet, but they don't sell Swiffer Wet Jets themselves, nor the cleaning pads to go with them. Grrr...

Some Encouragement For Homemakers

2009-09-22T23:12:00.002+03:00

Since working, I've been finding myself less and less devoted to making my home a haven for my family.

However, we are now in the middle of looking for a new house and it's stirred ideas of all that I could do in our future home. Somehow our house here has never really felt like "home." Maybe it's because it's too big, maybe it's because we haven't ever painted, I don't know. But now that we are looking at other places, generally smaller places, I'm feeling a little more...domestic.

So I've been going through some of my favorite homemaking sites. There's such a great wealth of information on the Internet. I hope you can find some things that not only encourage you, but also give you practical ideas on making your home a better place for you and your family.

The Hip Homemaker - loads of great ideas and articles on tons of topics

Creative Homemaking - lots of tips on decorating, cooking and more

Old Fashioned Homemaking - very encouraging articles for today's homemakers

Homemaking 911 - recipes, articles, tips and more

Ladies Against Feminism - for the Christian woman, a great site

Proverbs 31 Homemaking - all kinds of helpful things for the Christian homemaker

Heart4Home - creative, fun and practical ideas

As we enter a new season, let's make a commitment together to put more effort into caring for our homes and families!

2009-09-11T14:11:00.002+03:00

8 years ago, at just about this moment, I was preparing to go to my weekly Bible study. I had the radio in my room set to the local NBC channel and was listening to the "Today" show, when word came across that a small plane had hit the World Trade Center. Just minutes later, we realized the awful truth.

Our country, our fellow citizens were under attack. Confusion reigned. Fear was everywhere. What would the next target be? How many planes carrying terrorists had been grounded, and allowed those men to walk free to attack another day? How many people had lost their lives?

Would life ever feel normal again?

And, as it should be, time has softened the pain and made the events of 9/11 recede in our memories. But today, on the 8th anniversary of the worst terrorist attack ever on American soil, let us just take a few minutes to think about those who were killed on that day. They were mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters. They were you and I.

2,997 lives lost. 2,997 families who were left forever scarred. Those lives deserve to be remembered.

Ramadan and Ramblings

2009-09-04T16:31:00.003+03:00

I'm so touched by your encouraging comments. Thank you so much. I'll continue to blog when something interesting happens (this, more often than not, is the problem - not much interesting going on in my life), but I hope you'll understand if it's not as often as I used to post.

So, I haven't mentioned it, but we are smack in the middle of Ramadan, the holiest month of the Islamic year. It's a time of fasting and self-reflection for Muslims. From sunrise to sunset, they can neither eat nor drink. But when you live in an Islamic state, you are affected too.

Last year we were so excited for Ramadan to arrive as it meant that Hubby would be working only half days. Little did we realize that during Ramadan everything shuts down in the afternoon! We spent almost every afternoon sitting at home bored to tears.

This year has proved to be different since we are in school. School ends at 2:30 (I still work until 3:30 though) instead of 3:00. By the time we get home and get schoolwork done, things have opened back up again. It's much less disruptive this year.

At the end of Ramadan, there is the Eid holiday. Then 40 days later comes another Eid holiday. I think Hubby gets 4 days off for both of those, while the school will have a week off each time. We were planning on painting the interior of the house during the first Eid, but now Hubby has talked me into waiting until the second holiday. It seems that there is now a glut in the housing market, and now after years of overinflated prices things are coming down. We like our house, but would rather be in a compound with other kids around. So we agreed to do some house-hunting for the next two months and either move or paint this house. I don't know what will happen. Like I said, I like the house and it's only 10 minutes from school so it's an easy commute. But if we find something affordable where the kids can go out and be with other kids more often, we'll move in a heartbeat.

Thank you also for your condolences on the loss of my father-in-law. It's been a hard week and I am desperately wishing I could be in Amman to support my husband. He'll be home on Sunday evening and I can't wait to wrap my arms around him.

It's Been a While, Hasn't It?

2009-09-03T13:50:00.000+03:00

I'm so sorry to have just dropped off the face of the planet like that. Here's a quick re-cap of all that's happened in the last few weeks and then maybe you'll feel like giving me grace. :)

School started on the 23rd. It was a big day for us - Emily was moving up into high school and Daniel into 7th grade. Since I work at the high school, I was anticipating it being a busy day myself. Little did I know how crazy it would get. Remember back last in the spring when I was having problems with a coworker? Well, she chose the first day of school, only the most hectic, crazy time of the entire school year, to quit. She finished out the day, wiped all school-related documents off her computer, and left.

The end result is that I've been doing double-duty, but that I will be moving into her position (which pays more money!). The funny thing is that, even with doing my job AND her job, I'm still not that much busier than I was when I was just doing my job!!

Emily and Daniel seem to both be settling in well in their new classes. High school is proving to be a lot more work for Emily, but she has risen to the challenge and is showing herself to be a devoted student. Daniel seems to be the lucky one so far with very little homework assigned yet. I'm sure it's coming down the road, though!!

This week, though, it's been exhaustion and grief which has kept me from checking in with you. On a very sad note, Hubby's father passed away on Sunday evening. At 90, he lived a long, full life. He was a sweet and godly man who treated me like one of his own children and we miss him so much. Hubby left that night for Jordan and the funeral was yesterday. He'll be home this weekend. If you think of it, please pray for my mother-in-law. They were married 52 years and her life is going to be so very different now. Although she lives with my brother-in-law, he isn't home very often due to his business so she'll be spending days and nights alone. It's going to be a very hard transition for her.

I do want to do a better job of keeping up with the blog, but to be honest, I just don't know if it's of interest to anyone anymore. It started off being more about homeschooling and homemaking, but now, since I started working, seems to have become more and more mundane ramblings about my life. And I often wonder why anyone would be interested in that?!?!

Solitude

2009-08-18T20:34:00.002+03:00

When you hear the word solitude, what comes to mind? For me, I think of something along the lines of Thoreau's "Walden," one solitary person in the middle of nowhere all alone. But that's not easy to find in today's world.

And yet, I'm a person who needs solitude. Sometimes I just NEED to be alone. It recharges my batteries. Not that I'm anti-social or anything. I am actually very friendly, I swear!! It's just that I get overwhelmed when there is always someone there. Even if it's just someone in the same room, but not interacting with me, it drains me.

I guess I just feel freer when I'm alone. Free to just sit there and stare out the window. Free to talk to myself (which I do when I'm trying to work things out in my head). Free to read in peace and quiet. Free to do whatever I want without someone judging me or interrupting me.

I had one of those days today. I started work the other day and today was a particularly annoying day. Nothing huge, just annoying. So I got in the car, drove to the store, picked up a magazine and just pulled over on the side of the road and read. All alone.

Back in Miami, I had a multitude of options when I wanted to be alone. I would often go to the library and find a corner to retreat to. Other times, I'd go to the local park and read under a tree. But here in Doha, I don't really have many options. There are no libraries. Parks, when it's cool enough to be outside, are packed unbelievably full. So I have to be creative.

Being alone is different from being lonely. I think the ability to be comfortable with yourself when you are all alone is a mark of maturity. If you haven't tried it lately, give it a shot and see how it improves your mood.

“Language... has created the word "loneliness" to express the pain of being alone.
And it has created the word "solitude" to express the glory of being alone.”

~ Paul Tillich ~

Back to Reality

2009-08-14T20:39:00.002+03:00

And so vacation is over.

We returned to Doha late yesterday afternoon. The return trip through Saudi Arabia was more pleasant, but still not something we want to repeat. From here on out, we'll be flying any time we want to leave Qatar.

Once home, we discovered a thick layer of sand/dust covering everything in the house. Apparently a week-long sandstorm struck while we were out of town, oozing in through vents and cracks around the doors. Everything, and I mean everything needed to be wiped down, or changed, or washed.

I've gotten about half-way through the laundry. It's at times like this that I really miss having a dryer. The whole procedure would take much, much less time and ironing wouldn't be necessary for every little thing. Someday I'll get one. Someday...

Then, of course, came the necessary re-stocking of the grocery pantry. Ever since I (self)diagnosed myself with PCOS I've been studying up on the best way to deal with it and, lo and behold, it seems to be eating healthy and exercising. (Darn it!! Why couldn't, just once, the cure for some disease to be sitting in front of junk tv while scarfing down crunchy Cheetos??) So, as we drove back home, I made up my shopping list. I'm trying to focus on whole, natural foods and going to be phasing out processed foods. I'm still promising myself that I'm going to kick my Pepsi habit, as I know that one of my biggest problems. However, I can proudly report that I lost 5 pounds during my time in Jordan. Whoo-hoo!! Now if I can just maintain the habits I was following there - no late night snacking, plenty of fruit and very little between meal snacking as well.

Tomorrow I want to finish up the laundry, mop the second floor to get rid of the final layer of grime, finish dusting (it's everything I tell you!!), take Daniel to the fish store to replace the fish which all died during our vacation (only the nasty ugly ones were left who were eating all the other ones though, so we aren't TOO heartbroken), and go brunette. Yes, I want to dye my hair darker. Hubby doesn't know it yet, and he likes it lighter, but I just can't stand looking at it anymore. It's brassy and gold and I hate it. Anyways summer is pretty much over once I start work on Sunday, and blond is for summertime, right?

Interesting Facts About Saudi Arabian Hotels

2009-08-12T07:35:00.003+03:00

- Much like American hotels have Gideon Bibles, Saudi hotels have copies of the Koran, along with a prayer rug

- Some Saudi hotels have signs on the ceiling pointing towards Mecca, so Muslims know which way to pray

- Toilets may not face Mecca

- Toilets have, in addition (hopefully!) to toilet paper, little sprayers to clean oneself with. Kind of like the ones by your kitchen sink.

- Apparently the tv's are merely decorative because we have yet to figure out how to turn one on

- Beds are as hard as sleeping on a slab of concrete

- So are the sofas

- If you are sleeping on the sofa, don't be surprised if there are multiple bars poking into your back.

Photos from Our Trip

2009-08-10T08:19:00.001+03:00

In backward order (because I stupidly loaded them that way and now I'm too lazy to re-arrange them), here are some photos from our trip so far:

This is Daniel with his cousin at the Treasury in Petra. Daniel is in red.

Here they are after having climbed to the highest point of Petra, the Monastery.

Here's me by the banks of the Jordan River.

And here's Emily at the Jordan River as well. Can you tell how stinkin' hot it was? About a billion and three degrees or so! Still it was an amazing experience.

Here's a sign with the explanation of why they believe this is the true baptism site of Jesus. I'm hoping if you click on it you will be able to read it.

This is where they say the baptism site is. As I think I mentioned, it's now away from the Jordan River, which has changed course over time, but you can still see the remains of the ancient churches which were built to commemorate the site.

Here are Emily and Daniel at Mount Nebo, the place where Moses looked out over the Promised Land.

This staff with a serpent wrapped around it commemorates this spot where Moses saw the Promised Land. You can't tell from the photo, but the entire sculpture is made up of small votive candle holders and, according to my father-in-law, you used to be able to see the sculpture lit up from the candles all the way from Jerusalem. Air quality has diminished now to the point that it isn't possible, but it's neat to think about.

Here's Daniel at the Roman Amphitheater in downtown Amman.

Miss Emily during our very looooooong drive through Saudi Arabia. She occupied herself for a bit by taking silly shots of herself. I like this one the best.

Driving through Saudi Arabia (yes, it looked that barren ALL the way!!) we passed a small pick-up truck carrying some unusual cargo - a camel!!

That's it for now. I'll try to post some more pictures after we get home. We head out tomorrow. Even though we are all going to miss Amman and our family here, I think we are all ready to get home to our own place and normal life. We'll drive into Doha on Thursday night and I'll start work again (grrrr...) on Sunday so I'll have a couple of days to unpack and restock the house before getting back into the grind.

Have a great day!!

Quick Glimpses

2009-08-04T18:57:00.004+03:00

Pictures will have to wait (sorry, Claire!) until I'm home and have time to get Hubby to help me find them and sort through them, but I thought I'll give you a long overdue update on our time here in Jordan.

We have been having a great time so far. The temps, while still warm in the 90's, are so pleasant compared to the standard 115+ we were having in Doha. As I mentioned before, the climate here is very different to Doha. As we drove through town this morning, the words "riot of color" came to mind. Now, to many people, Amman would hardly be called a lush garden. But to my sensory-deprived Doha brain, all the trees and flowers (many of which we had in our garden in Miami) are a sight to behold. There are hibiscus and bougainvillea, geraniums and sunflowers, daisies and blue daze to gawk at. There is an abundance of jasmine and honeysuckle to draw you in as you walk through the streets. It's amazing.

We've been to some amazing places since we arrived. One of the first places we visited was the baptism site of Jesus. Even though it was about 1342 degrees it was still an incredible opportunity to be there. The spot where they believe the baptism occurred is no longer on the banks of the Jordan River as it has changed course over time, but there are ruins of ancient churches built on the site which you can still see. We did go onward to the banks of the Jordan River though. It was surprisingly narrow, maybe about 20 feet. Daniel collected some water from the river, but the maid (my sil's, not my imaginary, wished-for maid) threw it away because she thought was just a bottle of dirty water. Grrr.....

We also visited an ancient Roman amphitheater right in the heart of Amman. You may not know that Amman is the ancient city of Philadelphia, mentioned in the New Testament. Anyways, there's an extremely well-preserved amphitheater downtown that is still used to this day for concerts and plays. You can just feel the history as you walk through the place.

Tomorrow we are planning on going to the Dead Sea. For those who may not know, it's the lowest place on earth and the water has such a high concentration of salt that you float effortlessly. It's fairly difficult to go underwater, but you wouldn't want to if you could. Just a splash of the water in your eyes can burn badly and a drop in your mouth would make you want to gag. We've gone before, but not since Emily was a baby so this will be a nice treat. Since that time, they've built an amazing water park there too so we'll be hitting that tomorrow as well. Should be a welcome change from the city and heat.

Tonight, though, we will say goodbye to one of my sisters-in-law and her family. They are relocating to Canada for a year or two. They all seem to be excited about the move, even the three kids. We wish them well and hope that they settle in quickly and make new friends easily. We know, all too well, how difficult it can be to move to a new culture, especially with kids.

Well, I'm off now to listen to the sounds of family laughing, Arabic cooking shows on tv (think Food Network, but you don't recognize any of the ingredients!!), and heat rising off my brain. Did I mention that Arabs are extremely resistant to air conditioning???

Ah, Bliss!!

2009-07-27T18:19:00.002+03:00

We arrived safely in Jordan and it's like heaven next to Qatar. There is greenery, scenery and blue skies.

I've got to keep this quick as I'm on my brother-in-law's office computer and he's waiting for it, but I'm happy to report that all the problems of last year have vanished. All the kids are getting along fabulously, everyone is much less stressed and we are having a great time.

I'll check back in when I can.

If You are Epileptic, Don't Drive Through Saudi Arabia

2009-07-22T21:46:00.002+03:00

We are two days into our voyage through the deserts of Saudi Arabia. It’s been mostly drudgery, with never-ending stretches of sand. However there have been a few note-worthy moments.

Right after crossing the border, Emily noticed a herd of camels. Sure enough, I looked up and there were about 100 camels on either side of the road. It was so neat, but what surprised me was the fact that there were camels like I’d never seen before. There were black camels and white camels and camels with patches. I didn’t know that they came in any color but brown!!

As the sun went down and we neared Dammam, where we stayed the night, we found that the Saudis use an unusual method of marking roads. Instead of street lights, they lined the road with barrells and hung lights from them. Then they would put big flashing arrows whenever the road bent or lanes shifted (which was often). The combination of all these lights, in addition to the multi-colored lights which many large trucks sport along their side, was reminiscent of Las Vegas. All right at eye level. My eyes felt like they were being assaulted. I kept thinking that it’s a good think I didn’t inherit epilepsy from my mom or I would have been in full-on seizure mode!!

Today has been spent driving through little tiny towns in northern Saudi Arabia. Our GPS is so lost! Nothing shows up but a little arrow representing us. Emily, of course, has been flaunting the law and refusing to wear her headscarf, though she is wearing her abaya. Let me tell you, those women who wear the headscarf must have talents I don’t possess. Mine keeps slipping off my head and looks nowhere near as elegant as many of the women I see. Apparently I just have no talent for anything above my head since I can never get my hair right either.

We just pulled into Arar, our stop for the night, so I’m going to sign off to look for the hotel. More updates from Amman!!

Almost Time

2009-07-20T14:34:00.002+03:00

Hopefully 24 hours by now we will be in Saudi Arabia. We leave tomorrow around lunch time, or so the plan goes. You have to take into account that Hubby has to work in the morning and will have to try to extricate himself from work, even though his boss told him he could leave at 10 am. I would be SHOCKED if that happened.

And even when he comes home, we will then have to endure the traditional "Hubby runs around packing at the last minute" rigmarole. I hear you now, "Why doesn't she just pack for him?" Because he likes to do it himself, so I let him. But he, being a bit of a procrastinator, always puts it off until the day of the vacation to pack his clothes. I'm going to encourage him to do it tonight, but I'm not generally successful in that arena.

Anyhoo, back to the trip. We plan on stopping tomorrow night in the city of Dammam, then continuing on the next day to Arar, then arriving Amman around lunchtime on Thursday. It's going to be a loooooonnnggggg trip. I'm so grateful for iPods and iTunes. That may be our saving grace. The worst day will be Wednesday - about 600 miles driving time and all of it on Hubby's shoulders since women aren't allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia.

I'll check in if any of the hotels we stay at have internet access and let you know how it's going. We don't have internet at my in-laws, but we are planning on getting it installed for them while we are there so we will be able to talk to them via Skype from now on. Depending on how soon we can get it done, I'll be checking in sporadically throughout our visit.

We plan on going to the Dead Sea and Petra during our time. We are also looking forward to finding some things that we can't find here at the stores. Last year I scored real vanilla, celery seed, and vanilla instant pudding (not to mention pork products! whoo-hoo!).

Ok, back to work for me now. Lots to do before we head out. We have a housesitter coming to take care of the dog and the fish and water the plants, so I can't leave the house a mess. :( That would be so much easier!!

Think on this..

2009-07-19T08:04:00.002+03:00

"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there.

There is no such thing."

~ C.S. Lewis ~

Thankful Thursday

2009-07-16T13:33:00.002+03:00

Oops, now see I was so excited about our upcoming drive through Saudi Arabia that I went ahead and posted about it first, forgetting that it's Thankful Thursday. So today will be a "double post" day!

I'm going to be totally honest and say that I'm not in one of those places today where I'm in a happy mood. I mean, I'm ok, but overwhelmed with trying to do things for our trip, 110 degree hot and windy weather, a sandstorm that keeps finding cracks into my home creating general ickiness, and missing home. But I'm going to be faithful to God's call to give praises at all times.

I'm thankful that I'm saved. God redeemed me even though there was no worth in me. Nothing I did brought me to that state of salvation, but it was all through His reaching out and grabbing me.

I'm thankful that I'm His. God has taken a girl who was lost and given her a sense of identity - that of a princess. I know I'm His and He is always there for me. Before I was saved, I was always trying to fit in everywhere. I was one of those kids who was desparate for approval and would go along with what everyone else was doing just to have friends. Now I know that I have His approval and love and I don't need to worry about other people. I still struggle with this from time to time, but when I sit back and remember who I am, that goes away.

I'm thankful that God is wiser than me. I often am not able to see what He's doing and feel hurt and confused by the way events play out. But as I look back over the course of my life, I see His hand in things that, at the time, seemed terrible. But while they seemed bad at the time, God took those things and used them for His glory and my growth.

I'm thankful that I have His word. Even though I fail to take full advantage of it, the Word of God is such a blessing in the life of a believer. It's one of the best ways to get to know God - what His heart is like and what He wants from us.

I'm thankful that I know that God is never going to give up on me. I fail so often, in so many arenas, that I know that if I were God, I would have walked away a long time ago. But, like the patient parent that He is, He just picks me up, dusts me off and encourages me to try again. With my whole heart I want to please Him, but the honest reality is that I often make choices which I know sadden Him. But I know that it is my heart that He looks at. Like David, I often mess up, but I'm still after God's heart.

So that's it for me today. I am blessed to have had you visit. May you be blessed too as you read other women's words about what they are thankful for. Be sure to visit Spiritually Unequal Marriage to see more Thankful Thursday posts. Thanks for popping in!

Our Upcoming Trip

2009-07-16T09:39:00.002+03:00

So, yes, we are driving to Jordan. And, for those of you who are a bit rusty in geography, that will involve driving through Saudi Arabia.

My mother is freaking out. (Stop reading now, Mom!)

The Saudi border is about 2 hours or less from Doha. We are hoping that we won't be held up long at the border since we will be arriving in early afternoon in the middle of the week. Shouldn't be a busy time.

Once we draw near to the Saudi border, Emily and I will have to don abayas, those long, loose black robes you see on many photos of Middle Eastern women. Hubby says he's been told we don't need to wear headcoverings, but should wear scarves at our neck. That's much preferable to wearing headcoverings, which I thought we would need.

We are planning on hanging towels in the windows so that we can have a bit more privacy and freedom as we drive through. We don't want to wear the abayas the whole time, so hopefully those towels will allow us to have the freedom to wear our normal clothes while we are driving and just slip the abayas on when we have to get out of the car.

We'll spend one full day and two partial-days in Saudi, so it will be interesting. Well, that might be a stretch. With the exception of the one big city (Dammam) we'll drive through, we will pretty much be in the middle of nowhere. And poor Hubby will have to do ALL the driving, as it is illegal for women to drive in Saudi Arabia.

It should definitely be an experience. But I think we will be happy we did it. For one thing, it will save us big bucks on airline tickets. For another, we will have our car at our disposal while in Jordan. But the 2 1/2 day drive? Well, here's what we have planned to keep everyone happy.

Both kids have iTouch's so they are each getting a small allowance to download things from iTunes. They can choose applications, music, tv shows or movies to watch. I'm also downloading for each of them a book that they've been wanting to read to keep them occupied. We've also picked up a few movies to watch in the car. (Boy am I glad we bought the car with a dvd player!) We got Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Night at the Museum II, Mall Cop, Bride Wars, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and Mousetrap.

We'll pack a cooler with snacks and drinks and load up the car with pillows and away we'll go!

Preparing (In More Ways than One) For Our Trip

2009-07-15T13:10:00.002+03:00

We will be leaving next week for our visit with my husband's family. The upcoming days will be spent in packing, cleaning house (we'll have a housesitter while we are away so...), and generally running around like crazy.

But amid all the physical preparations that need to take place, we are also trying to prepare our hearts.

Last year's visit was, well, painful. While I love my husband's parents and siblings, there was a lot of conflict last year between our children and some of their cousins. There were several arguments amongst the grownups, which happily my husband was able to play peacemaker for. There were plans for a family wedding that fell through. The whole trip was very stressful, very emotional and very hard.

This year, my children are naturally reluctant to spend time with their cousins. They still vividly recall the hurt feelings, the unkind words. Hubby and I have been trying to explain to them that, as Christians, we have the responsibility to be forgiving and to continue to try to show Christ's love. None of Hubby's family are believers, save one niece, and we really want to demonstrate the love of God to them while we are there.

But I have to admit that, deep down, I still harbor hurt feelings as well. You can insult me and I will be able to move past it. But, like a Mama Bear, hurt my young and I go blind with rage. I know it's irrational of me to be angry with children who are too young to realize what they are doing, but those feelings are still there.

This trip will be different, I know. Circumstances have combined to mean that we will be spending less time with everyone except for Hubby's parents while we are there, due to one reason or another. On top of that, we'll be driving (more on this later), so we will have our car with us and can be more independent. Still, there is apprehension.

So a big part of my preparations this week needs to be prayer. Prayer for forgiving hearts. Prayer for healing of wounds. Prayer for things to be better this year. Prayer for the ability to clearly show Christ to our family.

The other stuff is the easy part.

Thankful Thursday

2009-07-09T08:46:00.002+03:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I participated in Thankful Thursday. Not because I have not had much to be thankful, but because life has just been busy and has slowed down my blogging efforts. So the first thing that I'm thankful for is that life has slowed down enough now that I have time to start blogging more regularly!

One thing that I'm hugely grateful for is the restoration of relationship between my husband and daughter. For whatever reason, we went through a period where she was very angry with him and showed it readily. There seemed to be no logic to it and it was very painful to Hubby and I to watch. However in the last month or so, that relationship has been healed, the anger has dissipated and life has become much happier in our home.

I also have to take a moment to share how thankful I am for my husband. He's been so understanding about a huge range of things in our lives. He is wise and patient. When I'm stressed out, he knows just what I need. When I'm over-emotional (happens all the time!! LOL!!), he helps me to maintain an even keel. He's amazing.

And, even though I whine about it, I'm thankful that we are here in Doha. Yes, yes, I know that I complain frequently about life here. But the reality is that, had we stayed in Miami, we'd be in very serious trouble right now. My husband's firm there has laid off more than half their employees, reduced the remaining employees to part-time and cancelled all profit-sharing. We could not have withstood that kind of financial hit. Hubby had been hinting about looking for work in the Gulf area for years and I always shot him down. But God opened my heart to it at just the right time.

I guess I am pretty blessed. Life here in Qatar is odd and challenging at times, but if I've got a happy family and my God, I can really have no complaints. :)

Thanks for stopping by. Visit Lynn at Spiritually Unequal Marriage to read more Thankful Thursday posts.

Cultural Differences

2009-07-08T15:15:00.002+03:00

It's funny how different cultures place priorities on different things. Something that is considered minor in one place can be extremely offensive in another. It seems strange to us when people have differing opinions and don't seem to see things our way. I know that's how I feel over here sometimes. I just shake my head and wonder why they don't "get it."

One thing in particular that bothers me over here is the complete refusal to place children in car seats, let alone in seat belts. I can't tell you the number of times I have witnessed a mother holding an infant in her arms in the front seat (of a car with air bags, no less!). I frequently see children climbing around in cars, standing up, hanging out windows, and the worst, hanging out of a sun roofs. Today I saw a child, maybe two years old, standing up in the front seat of the car driving next to us, The father was driving and the baby was just hanging out the window and climbing around. I couldn't believe it. I think that the penalty for this here is about $50. It's something that is never enforced however and the only people I see buckling up their kids are the Western expatriates for the most part.

But the big news around here the last few days is that U-turns are no longer allowed on a small road running between two malls. There's really no other way to go east from the mall except to drive another mile or so down the road to the next intersection, so it's very common for people to come out of one mall and make a quick U-turn to get back to the intersection that's right there. Well, the police have decided that they are going to put a stop to it and have begun fining people for it. The fine? 6000 riyals. That's $1500, people!! $1500 for a U-turn on a little-used road, but $50 for not protecting the lives of your children. Like I said, sometimes I just shake my head and wonder.

Another thing that seems incongruent to me is the censorship that takes place on one of the channels here. It's not a local channel, I think it's based in Saudi Arabia maybe. It actually is one of my favorite stations here because it plays a lot of American shows that I enjoy. But there have been many times when we've been watching a movie and the F-bomb comes blaring out, or some other equally offensive word. I'm so used to that kind of language being bleeped out on US channels that it's always a shock to me to hear it on TV. But what's funny to me is that while there is no censorship on language of any kind, the slightest little peck on the cheek will be cut. Now, I've got no problem with racy scenes being cut. But seriously, I've seen very jumpy cuts made when I KNOW that it was just a quick little peck. It just is funny to me that language doesn't bother them at all, but a little kiss between even married couples on TV is taboo.

Even stranger to me is that lack of censorship on the radio. Not that I'm promoting censorship (although I think a little is a good thing, I'm not a Nazi), but if you are going to censor TV so heavily, why are some of the filthiest lyrics allowed to play on the radio. There's only one English radio station in Qatar and some of the music they play (hip-hop mostly) is simply disgusting. But then they will cut away straight from that to play the call to prayer. It would be hysterical if it weren't so sad, honestly.

I try to remind myself that each culture is different and that one needs to be careful of thinking that "your" culture is really superior. There are things that are worthy in each culture and there are many things that I would like to change about American culture. But some things are just so ingrained, that just seem to be so sensible, that it seems crazy that other people don't see it.

Summer Daze

2009-07-07T15:24:00.003+03:00

Well, it's the midst of summer here in the Persian Gulf and that means hot and boring. Not much to do around here, particularly when most of your friends have packed up and left town for the summer. Here's a snapshot of what we've been up to:

** We've been busily thinking/preparing about our upcoming trip to Jordan. Well, maybe not so much the Jordan part as much as the "trip" part. That drive through Saudi Arabia is going to be a 3 day process (well, two half-days and one full day). That's a long time to be cooped up in the car with two kids. I'm thanking my lucky stars that we got a car with a DVD player in it and we'll be stocking up on movies to watch on the way. Any recommendations?

** Yesterday we met some friends at a local cafe where you can purchase ceramics and paint them. They'll glaze and fire them for you and you pick them up in a week. We had a nice time and are looking forward to collecting our new works of art. And speaking of ceramics, yesterday Emily gave Hubby and I a gift which she had made from some clay that I bought her last week. It's a set of salt and pepper shakers. We watched "Fireproof" a few weeks ago and in one scene, a character explains how he and his wife are like salt and pepper. Different, but complementary and always together. It was sweet of her to think of us like that and to make a concrete reminder that, though we are different, we are better and stronger when we are together.

** We went to the mall on the 4th of July. I think we were all a little homesick, so Hubby decided to treat us with dinner out and ice skating for the kids. (The rink is inside the mall.) Several months back a teenager committed suicide there by jumping from the fourth floor onto the ice below. Some say it was over a girl, others say it was over a bad school report card. As I stood there looking down, I was overcome with emotion thinking about how vulnerable teens are to their emotions. We are having Emily read "Preparing for Adolescence" right now and she came down the other day in tears. She told me she couldn't finish the chapter she had started because it was all about emotions and depression. I remember vividly the wild swings that my moods put me through when I was a teenager. I pray that Hubby and I will have wisdom to guide our kids through these turbulent years and that they will learn to turn to God when it's too overwhelming.

** I have self-diagnosed myself (Dr. Lori at your service!!) with PCOS. I have many of the symptoms, none of which I particularly want to go into here because they aren't very attractive honestly. Anyways, I picked up a book about dealing with PCOS and it seems that the best thing is to eat a healthy diet and exercise. Dang!!! That just keeps popping up in my life. But seriously, women with PCOS are more likely to develop diabetes and heart disease so it's something to take seriously. I'm working on making healthier choices and have begun to take a multi-vitamin and saw palmetto, which I understand can reduce some of the effects of overproduction of testosterone in women. I'm making changes slowly and deliberately rather than just rushing into it, hoping that it will be more long-lasting change if I take my time.

Well, that's about it from here. Hope you are enjoying your summer and relishing these days!!

Seriously???

2009-07-01T11:09:00.003+03:00

I went grocery shopping this morning. One of the things on my list was ground beef so that I could make a) burgers for the 4th of July, and b) koosa mahshi (stuffed squash). I went to two different stores and neither of them had ground beef. Nor does the other store which is closest to me but I never go to because it's disgusting. And, of course, the somewhat-Western-style grocery store that is nearest to me closed down three days ago for some unknown reason.

Seriously?? Should it really be that hard to find ground beef? (Ok, I have to fess up and admit that there was "ground beef" at one store, but it was LOCAL and I'm not buying that. Who knows what's really in it and it's an odd pale color. Usually we buy beef that is imported from New Zealand which is widely available.)

Oh, in other grocery shopping news this morning, I found pasteurized eggs. Now, back in the States, eggs are all pasteurized so this is no big deal for most of you. But for here, where I've NEVER seen that, and eggs generally come with remants of bird poop and sometimes feathers on them, this is a big deal. In fact, the packaging for the eggs declares it to be "break-through technology!" Of course, there was only one package in the whole store, so I don't expect to see them again any time soon.

This seems like a good time to think about some good points of living in Doha. After all, no place can be ALL bad, right?

No hurricanes.
No blizzards.
Clothes dry very fast in the summer. (Of course, if I were in America I'd have a dryer, but let's stick to the positives, ok?)
Men often let women go ahead of them here.
Free (basically) healthcare, quality notwithstanding.
Cheap gas - I fill up my Chevy Tahoe for just $15
I can get cheap falafel. I don't like it, but I can get it cheap if I want it.
Um, yeah, that's about it.

Home in Doha

2009-06-24T12:56:00.004+03:00

Well, it's summer here. (And technically everywhere else in the Northern Hemisphere if you want to get picky about it.) But summer in Doha is different from anywhere else I've ever experienced summer.

Here in Doha, virtually all the Western expats flee the summer heat. The day after school was out, half the people we knew were leaving town headed for one destination or another. Most were going home.

Home. It's strange to think that this place where I live is home, but only a temporary one. Yesterday, as I was pondering what to change my Facebook status message to, I briefly considered, "Lori is tired of feeling like she lives in temporary lodging." Our house is wonderful, but it still feels like it isn't really "our home" yet.

We haven't painted, something that makes a huge difference and warms up a home. There are still, over a year later, boxes that we haven't even opened. (They are all in the extra bedroom. We know what they are, but we just don't need them. Mostly old photos and things.) I'm still living with curtains that Hubby bought from the people that were here before for convenience, but I haven't found anything I liked, so I live with ones I don't. It seems like so many things don't have a "place" but with no closets, that's to be expected, I guess.

We have made some strides. In the past few months, we've either bought or been given some furniture from friends who were leaving town. The best purchase was a set of two shelving units with doors. They fit perfectly in a little alcove I have and are now serving as my pantry. Rearranging some of the other furniture has helped make the place seem less...empty.

I think some of the reason we haven't really invested more time and money into making this place feel more like a permanent (or at least long-term) home is that we would like to move into a compound. Compounds are kind of like gated communities. They have pools, gyms and other facilities, but the best part is that there are lots of kids usually. In our neighborhood, there are no kids, at least not that we can tell. Everyone drives in and out of their gated driveway with very little contact. We'd love to have a neighborhood where the kids can walk to a friend's or just go out and ride their bikes.

The problem is that most of the compounds are way above our price range. We already pay a little extra over and above our housing allowance and really can't afford to go much higher. Moving to a compound would probably mean moving to a smaller place (goodbye 5 bedrooms/5 bathrooms with a loft!!), but would be worth it if the kids were happier.

So in the meantime, we wait. We live in this house, but I don't think any of us think of it as a home yet. Maybe that's something that comes in time, or with enough effort and investment. I don't know. Even if we move, I don't know if that will feel more "homey" to us. I hope that by the end of summer we will have made a decision whether or not we will move or stay here. I think that a year and a half is long enough to wait to be at home.

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

2009-06-23T21:29:00.003+03:00

Dear Blog,

I know, I know. I've been a neglectful blogger of late. I've allowed my busy personal life to take over, keeping me from our wonderful relationship. Even this last week since I finished work for the summer, I've still ignored you in favor of cleaning my house, doing laundry, cooking meals.

And I know it is hurtful. I know you feel unloved, unappreciated. Your visitors are down, and I don't even want to think about your Technorati rating. I'm sure it must be devastating to have fallen so far.

I'd like to ask you to forgive me. And to give me another chance. I promise to be more attentive, to share with you the silly little things that happen to me here in this crazy place. Maybe, just maybe, we can rebuild what we once had. Please give me another chance.

Sincerely,

Lori

One. More. Day.

2009-06-16T23:22:00.002+03:00

Tomorrow is my last day of work for the summer. Whoo-hoo!!

Sleeping in, hanging out, being a full-time homemaker again - I can't wait!

We will be staying here in Doha until late July when we'll head on out to visit family in Jordan. Hopefully this summer's visit will be a smoother one than last year's.

Oh, and just on a side note, the bigwigs took us support staff out for lunch today. It was yummy and we had a nice time just hanging out, but what I really want to mention is the temperature. When we got in the car to leave, about noon, the temperature was 120 degrees!!!

So, um, we'll be staying inside a lot the next few weeks!!!

This is Why I Love the Blogosphere

2009-06-13T21:19:00.003+03:00

I've had an emotional week. Working at a school, this is what I would imagine is the busiest, craziest time. Factor in the fact that teachers and students all pull up stakes and escape town as soon as the final bell rings and it's a recipe for utter madness. I've been coming home so exhausted I can barely think.

On top of that, Emily and I have been dealing a lot with loneliness. We both have lots of acquaintances, maybe even friends, but not that one real, true friend - the one you call just to gab, the one you call when you are crying, the one you call when you need help.

Then there's the issue of everyone going home and we are staying here. We'll be going to Jordan later in July, but it's kind of hard to be stuck here in Doha when almost everyone you know is enjoying life back in the States (or wherever they hail from).

So I've been having a big pity party the last few days. In fact, I am still trying to kick out the last few guests.

But then today I visited a couple of my favorite blogs, the two Jess's. (Jess'es? Jess'?) Jess over at Mourning into Dancing just got the devastating diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. And yet she wrote a post today that helped me put my troubles in perspective. She helped me remember that I have the most important things - my health, my family, a relationship with Christ. I have a home and enough food to eat. We are blessed indeed.

Immediately after reading her blog, I clicked on over to Making Home. This Jess had written a beautiful post on the importance of suffering. No one likes it, but it's necessary in our lives, particularly as Christians. Suffering is often the tool by which God chisels away the imperfections in our lives. Without it, there would often be no growth. Jess made the point that we often do all we can to eliminate any pang of pain sent our way, but that actually can negate what God is trying to do in our lives.

I'm so thankful for wise, wonderful women who can uplift others through the ministry of their blogs. Though I've never met either of these amazing ladies, I'm grateful for the things they have taught me and for how they lifted me up out my pit today.

Notes from My Life

2009-06-12T06:26:00.002+03:00

So I have no big story to tell today. Life has been pretty routine around this place. Here is just a sampling of what's going on.

* The kids had their last day of school yesterday. This means I am officially the parent of a high schooler, but I'm choosing not to think about that!! They had, I think, a very successful year (well, half-year anyways) as their initiation into the world of school. Some hard lessons were learned, some friends were made, and I think they are looking forward to next year. Well..maybe they will be in a month or two!!

* I still have to work for the next week. Ugh. Things are definitely better on the work front, but I am just so looking forward to the summer break. Sleeping in, not having to get dressed up, having a relatively clean house. I actually have to work today, even though it's Friday which is normally a weekend for us. At least I get to go in half an hour late!

* I have come to the conclusion that I care way too much about what other people think about me. Why do I get so worked up about the people who don't absolutely fall in love with me? There is this couple at church who I feel kind of dismissed by. I've tried to help out in their ministry for a year now, but am only given menial jobs to do - nothing of any import. They throw parties that we aren't invited too. They are polite and friendly, but if someone else walks up their attention immediately goes there. And what bothers me most is that it bothers me. They certainly aren't required to invite me to their parties or anything else. I don't know why it weighs on my so much. (And if any of my Doha friends know who I'm talking about, please don't say anything to them - this is MY issue of needing to be liked that I need to get over.)

* We are actively looking for a new house to live in. Although I'm really quite happy with our house, the kids, especially Daniel, would like to be in a compound so he could go out and play with other kids, ride their bikes around, etc. I'd love that for them too. The only thing standing in the way of that is money. Housing is super-expensive here in Doha. Most houses in compounds start at around 15,000 riyals a month. That equals out to $4120. Many are as much as 20,000 riyals ($5500). Our housing allowance is 12,000 riyals a month.

We looked last night at another house in a very pretty little compound. It was 13,000 riyals, but that's what we pay now, chipping in the difference. However, it was way too small, the built-in appliances were too small and looked like they were from the 70's, there was water-damage to the laminate counter-top and the kitchen smelled from it, the upstairs flooring was horrendous and it was only three bedrooms, three bathrooms (we now have a 5/5). Any one of those things would be acceptable, but together? We decided to pass.

That's the biggest stuff, I guess. I'm off to go get ready for work.

Five. More. Days.

Summer To-Do List

2009-06-05T19:51:00.004+03:00

12 more days until I have the summer off. 12. More. Days.

Ahhhh...

Here is a list of what I want to do over the summer:

*Sleep late

*Take bubble baths

* Read

* Have a clean house

* Breathe

* Sleep late

* Have clean clothes

* Rearrange the furniture

* Look for another house to move to in our price range (which won't be easy!)

* Sleep late

* Shave my legs more than once a month

* Grocery shop when less than 90% of Doha's population is also trying to grocery shop

* Pick up trying to learn Arabic with Rosetta Stone

* Make my children perfect

* Lose 75 pounds in two months

* Explore the shops of Doha

* Sleep late

I'm wondering if my apparently over-arching goal of sleeping late might affect getting all the other things done.

Oh, well, too tired to think about that right now. LOL!!

Cheap Grace

2009-06-02T12:39:00.003+03:00

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran who opposed the Nazis, wrote the following in his book "The Cost of Discipleship":

"Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ... Let him be comforted and rest assured in his possession of this grace -- for grace alone does everything. Instead of following Christ, let the Christian enjoy the consolations of his grace! That is what we mean by cheap grace, the grace which amounts to the justification of sin without the justification of the repentant sinner who departs from sin and from whom sin departs. Cheap grace is not the kind of forgiveness of sin which frees us from the toils of sin. Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves."

This will be my last comment on the issue of Dr. Tiller's murder. I certainly don't feel that churches should not be warm and welcoming places. We need to love each other and pick each other up when we fall, not kick each other.

However, that doesn't mean we can choose to ignore sin. It's not about judging other people. That's God's role. But we, as the body, are called to confront sin when it is in our midst. In I Corinthians 5, Paul very clearly tells us that it is our obligation.

It is actually reported that sexual immorality exists among you, the kind of immorality that is not permitted even among the Gentiles, so that someone is cohabiting with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you have been deeply sorrowful instead and removed the one who did this from among you? For even though I am absent physically, I am present in spirit. And I have already judged the one who did this, just as though I were present. When you gather together in the name of our Lord Jesus, and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of our Lord Jesus, turn this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast affects the whole batch of dough? Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of dough – you are, in fact, without yeast. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. So then, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of vice and evil, but with the bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. In no way did I mean the immoral people of this world, or the greedy and swindlers and idolaters, since you would then have to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Are you not to judge those inside? But God will judge those outside. Remove the evil person from among you.

Look, I want to be kind and loving and forgiving just like anyone. I would hate the thought of having to confront someone with their sin or of having to go further and having to remove them from fellowship. But Paul doesn't really leave us that option. And if we as Christians say that we accept the Bible as the inerrant word of God, then it's not something we can opt out of. As much as we hate it, as much as we know that we too are sinful, it's in the Bible.

I know that I am sinful. But I think that there is a difference between me stumbling and falling and repenting and between those who knowingly, willfully, continue in sin unrepentantly. And I think a church that ignores that fact does so at their own peril. Perhaps had they instituted church discipline and called him to repentance, Dr. Tiller would still be alive.

I Don't Even Know What to Say

2009-06-01T09:15:00.004+03:00

As many of you know by now, an abortion provider has been murdered while serving as an usher in his church in the United States.

I just honestly sit here not knowing how I feel.

First of all, I am ardently opposed to abortion. The fact that this man was a provider of especially heinous "late-term" abortions makes his work even more sickening. The murder of unborn babies, particularly those that could have survived outside the womb, those that could have been given up for adoption - well, it's horrifying. It's even more horrifying that our nation allows such an abominable practice to go on.

But how can we condone killing someone? Does God think that's okay when someone who is admittedly slaughtering baby after baby is murdered? On the one hand, I have to say no, that God would want us to work through the legal system. That taking the life of a murderer is murder as well. I'm honestly shocked that someone could do this in the name of God. But on the other hand, I have to wonder how many innocent lives will be saved now that this man is no longer going to be there to end their lives before they even have a chance to live them.

But what really upsets me about the entire story is that this man, this abortionist, was a churchgoer. That he was killed in a church. I never thought of abortionists as churchgoers before. It honestly never occurred to me. I just think to myself, how did he justify in his heart what he did for a living? How did he stand before God in His own house, probably reading His word and singing songs of praise, knowing that he made his money off of killing God's precious children? What could he possibly say to himself to make him think it was okay?

Even more troubling to me is what his pastor thought about the matter? It's not like it was a secret. Dr. Tiller had been the target of pro-life protests for many, many years. And it's not like he was just casually visiting the church. He was serving as an usher that day. His wife was in the choir. They were obviously plugged in to the life of the body there. How did the congregation, the elders and the pastor not call this man on what he did for a living? How was he allowed to participate in the life of the church body when he did what he did?

Clearly all of us sin. I am not saying that I'm perfect or that you must be perfect to be an active member of a church. But when one willfully, knowingly, openly commits grievous sins (like the murder of innocent children over many years) there must be some kind of accountability. There must be some kind of stand on the part of God's people.

Dr. Tiller's attorney issued a statement following his death. "This is particularly heart-wrenching because George was shot down in his house of worship, a place of peace." When I read that, I didn't know if I should laugh or cry. Because the very man he was referring as deserving that place of peace is the same man who ripped children from their mother's womb, God's specially designed "place of peace."

I am saddened for the doctor's family. I am not suggesting that we kill all those who disagree with us, or who we see as sinners. I'm just honestly trying to wrestle with the issue myself and trying to understand how the leadership of that church welcomed this man in. It's a sad statement with regards to the acceptance of sin in the body of Christ.

My Dream Grocery Shopping Trip

2009-05-30T11:58:00.002+03:00

I believe I've mentioned a time or four hundred how frustrating grocery shopping can be here in Doha. Yes, it's the richest country on the planet, but they can't seem to get things on the shelves with any regularity. A friend of mine told me of an experience she had at one of the local markets frequented by Westerners. A certain item was stocked rather irregularly - as soon as it got on the shelves it was cleared out by eager buyers. And then she couldn't find it for a long time so she asked the manager why. His reply? "Oh, madame, we couldn't keep it in stock. As soon as we got it, it would sell. We had to stop ordering it!"

So...the object is apparently to stock things that will sit on the shelves and not sell. Interesting business philosophy!

Anyways, here's my list of things that I dream of one day finding on the shelves here:

* Crystal Light Lemonade

* Digiorno Pizza

* Bryer's Peach Ice Cream

* Pepperoni (ha!! that one will NEVER happen!!)

* Newman's Own Viniagrette

* Captain Crunch Peanut Butter Cereal (this is really Daniel's dream!!)

* Totino's Mexican Style Party Pizza

* Salted peanuts in the shell

* Yogurt covered pretzels

* Hot dog chili (of course, since we don't have hot dogs that may not be that rewarding!!)

* Poppycock's Just the Nuts

Surely there is more, but such treasures are already fading from my memory. :::sigh:::

Anyone want to send me a care package???

Thank You for Your Prayers!

2009-05-24T12:37:00.002+03:00

Over the past week, I've been sharing with you some difficulties that believers have been facing here. Six families whom I know personally, but as many as 30 total, were given orders to leave the country last week.

This morning, we got word that the prayers of people around the world were answered and those deportation orders have now been cancelled!! I just wanted to let you know that your prayers worked. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Drano is Starting to Look Really Good (And Other News)

2009-05-23T13:52:00.003+03:00

So, I realized I haven't mentioned my epic battle with death lately. If you recall, I recently went through a bout of the plague. At least, that's my opinion. Actually, I'm convinced that it was whooping cough, after being tipped off by an alert reader. I laughed then, but upon reading the symptoms, I'm pretty sure that is what I have (had). I do feel infinitely better, but still have coughing fits a couple of times a day, which generally end in me gagging. Very attractive.

Right now, the worst part seems to be my throat. I don't have a sore throat or anything, just this icky, thick coat of slime there. (Aren't you so glad you stopped by today?!?! LOL!!) I can just feel it when I swallow or lay down. It's really nasty and nothing I do seems to help. So I'm thinking that Drano might just be my only option to clear up that crud. The only thing stopping me is that, apparently, I might die. Well, I'd probably die. So I guess Drano's out and I will just have to struggle along with my slimy throat. Anyone have any ideas that don't involve industrial-strength chemicals?

In other news, it's hot here. Really hot. Yesterday we got in the car after church (around noon) and it was 117 degrees. It's so hot the toilet tank in my bathroom is hot from the water inside of it. It's so hot I can hang my clothes out to dry and they are done in 20 minutes. It's so hot...well, you get the picture.

I'm hoping that things have settled down here with regards to the number of families leaving town. In case you missed it, throughout this week several families have gotten called in and been asked (well, told, really) to leave the country. The only common denominator is their faith. The number of families from our House is 6, but there are more from other Houses. I'm thankful that they are handling it with grace and still able to show love when they are being treated unfairly. The last youth group of the year was the other night and it was a real tearfest. Half the group will be leaving, as well as the couple that is in charge of it. Next year will definitely be a time of rebuilding.

And in my final little bit of information that you probably couldn't care less about, we're going shopping today for a dress for Emily. Not just any dress, mind you, but her 8th grade prom dress. The thought of my baby going to any kind of a prom, let alone WANTING to wear a dress just knocks me for a loop. I really can't believe that she'll be going into high school in just a short while. It was just yesterday that she was asleep in my arms, that she was swinging on the playground, that she was taking naps. Oh, how I long for the days of naptime!!! Don't you all agree that teenagers should still take naps? Perhaps it would improve their mood a bit? Just an idea.

Well, that's the update around here. Please continue to pray about the House situation if you remember. I've heard stories that it may not yet have completely played out, so their are other families who may still have their lives turned upside down.

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

Thankful Thursday

2009-05-21T06:28:00.004+03:00

(Ok, some of you may have gotten just a blank post if you are using a feed reader. Sorry! I was doing this early in the morning, still half asleep and I hit enter too early!!)

I have so much to be thankful for today. Though this has been a tough week, I still know Who is in control. It's been emotionally draining, but I have a Comforter. It's been scary, but I have a Protector. It's been sad, but I have a Healer.

I'm not at liberty to say all that's going on. We are fine as a family. There's no illness or anything like that. But many of our friends have had a traumatic shock this week and it's hurt us as well. I had posted about it late last night, but in the harsh light of day it seemed to be a bad idea. The post has since been deleted as I'm afraid it may have already compromised us, so I apologize for the vagueness of all this. There were a few glitches with my Blogger account that kind of freaked me out and I'm still not sure what happened.

But the thing is, through all the unsettling stuff that's been going on, I'm growing. I'm learning. I'm going deeper. And I know, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that one way or another, I'll be taken care of. For that I am truly grateful.

Be sure to stop by Spiritually Unequal Marriage for more Thankful Thursday posts!

So How Hot Does It Have to Be...

2009-05-19T20:32:00.003+03:00

On the way to school this morning Daniel lost a tooth. A nice, big chunky molar.

Since we were in the car and I didn't really feel like carrying a bloody tooth around with me all day, I told him to leave it on top of the little storage box in between the front seats of the car. Then tonight we could leave it for the "tooth fairy" (which he's much too old to believe in but if it means he gets money out of it, he's quite happy to pretend he still does!).

So we get in the car this afternoon after school. I crank the air up and glance at the thermometer in the rearview mirror - 108 degrees. That's the outside temp.

Daniel suddenly screams, "My tooth!!!"

I look down and see that the tooth has shattered into 4 separate pieces. Apparently it got much hotter than 108 inside the car. So the question is, how hot does it have to be to shatter a tooth into little shards?

Or maybe the real question is does the tooth fairy have to leave money for 4 teeth?!?!

A Shift in the Paradigm

2009-05-12T17:34:00.000+03:00

I've been doing a little thinking lately and I've realized that I've been handling becoming a "working mother" all wrong. Since I started working about a month and a half ago, our home life has basically been allowed to go to seed. Here's just a little snippet of what it's been like lately:

"Mom, there aren't any clean forks!!"
"Honey, do I have any clean shirts?!"
"Uh, Mom? Why do your legs feel like a Sasquatch?!"
"Sandwiches for dinner again???"

It's not been pleasant.

I've been falling into the trap of our day - allowing the urgent to take precedence over the important. I feel like I do nothing but run from one fire to another, trying to put them all out before my house burns down.

Last week I was thumbing through one of my Elizabeth George books, Life Management for Busy Women. Boy do I feel like I need this book more than ever! I was reminded that, even though I am now working, my priorities should not, can not, change. They must remain now and ever more God first, husband second, children third, home fourth and anything else after that. I need to start to take steps to reclaim my life and not let myself get overwhelmed by the busy-ness I now encounter.

Even though I'm now what the world refers to as a working mother, I have decided not to think of myself in those terms. Instead, I'm trying to reteach my brain to think of myself as a mother who works. It may seem like silly semantics, but I think it will help me to remember that my first call is to my family.

The whole reason I'm working is for my family. Financially, it's no longer feasible for me to be home what with our real estate investments having gone south and having put the kids into a great, but expensive, school. But what good is it if I can't pull myself together enough to be a good wife and mother? If I'm too tired to be kind and loving? If I'm too disorganized to provide my family with the basics?

So the question is how do I go about not just changing my way of thinking, but applying it to real life? I mean, the reality is that I have to keep working (although it would be lovely if Hubby said I could just come back home!). Just calling myself by something different isn't actually going to make the workload any lighter. I have to work smarter, not harder.

One of the first things I've done is to purchase a white board which I've used to manage all the information I need to use each day. I divided it into 8 boxes - one for each day plus an extra box for making note of things I need to add to the grocery shopping list. Within each day's box, I make note of what we'll be having for dinner (in red), events or afterschool activities (in green), who is in charge of preparing devotions (in black - and please don't think we are so super-spiritual because of this. We've only been doing it for a week or two and purely out of sheer necessity for the Word of God to regain precedence in our home), and major homework projects or test dates for my kids (in blue).

In just the week I've been using it, the board has helped me tremendously. I have it on display in the kitchen and each morning I am reminded to thaw something for dinner, or that we will be at school late due to rock climbing club. I no longer find out about an exam the morning of the exam on the way to school. It's simply helped me to breathe a little easier and to not feel so panicked all the time.

And as for that workload? Well, I have to admit that I've been very blessed to have a husband who will jump in and help out. He's helped out with laundry, dishes, mopping and more and I don't even have to ask. Even better, he doesn't mind at all!

I've also learned that there are some things that I have to let go. While I would love to provide my family with a spotless house all the time, it's probably not going to happen very often right now. But I can focus on the big things that need done and get to the rest when I can. I may not be able to cook meals that are as elaborate as those I used to make, but with proper planning I can provide healthy, tasty meals that will nourish us.

It's a matter of priorities and balance. Yes, I'd love for everything to be perfect. But in all honesty, it wasn't perfect when I was a stay at home, homeschooling mom either. It's easy to romanticize how things used to be. However, the time has come for me to stop being wistful about being a stay at home mom and roll up my sleeves and get busy.

A Mother's Day Award!!

2009-05-10T21:43:00.003+03:00

Oh my gosh!!!! I'm so excited!! I've been given a really cool award.

Click here to see the video about it.

Thanks to those who nominated me and who supported me along the way!!!

(And if you don't figure it out - it's a pretty funny joke!!!)

The Advent of Summer

2009-05-09T13:33:00.004+03:00

There are certain things that bring to mind certain times of year. Bearing in mind that I've lived in warm climates (Arizona, Southern California, Florida) since I was 8 here are some of the seasonal landmarks that I've lived my life by.

Fall: Leaves falling to the ground; getting back into a routine after the break of summer; carving a pumpkin and roasting seeds.

Winter: Cool temperatures; doors and windows flung wide open; sweaters, maybe even coats; Christmas decor in the stores (though this seems to have suspiciously moved into fall); baking; darkness setting in early.

Spring: Slowly warming temperatures; brilliant blue skies; flowers; birds singing.

Summer: Heat; a slower pace with regular events off taking a break for the summer; barbeques; fireworks, mosquitos.

Here in Qatar, there are a few other signs that mark the beginning of summer.

The main topic of conversation is where you are going for the summer. Very few people stay here for the whole summer due to the oppressive heat and humidity. Most of the wives and children pack up the day or so after school is out and return just before it resumes.

I've begun consistenly using the remote start feature in my car. When it's been sitting in the hot desert sun and temps have been about 110 degrees all day, having the air running full-blast when I get in makes a huge difference.

And finally, in what I see as the biggest sign it's summer, I turned off our water heaters today. The sun is doing a dandy job of pre-heating all our water for us and no longer needs any help. This means we will be switching over to using the hot water tap (those tanks are in the house and therefore they will be kept cooler with the heater turned off) for cold water and the cold water tap for hot water. Even so, we will still need to wait several minutes for the water flowing through the pipes to be tolerable.

It may not rival fireworks and barbeques, but it's a sure sign it's summer!

A Work of Art

2009-05-01T10:33:00.000+03:00

This morning a teacher sent out an email to the staff and faculty of the school promoting a "Staff Art Show." I read it and snorted, thinking to myself, "Art is definitely something not in my genes. I don't have any creative talents."

And then the Lord gently nudged me and told me that I did indeed.

Perhaps it's not in the way that the world recognizes. I can't paint, sculpt or draw. I'm not good at putting together things in an artful way. Scrapbooking is simply way too time-intensive for me. I never learned to knit or crochet or do needlepoint.

The creative talents the Lord reminded me of are those of a mother. I don't mean those little kid crafts that every mother, at some point or another finds herself drug into. Nor do I mean those horrible art projects that we end up doing in the wee hours of the night because our child has suddenly remembered that it's due first thing in the morning.

No, the creativity that I'm speaking of is that of molding and shaping future adults. It's really an amazing thing when you think of what parents do. To take a tiny infant - a blank slate - and teach them everything they need to know to not only survive, but to become godly, successful adults, well, that's a work of art that rivals those of Michelangelo and DaVinci.

What we do as mothers is infinitely more valuable than a mere statue or painting. While art contributes beauty to the world, the raising of godly children has the potential to change the world. If you consider the sphere of influence that one person can have, the knowledge of what a family of God-fearing people can do is tremendous. To know that we can raise a generation of people who want to serve God and others, and to understand the impact you can have upon generations of family is to truly understand the calling of godly mothers.

I challenge you, and myself, to keep our eyes on the goal we have as mothers. It's all too easy to get bogged down in the daily-ness of life: laundry, meals, wiping noses, and running errands. But if we are able to keep focused on the long-term goal of our parenting, we will be rewarded in the end.

We are living in a culture that is full of ugliness. Sin and destruction abound. Let us be the ones who are bringing our own form of great works of art to the world.

4 Week Menu Plan

2009-04-28T12:47:00.000+03:00

Way back when, I posted an 8 Week Menu Plan. It was grand, it was ambitious, it worked fabulously.

But now we are down to the nitty-gritty. Now that I'm working, I need simple, easy stuff in my life. So here's what I did. I went through that list, picked out our family's favorites that were also EASY. Easy was really, really important. I allowed myself one day a week to do something more time-intensive, but mostly I want the quick and simple recipes. Here is one month's worth of menu plans:

Week 1

Pot roast in the crockpot with vegetables

Tacos

Mahlouba

Roast Sticky Chicken

Pasta Primavera

Vegetable Stew

Open (I do this once a week to try something new or go out or order take out)

Week 2

Baja Beef and Beans with Tex-Mex rice

Mezze (Hummous, tabouleh, cheeses, olives, deli meat, kubbeh, etc.)

Koosa Mahshi (Lebanese stuffed squash)

Blackened Chicken Salad

Jambalaya over rice

Lasagna

Open

Week 3

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Sandwiches

Lentils and Rice

Pineapple Glazed Meatloaf

Cauliflower Soup

Taco Salad

Open

Week 4

Bezella (An Arabic beef stew)

Potato Lover's Salad

Curry Cajun Chicken

Arabic Meatloaf

Corn Chowder

Shepherd's Pie

Open

So those are the weekly menus. I'm going to be working on developing weekly shopping lists to go along with them, so I'll post them once I've got them ready. It makes it a breeze to do your menu planning and shopping when you've got it all laid out in front of you already. And four weeks is still plenty of time to rotate menus so that you don't get bored with the dishes.

Making life easy. Works for me!!!! For more ideas that work for busy women, visit We Are THAT Family.

Could Qatar Be Getting Some Colbert Love?

2009-04-26T14:06:00.000+03:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Where and When Is Stephen Going to the Persian Gulf? - Qatar

colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Gay Marriage Commercial

Springtime in Doha!!

2009-04-25T12:10:00.001+03:00

11:23 a.m.

Late April.

106 degrees.

Thankful Thursday

2009-04-23T13:44:00.003+03:00

Happy Thankful Thursday!!

I have so many things in my life to be grateful for today, it's easy to write this post. Things are going pretty well in life right now.

It seems as though the issues at work have been resolved. I'm not sure what was said, but the woman we've been having a problem with was called into the principal's office yesterday. They spoke for about an hour and when she came out it was like she was a different person. All day today, she's been friendly, helpful and even chatty! I'm hopeful that the change will last. It's been so much more pleasant and relaxed.

Also ever since I went to the doctor again and got an inhaler, I've been sleeping better and feeling better. May God bless whoever created inhalers and Ventolin. I'm not a hundred percent up to snuff, but it's nice to be able to breathe deeply without gasping for air.

I had a great day yesterday. Even though I had to suffer through the Middle School talent show. There were some really good acts and, well, then there weren't. I found the pogo sticking set to Arabic music particularly odd. But I give them props for having the guts to get up and do it on stage!! Thanks to all of you who dropped by with birthday wishes. It was so sweet to hear from you! And special thanks to Hubby, who sent me the most amazing flowers at work. Even though I specifically told him I wanted him to do that (LOL!!! I'm a little pushy, huh?!), I didn't really expect him too. Flowers are extremely expensive here and it was definitely a luxury.

I'm thankful for the changes I'm seeing in my daughter since her trip to Jordan. While there is still plenty of 14-year-old-girl attitude in her, I do notice that she is beginning to strive to be more Christ-like. That was my prayer throughout her trip and I'm grateful for His work in her.

God is good. Our family has gone through so much turmoil and transition in the past 18 months and it has not always been easy. I've often felt like there would never be light at the end of the tunnel. But He is faithful and I honestly feel like we have emerged from the tunnel into a beautiful forest. The sunlight may not be as bright through the tree canopy, but it's there and we can enjoy the journey through the forest until God moves us out into the bright sunshine.

For more Thankful Thursday posts, be sure to visit Women Taking A Stand.

2009-04-22T12:54:00.002+03:00

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me...

Yes, internets, today is my birthday. I'm turning 29...once again. *Cough, cough*

Actually, I'm turning 41 today. Which means I'm actually "into" my 40's and not just 40, which implies I'm on the cusp of my 40's wouldn't you agree? I'm not happy about it in particular, but I must admit that it's been a pretty good day so far.

I woke up to find that my darling husband had cleaned my bathroom sink for me. (This will sound like the height of laziness, but please remember that I've been sick for two weeks.) A while back I dropped a blue eyeshadow into my sink and, of course, it broke into a million tiny little eyeshadow fragments. I did my best in my weakened condition (don't I sound like a Jane Austen novel now?) to clean it up, but basically I ended up with blue streaks all over the sink. So to wake up to a shiny clean sink was a treat.

Then Hubby had several cards for me. I especially like it when he hides them for me to find in different places - it makes the day full of fun and anticipation.

At work, my office manager had made a birthday cake for me and had a card. They were very sweet surprises given that I'm so new here. As the day went on, I was surprised with a drop-dead gorgeous bouquet of roses and lilies, plus a gift certificate to Chili's that would pay for our whole family to go out to eat! Ok, those last two things were actually for Secretaries (or Administrative Asst. for the PC among us) Day, but it was a nice touch on my birthday!!

Plus my Facebook is overwhelmed with messages and well wishes. It's nice to hear from so many people from all phases of my life.

The day is only half over and yet my birthday has so far been a million times better than it was last year when I was brand new into a country and life that was totally foreign to me. Thanks be to God for His care over every little detail!!

Just Call Me Wheezie

2009-04-21T21:16:00.002+03:00

How many of you remember "The Jeffersons?" I used to love that show, and I loved it when George called Louise "Wheezie."

That's not why I'm considering changing my name.

After feeling better for a few days, I've since taken a turn for the worse again. Fortunately, I'm not in pain and I still feel pretty good for the most part. But I've still been having coughing fits and now those fits are finished up with my windpipe completely closing up, leaving me gasping for air. Picture those movies where the character is asthmatic and is in the throes of a severe attack, gasping and frantically searching for an inhaler. That's what it's been like for the last 3 or 4 days. I cough for about 30 seconds and then gasp for air for another 30-60 seconds. It's a terrifying feeling to be totally unable to breathe!

It got to the point today that my boss sent me home from work early. I went back to the hospital to get re-checked and the doctor (bless her heart!) prescribed an inhaler for me. I'm hoping that that will help tremendously.

Oh, and I may have some news on the job situation tomorrow. I've been promised that the problem will be resolved as soon as one woman returns from vacation and that should be in the next day or two. I wasn't told exactly what the resolution would be, but whatever it is, I just want things to be peaceful and settled. I'll keep you posted.

Insane, Delusional Crazy-Man Story Telling

2009-04-18T14:40:00.002+03:00

Ok, I realize that I may be one of the few people left who will own up to still watching Survivor. But I love it! You get to see people do things they would (hopefully!) never do in real-life.

Like blatantly lie and expect the entire world to believe them.

If you watched this week's episode of Survivor, you know that Coach shared a little bit of his life story with the world. It was quite interesting. Interesting in the "I'm completely out of my mind to think that anyone would believe any part of this story" way.

Now, Coach has already proven himself to be utterly delusional. Consistently referring to himself as "The Dragonslayer," insisting that he started the whole Samurai-hairstyle thing, taking credit for strategy decisions that he had no part in other than to jump on someone else's coattails, and more. But two things stuck out last night that just left our family in stitches.

First, as the show opened we got to see Coach standing hip-deep in water doing some kind of strange warrior-posing type thing. Last week's version of this was better since it was scored to this rising crescendo of music. (Note to self: contact show producers and ask them to make this a regular feature.) As his tribemates made fun of him when he emerged from the water, he informed them that he was doing Chong-Ram, which of course no one had ever heard of. That, according to Coach, is because it is un-Google-able and not on Wikipedia because it is only taught by Tibetan monks and he had to go to a monastery to learn it. Now it seems to me that most of those martial arts things that are taught in those monasteries are, in fact, able to be found with a quick search. But not the one Coach does, oh no!

Then to top it off, he decides to share a fireside story that night. In this story, he is dropped by military helicopter from several feet off the ground into the jungles of Peru. As he is kayaking down the Amazon, he is suddenly attacked by a group of short, indigenous people. They beat him with clubs, tie him to a stake in a hut and continue to beat him with clubs. Through some stroke of "Coach-ness" he manages to escape his bonds, sneak out of the hut and escape with his kayak.

As his tribe sat in stunned silence, only Brendan was able to say anything to confront this outrageous story, asking, "How much does it cost to get a military helicopter to do that?" Coach replies, "Nothing. I pulled some strings." Because don't all college soccer coaches have favors to call in with the Peruvian military? Oh, and by the way, National Geographic wanted to follow him along on his journey and document it, but told them no because it was just about him and his personal journey. Uh-huh.

I don't know why I felt compelled to share this story on the blog. I guess it was just so funny to me that people can make things up like this. Now, if he comes up with some kind of proof that the story is true, I will eat my words and happily post an apology. But for now, it just seems like Survivor has found the most mentally delusional person they've ever had.

2009-04-17T13:10:00.002+03:00

Because I have nothing big to share today, here's a sampling of some of the random thoughts I've had lately.

1) I've now heard the song, "Girl From Ipanema" twice this week on the local radio. I think I could say with certainty that that is more than I've ever heard it on the radio in my entire life leading up to this week. I believe that says something about the quality of radio here in Qatar.

2) I'm watching, "The Constant Gardener" on tv right now and I'm quite confused. It's not at all what I thought it was about. I thought it was about a gardener who was passionately in love with someone - not a murdered woman involved in working against drug companies in Africa. I'm confused, but still watching.

3) I don't understand how rain here in Doha makes the cars even dirtier than they were before the rain.

4) I bought a breadmaker this morning at a moving sale. I used to have one, but sold it long ago because I felt I didn't use it often enough. But I miss the smell of freshly baked bread and the kids miss the fresh pizza dough. I found it for just 20 riyals - about 5 dollars. Not a bad deal!

5) I'm hooked on a new reality show called "Running in Heels." I don't know how long it's been running in the States for, but it's only been on a couple of weeks here. It's about three interns at Marie Claire magazine. Oh my gosh, is the one girl mean!!!! I mean, just downright nasty. She's always late, doesn't do a good job, is constantly scowling and then wonders why she doesn't get the plum assignments. Hmm...I wonder?

6) I'm holding out hope for finding some good stuff for the house in the next few months. Doha has a very transient population - most people only stay for about 2-5 years. Many people leave in the summer once school is out. I'm already hearing of moving sales as people prepare to go. (Hence the breadmaker mentioned above.) What I really need is decorative things to make the house feel more put together and homier. Today I also got this great set of carved candlesticks that look great on the piano. Tomorrow I'm going to another sale by three families from church that are all moving back to the US and I'm hoping to make a bigger score there. Sales like this don't happen often here. It's not like in the States where you can just go out driving around and find tons of garage sales, so this is a great chance for me to pick up some things for a song.

I think that's all I've got for now. Like I said, just random things running in my brain. Hope you all have a nice weekend!!

Thankful Thursday - Wisdom

2009-04-16T21:58:00.003+03:00

I have much to be thankful for this week. It's been a tiring week, both physically and emotionally, but still I can see God's hand on my life. It's so reassuring to know that He is always there with me, even when I feel like I am too tired or distracted to give Him the attention He deserves.

Physically, I must say how thankful I am for healing. After my bout with "tracheitis" over the past couple of weeks, I am thankful to be free of pain when I breathe. I'm still coughing, but not nearly as frequently and without the immense pain I had before. I'm still struggling with fatigue, but I'm thankful that it doesn't generally hit until later in the evening. It's great to be able to go about my day with energy and stamina again.

Emotionally, the struggles at work seem to be easing up. I did end up meeting with the other ladies in the office as well as the principal and asst. principal to try to work out our problems. It was uncomfortable, but I prayed alot beforehand and really feel as though God guided my word choice and helped me get through it without losing my temper or crying (if you don't know me in real life, you may not be aware that I cry at the drop of a hat. I cry at the Waltons, for goodness' sake!!). Since the meeting, things have slowly thawed out between the woman I was having problems with. It's not that great, but it's not horrible either.

I'm continuing to pray for the situation between her and the other woman. There seem to be deeper issues there which were not resolved during the meeting. The other woman continually comes to me with her frustrations and I'm really trying to be a wise counsel to her. I am working hard not just to commiserate with her about the woman, but instead to work towards reconciliation.

So I'm thankful that God has been gracious enough to give me wisdom. I'm not claiming to be perfect, but He has blessed me with enough wisdom to let me know that it is clearly not of my own doing!!! As I continue to grow in my faith, it's a joy to see the results of that played out in the day-to-day situations of my life.

Proverbs 8: 1-21

The Blessings of Wisdom

Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice?

On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand;

beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:

“To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man. O simple ones, learn prudence;

O fools, learn sense. Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is

right, for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.

They are all straight to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge.

Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold,

for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.

“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord is

hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength.

By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just;

by me princes rule and nobles, all who govern justly.

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness.

My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver.

I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice,

granting an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries.

For more Thankful Thursday posts, be sure to pop on over to Women Taking a Stand.

Quick Update on the Work Situation

2009-04-14T12:49:00.003+03:00

I just want to thank you all for your prayers. It seems as though I will not be attending a meeting this afternoon after all. The person with whom I (and the office manager) are having a problem with asked to meet with me privately today so she could tell me "what her job is and what my job is."

Isn't that thoughtful of her?

I said why don't we wait and sort it out during the meeting and she said that she thought the meeting (called by her boss!) was pointless and she didn't think she needed to go, the rest of us could work out whatever our troubles were. Uh-huh. Regardless, I agreed to meet with her during break to hear what she had to say.

Before we met though, I spoke with one of our bosses and told him she wanted to meet with me. He said that he didn't think that myself or the other woman even needed to be present, that he needed to deal with her one on one. I told him I was willing to meet, but he said that her behavior has been outrageous and that wouldn't be necessary.

When I did meet with her, she proceeded to tell me her job description, as defined by her and what she wants to do, and kept talking about how she isn't putting her work on anyone and how I need to not try to do her job. She was getting more and more excited and I just remained calm and kind (thanks to YOUR prayers, I know!). I told her that I wasn't here to be her assistant, which is how she has treated me, and that my only problem with her was our disagreement on whether or not I should be able to answer students and teachers who come into the office with questions. I realize that's her job, but if I'm also sitting at the front desk, I need to be able to help people as well rather than sit like a dumb rock just to protect her territorial feelings. We agreed to disagree and I said we will see what the bosses said.

Later one of the bosses came by when I was alone and I told him of the conversation and he said that the other boss will deal with her today and get it all sorted out. I told him I felt that she hasn't wanted me here since day 1. I also found out that when I was hired, she told other people that there were certainly other people more qualified than me and that she felt that they should have opened it up to other people already at the school than rather hire me from the outside. So I'm wondering if she would have liked the job or something. I don't know what to make of it.

So, after getting the silent treatment for most of the morning, I'm now just getting one word answers to direct questions. She's clearly very upset and I just continue to be friendly and act like everything is ok. What else can I do? If you wouldn't mind praying again, just pray that whatever she is told in the meeting she is able to accept with grace and that we can move on from here.

I'll keep you posted.

Menu Plan Monday

2009-04-12T21:35:00.006+03:00

Welcome!!! I hope you had a blessed Easter and were able to take time to reflect on the true meaning of the day.

I can't really say that I enjoyed last week. Being a school employee, I had the week off for Spring Break. I had high hopes of making delicious meals for my family and doing a lot of maintenance work around the house. Unfortunately, I was pretty much flat on my back sick the whole week. Yesterday was the first day that I started to feel better, so hopefully I am on the mend. This week should be better. I'm hoping that by implementing my new routines which I posted the other day, things will go more smoothly and I'll get dinners on the table on a regular basis.

At least that's the plan.

Here's the menu for this week:

Sunday - Turkey Noodle Soup and biscuits

Monday - Creamy Pasta Primavera

Tuesday - Lentils & Rice, lemon dressed salad

Wednesday - Spaghetti and meatballs, salad and caesar salad

Thursday - Mezze (Kubbe, Hummous, cheeses, pickles, bread, etc.)

Friday - Taco Salad

Saturday - Roast Sticky Chicken, roasted potatoes, broccoli and salad

That's the plan for the week. Hopefully it will all work out and we will be eating a homecooked meal every night.

Can I just prevail on you for just a minute longer? If you wouldn't mind, I would really appreciate your prayers for me today. Tomorrow I'll be having a meeting with the other ladies in my office as well as both the principal and vice-principal. The objective of the meeting is to sort out some work-related issues that have been going on, but I think that it's gotten personal for some of us and it is promising to be a very uncomfortable meeting. It's already gotten uncomfortable just since they called the meeting! If you would just pray that God would give me wise words and an open heart I'd appreciate it. I don't want to hurt anyone, but I do want to get things settled so we can all move on. Thank you.

And now, I'm off. But be sure to visit The Organizing Junkie to get more great menu ideas!!

Happy Easter!!!!

2009-04-12T13:11:00.001+03:00

He is Risen!!!

He is Risen Indeed!!!!

Routines for this Working Mom

2009-04-10T22:56:00.002+03:00

Well, as promised, I've taken some time this week to re-examine my routines. Things obviously had to change once I started working full-time. I haven't gotten much else done this week as I'm still pretty much flat on my back from my trachea/pharynx/whatever infection. I had such great hopes to do so much work in the house during our spring break, but I've been pleased to get a meal on the table, a load or two of laundry done and dishes washed. Hubby and Daniel have been so sweet and helpful.

I've broken the routines down into time frames. It's kind of like little checklists to do at each part of the day. I'm blessed in that, even though I work full-time, I'm still home by 4 pm. I work from 7:30 to 3:30. That gives me plenty of time to get dinner ready and do a little housework, as well as do some homework help, before, say 6 pm.

Morning Routines: (Waking up at 5:30 and leaving the house at 7 am)
Make bed
Do 30 min on treadmill or a 3 min exercise video
Shower and dress
Swish toilets/swipe bathroom sink
Hang laundry washed the night before
Decide what's for dinner and defrost something if needed
Kids: Unload dishwasher, take out garbage, feed dog

Afternoon Routines: (To be done between 4pm and 6 pm)
Fold clothes hung in the morning
Finish cooking dinner
Help with homework
Focus task (explained below)

Evening Routines: (To be done before bed)
Wash dishes
Clean counters, sink and table
Run a load of clothes
Prepare clothes and lunches for morning

Focus Tasks
(A focus task is a job or area that I assign to myself once a week to focus on)

Sunday - Bathrooms and mirrors
Monday - Kitchen
Tuesday - Master bedroom and bathroom
Wednesday - Hubby's room and bathroom (no, we don't have separate bedrooms - he keeps his clothes in the guest room and gets ready for work there in the morning so he doesn't wake me and we each have our space)
Thursday - Organize desk
Friday - Sabbath - rest
Saturday - Grocery shopping, home blessing time, desk work

Home blessing time includes: Dusting, vacuuming, mopping, changing linens, and cleaning the glass doors. The kids help out with these things, as does Hubby when need be. He's the chief mopper around these parts!

So that's the plan. Not everything will get done as often or as well as I'd like it to, but you have to set your priorities, you know? And I'm sure there will be times when I don't get everything done on the list, but at least I'll have a plan to fall back on when I'm feeling lost and rushed.

Thankful Thursday

2009-04-09T07:12:00.002+03:00

Today I'm thankful for the sacrifice that Christ made for me on the cross.

24 years ago on Easter Sunday, I finally understood what that sacrifice meant. Even though I had been attending church for several years, I had not truly understood what that meant. Church was more of a social event for me. My life outside of church went pretty much the same as it always did, with the life (and death) of Christ having no real impact on me.

Then, on a bright and sunny Easter morning in the mountains of Arizona, I got it. I realized that His sacrifice had been so tremendous and that He deserved my very best. He deserved all of me, not just that part that I had set aside for Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. I begged forgiveness and committed to live my life for Him.

The change was instantaneous, and yet has taken all these years. It's still not complete. I still find myself coming to the cross daily to lay down and be changed. I fail miserably every day and yet He never gives up on me. This process of sanctification is a long and challenging one. While we often hear stories of people who accept Christ and are instantly changed, there are those of us who struggle daily with renouncing our sinful nature.

I think I can say that the reason for that is that the closer we come to Christ, the more obvious our sins become. Yes, it's easy to see those big things that we might have been doing before we were Christians. When compared to those things, the "smaller" things (by the worlds standards) seem to be no big deal. But the closer you come to Christ, the more you realize that often those things are a bigger deal than the major "sins" the world considers a bigger deal. Pride, envy, lust, anger - these are all things that the world may make jokes about, but in reality they area bigger problem in the life of a Christian than many of the "big sins." Those big sins are usually just symptoms of these internal, heart attitudes which Christ found so offensive.

Ok, I'm getting off track. My point is that I'm so very thankful that Christ has an unending well of love and mercy for me. As I learn every day, that well is deeper and wider than I could ever imagine.

Update on the Death Watch

2009-04-07T23:08:00.002+03:00

Ok, ok. I know I'm not actually going to die. It just feels like it and probably would feel better than how I feel right now.

Hubby insisted on taking me for a second opinion this evening. We visited a very close hospital's ER. We were totally impressed by the place and will be going there from now on for our medical needs.

Anyways, the doctor I saw there actually agreed with the other doctor's diagnosis, but did believe that I need antibiotics. Hooray!! So I started on them a few hours ago and hope to be feeling better soon.

Thanks for your prayers and well wishes!!

This is Why I Don't Go to the Doctor's More Often

2009-04-07T10:12:00.002+03:00

So, I've just returned from my first ever visit to the doctor's clinic here in Qatar. Apparently I do not have bubonic plague, despite my conviction to the contrary. I have been diagnosed with "tracheitis."

The doctor, a very cute little girl who was maybe 14, said that my lungs are clear (even though I've been coughing up all kinds of stuff which might lead me to believe otherwise) and that it's a viral infection of my trachea. Anti-biotics, she said, were definitely not necessary. Which actually relieved me, because of the huge tendency here to prescribe anti-biotics for everything from the common cold to, oh, I don't know, a sunburn.

I've been given three different remedies - an anti-histamine (though I have no sign of a runny or stuffy nose), a cough syrup, and a mouthwash (I swear I popped a mint right before I went in!!). All this for the grand total price of six riyals - about $1.50.

So here's the problem. Being the naturally curious girl that I am, I went online to look up tracheitis, which I had never heard of. Apparently it is a bacterial infection (which means it DOES require anti-biotics) which most often strikes children. Oh, and it can lead to death. It seems that the windpipe can become so irritated that it can actually close up.

If this is my last post for a while, you may want to send Hubby flowers.

Why can't I catch a break with doctors? I mean, can I just remind y'all of the time I went to the doctor with a shooting pain in my head and the doctor instantly diagnosed me with depression because I was upset he dismissed my pain? That was fun.

Ok, I'm now off to bed. Well, a reasonable facsimile of bed anyways - the couch. I think I'm gonna veg out while I watch Pride and Prejudice. Hubby and I watched Sense and Sensibility last weekend, so it seems that there's a Jane Austen thing going on lately.

Menu Plan Monday

2009-04-06T06:19:00.003+03:00

Hallelujah!!! This week we are Easter Break (even though it's called Spring Break) and I couldn't be happier! Who would have thought 20 plus years ago that I would be looking forward to Spring Break so I could cook and clean for my family? Wierd how life changes, isn't it?

Unfortunately, the cleaning part hasn't been happening so much. I've been pretty much knocked out by a horrendous cough and sore throat. I'm pretty convinced it's the bubonic plague, but so far no one is believing me. Anyways, it's leaving me sore, achy, and exhausted. Last night I went to bed at 8:30 and that is something I can NEVER remember doing! Unfortunately I woke up at 5:30 am, so that kind of seemed to cancel out the benefits of going to bed early!!

Anyways, I am still determined to do some delicious cooking this week. Since I started working a few weeks ago, dinner has been pretty hit or miss, so this is my week to redeem myself. Here's what I have planned:

Sunday - Well, I had planned lasagna, but I forgot to buy mozzarella so we did Spaghetti with meat sauce. I'll do the lasagna later in the week.

Monday - Pot roast in the crockpot - (Put the roast in the crockpot along with chunked up carrots, potatoes and onions. Combine a can of cream of mushroom soup with a packet of onion soup mix. Add to mix one chopped onion and stir well. Pour over top of roast and vegetables and cook for 7-8 hours on low.)

Tuesday - Lentils & rice with a lemon dressed salad

Wednesday - Lasagna, tossed salad and garlic bread (see, I told you I'd work it back in!!)

Thursday - Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya over white rice

Friday - Chicken and broccoli casserole with a tossed salad

Saturday - We're having Easter dinner a day early since Sunday is a work day here in Qatar. We've invited over a few guys from our church that are here alone in Doha. I'll be serving a turkey (ham is not sold here), with sausage and apple stuffing, vegetables, mashed potatoes, devilled eggs, spinach and strawberry salad, and some yummy yet-to-be-determined dessert.

So that's what we will be having. For more great menu plans, be sure to visit The Organizing Junkie!!

I Don't Think I Was Cut Out For This Working Thing

2009-04-02T12:22:00.002+03:00

I know, I know. Millions of women work full-time jobs every day.

HOW ON EARTH DO YOU DO IT!!!!

I am really trying to figure out how to get everything done. By the time I get home from work and help the kids with their homework, I'm completely exhausted, dinner isn't cooked, laundry isn't done, and the house looks like a tornado went through it.

Thank goodness today is the last day before spring break. I plan on spending that time trying to figure out new routines and schedules. I am the queen of list-making, as my family continually makes fun of me for. But those routines saved my sanity back when I was homeschooling. I'm hoping that I can work some of that magic to make this whole working woman thing go a little smoother.

I just really didn't realize how much harder it would be. The big issues I'm struggling with seem to be getting dinner on the table, getting the laundry done and doing the grocery shopping. The laundry and the grocery shopping are just things that are more difficult here to start with. With no dryer, the laundry requires much more time to hang everything to dry and then it all needs ironed to be wearable. Grocery shopping requires at least a stop at two different stores to get everything on my list.

So by the end of this break, look for some new routines to be posted. I'm also planning on working on my new 101 in 1001 list. Between the above-mentioned problems and Emily's pneumonia, I've just not been able to get to it. But I'm excited to get to some of this stuff.

May I just say that I'm also very excited to sleep in for a few days?!

Now I REALLY Win the Bad Mother Award!!!

2009-03-31T23:28:00.003+03:00

My daughter has pneumonia.

And I would never have taken her to the doctor.

Thank God for Hubby who has more sense than me.

She's been coughing for a couple of weeks now and it has been getting worse, but I figured it was just something she couldn't shake. No complaints of chest pain or anything. It never even occurred to me to do anything but give her an OTC cough medicine.

Please pray for her. She is going to Jordan on Friday with the youth group for an outreach trip during her spring break. She is supposed to stay home from school for the next two days, but she insists she HAS to go tomorrow because it's her 14th birthday and she doesn't want to miss her friends celebrating it for her. So I guess I'll let her go and then stay home Thursday. But if you wouldn't mind praying for a speedy recovery so she feels better for her trip and is able to fully participate in all their work they've got planned.

And you might want to pray for her mother to be more discerning and sensible.

I'm just sayin'.

An Unwanted Companion

2009-03-28T21:34:00.004+03:00

Lately, I have found myself with a new best friend. Except it's not really a good friend. There are no encouraging words being communicated. No loving embraces. No friendly phone calls.

Just a constant nagging. Incessant, annoying reminders of an unwanted presence. No matter where I go, I find my new "friend."

You may think I sound harsh. After all, I'm still fairly new in town and I could use any friends I can get, right?

Except that this constant companion I've found myself being pursued by is worry.

I've never been one to worry much. I just have always kind of gone with the flow and allowed things to progress however God lets them turn out. It's worked well. But in the last couple of months, I find myself having a constant gnawing feeling in my stomach and realize that I am always worried about one thing or another.

How my children are doing academically. How they are doing socially. How I'm doing socially. Money. My parents as they have health issues. My marriage. My new job. Taking care of the house. My weight. Money.

It seems like it's a constant merry-go-round. Just when one area settles down, another one presents with a whole new crop of problems. It's like the mythological Hydra, a many-headed beast. Once you think you've got one problem slayed, there pops up another.

It's an uncomfortable and disconcerting feeling. I know in my head that I just need to turn over all of the above-mentioned problems to God. But letting them go and actually trusting that He will handle all of them is harder than it seems.

Tonight I picked up an old favorite of mine, "Hind's Feet on High Places." It's the story of a poor, lame shepherdess who wants, more than anything, to escape her life of fear and worry and climb to the high places with The Shepherd. He promises to give her a new name and remove all her fear and worry. Her journey though, will be a hard one. He promises to provide her with two companions to guide her and help her through the steep, rocky mountain paths.

When she meets the chosen ones, she is dismayed to find that their names are Sorrow and Suffering. Why, she wonders, couldn't The Shepherd have given her Joy and Peace to be her guides? He assures her that He has chosen exactly the ones she needs to make the journey to be made new. Trust me, says The Shepherd.

And I do, I cry out; myself just a lame shepherdess. I feel like I am on my own path through the mountains and I have been given similar companions. I know that this is the way God has chosen for me to go and all the circumstances are ones which He can use to whittle away all that is not glorifying to Him. So I choose to trust, and walk forward with my hands stretched out to receive whatever tools God has chosen to give me to help me on my way.

Menu Plan Monday

2009-03-23T05:32:00.000+03:00

Ok, as you read this I'll be busy at work on my first day of employment in 14 years. Beginning to work will now require me to be even more organized than I've ever been. I'll get home around 4 pm most days, so there will still be time for dinner prep, but shopping and thinking it through in advance will take on new importance. Here's this week menu plan:

Sunday - Sticky Chicken, garlic & onion mashed potatoes, garlic green beans

Monday - Spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread and a caesar salad

Tuesday - Mahlouba

Wednesday - Swedish Meatballs over egg noodles and a tossed salad

Thursday - Hummous, kubbe, cheese, bread, pickles, olives

Friday - Jambalaya over rice

Saturday - Chicken tacos in the slow cooker (recipe below)

For the chicken tacos, I toss a package of chicken breasts in the slow cooker, toss in a can of mexican style corn, a chopped onion, a can of rotel, some cumin and salt and pepper. I let it cook on low all day and then about 30 minutes before we eat, I toss in a can of either black beans or kidney beans. I serve it up in either tortillas (for soft tacos) or taco shells (for hard tacos). Easy!

For more menu plans, be sure to click on over to The Organizing Junkie!

Let's Try It Again

2009-03-22T14:08:00.002+03:00

Remember this? Way back when, I came up with a list of 101 things I wanted to accomplish in 1001 days. I got about half way finished with it. Kind of disappointing, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it. As most of you know, it has been a tumultous thousand days. So much has changed in my life that I feel like a huge success story just for surviving it!!!

Still, I'm in the process of working up a new list. I think it was really helpful for me to have things put down in writing rather than just stray thoughts that run through my head to the effect of, "Yeah, I should do that some time." You know that old saying, if you aim for nothing, you are sure to hit it. Or however it goes. (I'm not real strong on cliches.)

If you'd be interested in doing a 101 in 1001 list, let me know. We can start on the same day and encourage each other. I'm planning on starting mine as of April 1, so that gives me about a week and a half to collect my thoughts and make a plan.

And hey, even if you only get half of the things on the list accomplished, that's still 50 things more than you would have accomplished without the list!

My 70's Childhood Memories Come Alive!

2009-03-21T12:12:00.005+03:00

Oh, yeah, baby!! Sing it, girl!!

Well, it seems as though I am spending my last days as a woman of leisure. (Ha!!!! Who on earth thinks stay-at-home-moms are women of leisure!?!? People who have never done it, that's who!!!)

The "trial day" went very well on Thursday. I enjoyed the work that I would be doing, as well as the people with whom I'd be working. It was fun, actually. The salary leaves quite a bit to be desired, but when you balance that against having the same schedule as my kids and being able to see them occasionally throughout the day, well, I guess it's worth it in the end.

I haven't officially accepted the job yet, as I am waiting for word if they will include a break in either tuition or some of the fees as part of my compensation package, but I'll probably accept the job either way. (Boy, I hope the human resources manager isn't reading this right now before she decides to offer us that break!!)

So today and tomorrow are my "clean the house like a maniac so it has a hope of staying clean since we will all be out of the house all day" days. I've got a huge to-do list and have to get cracking on it.

Then, of course, I'll have to don my slinky nightgown and high heels and make googly-eyes at Hubby tonight and "never let him forget he's a man!"

'Cause I'm a woman.

W-O-M-A-N!

Thankful Thursday

2009-03-19T05:27:00.000+03:00

I just did a post yesterday outlining all the happy things that happened to me on Tuesday. I have to say, life is at a good place right now. It feels great to be able to say that.

One year ago next week, my children and I left everything and everyone we knew and loved and set out to join Hubby in our new life here in Doha, Qatar. It's been a year of tumultuous change. We have had to adjust to a new culture, a new climate, and a new home. We've gone from Hubby working long hours 5 days a week to working somewhat shorter hours 6 days a week. I've had to learn the currency and I'm still confused as to how much money I spend each week on groceries! My much-loved 8 week menu plan has been tossed out the window, as it's virtually impossible here to predict what items will be in the stores on any given day.

I've gone from a committed homeschooling stay-at-home mom, to being a mom with two kids enrolled in school who is actively seeking to rejoin the workforce. After 14 years of being at home, that's no small matter. I'm nervous and excited and scared all rolled up into a bundle of jangled nerves.

I've lost access to Target (:::sob:::), the library, rational grocery stores, decent customer service, and honestly, some of my sanity.

We've had to give up our friendships and then try to build new ones here in a land where most people come and go within 4-5 years at most. Many of the friends we've made within the last year have already moved during the course of our year here or will be leaving this summer.

And yet, now one year later, we have survived. I don't know that I would say we have thrived, but we haven't withered on the vine either. And for that, I give all the glory to God. He has helped me learn to be content in whatever circumstance I find myself. He has been teaching me patience, a trait which I am sadly lacking in and have been praying for as long as I can remember. He has comforted me when I was desolate. He has been the one I rejoice with when I'm happy.

He is my rock. I love him and am so grateful for the fact that he led me here to this wilderness to use it as a time of teaching and growth in my life. Everything that he removed from my life has been restored in some form or fashion. Well, except Target. But I can live with that!

So today I am grateful for a God who will do whatever he needs to do to make me more like him.

For more Thankful Thursday posts, be sure to visit Lynn at Spiritually Unequal Marriage.