The Simple Life at Home

No, we aren't leaving Doha.  

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

Ok. It's time for me to just face facts and admit I know nothing about blog design. I can't even handle importing those free designs without messing something up. I had realized that for some reason the picture at the top of my old design (the one with the camels) had disappeared, so I was trying to fix that (couldn't!), so then I tried to get something else pretty and I ended up with the combination of two things here.

I'm going to keep working on it, but right now I've got to take my daughter to the mall to meet friends and do a little shopping myself. One of these days I'll convince Hubby to let me spend a little money to get the blog professionally done. Sigh...One of these days...

Well, since I'm all done decorating my home, I was kind of itching for something else to add a Christmas-y touch to. So I've got a new look here for the Christmas season. I really love the simplicity of the layout, which I found at Final Sense.

I'll be working on rebuilding my blogroll over the next few days. If you are a regular reader here and would like to be included, please let me know. I always love to get to know the people who visit. C'mon, you can de-lurk just this once!!

I may or may not return to the old layout once Christmas is over. The beige was beginning to wear on me. Anyone have any opinions? Keep it or go for something new?

I know that I haven't been around much - either here at The Simple Life or visiting you all at your mah-velous blogs. I just want to apologize and promise to you that I will get caught up on all of your happenings once I get back home to Doha.

We've just been so busy spending time with family here and tending to all of our errands that the blogosphere has had to take a backseat for this time period. But please know that I miss connecting with all of you and look forward to getting back into my regular bloggy routine, sharing with you all those things which I learn that can help you make your home a better place.

Thanks for your patience!!!

My sweet baby girl has started her very own blog called A Girl in the Gulf!! She just started it tonight, so it's very new, but please go over and give her a little encouragment.

AND she and I have been having a debate on something which she has posted on her blog. No, it's not about doing chores, or who to vote for in the upcoming election. It's much, much more important than that. But you'll have to pop over there to find out what I'm talking about. Remember - be on my side!!!

A couple of weeks ago, Jennifer tagged me to do this meme where you have to name 7 quirky things about yourself. At first I was like, "Hmm, I can't think of a single thing." Then I was all like, "Uh, yes I can."

Myself and I often have conversations like this where we disagree.

Anyways, here are a few of the thing that the other half of me thought up:

1) I don't like drinking water from drinking glasses - I'd rather drink it from a plastic bottle or plastic cup. However, I don't like drinking anything else in plastic cups or bottles, only in glasses.

2) Whenever I make a salad, as I'm tearing up the lettuce my nose automatically squinches (is that a word? I don't think so.) up like I'm dealing with the most distasteful thing on earth. But I love lettuce and I don't know why I do that. It just happens.

3) I like my house to look neat and pretty but only from afar. Dusting, cleaning sinks, etc. (i.e., stuff that you would only notice from up close) are way far down my list of things to do.

4) I have a terrible memory. Seriously, I can't remember what I was doing yesterday. This causes my super-extra-organized Hubby grief to no end. He can ask me to do something for him and by the end of the phone call I will have completely forgotten about it.

5) I'm a reality tv junkie. I know, I know - it's hardly reality. But I love Survivor, The Amazing Race, The Biggest Loser, and Top Chef (those last two may be somewhat incompatible, if you think about it.).

6) I hate to shave my legs. In fact, one of the perks of living in Doha that I've never mentioned before is that, since shorts are pretty much off limits, I get to shave less often. Whoo-hoo!! Hubby, sadly, does not appreciate this fact.

7) I cry at the drop of a hat. I cry when I'm happy, I cry when I'm sad, I cry when I'm frustrated, I cry when I'm embarassed, I cry when I'm having an uncomfortable conversation. I cry at stupid tv moments and at sappy love songs. Basically I cry all the time. Now, 15 and a half years into marriage, Hubby finds this ridiculous. When he and I were first engaged, he found it "touching" that I had such a sensitive spirit. Isn't it funny how time changes your perspective???

I hate doing the tagging thing so I'm just not gonna do it. But I had fun playing along and if anyone else wants to play along, please do and let me know! It's a chance to get to see a side of ourselves we may not normally share on our blogs.

Back at the end of last month while I was away, two very sweet women awarded me with the Brilliante Weblog award.


Mylinda said this: Lori at The Simple Life at Home, who is a friend IRL. She's recently moved oh so far away to Qatar and I miss her very much, but love to keep in touch via email and blogs. She's also very encouraging and seems to be finding a ministry right on her blog to many. I'm glad we've stayed friends!


Misty had this to say: Lori at Simple life at Home: What to say? I can't wait to be you when I grow up? Ok, besides that sounding bad and like you might be old or something, I just think you are so wise and relevant in your writing. I always look forward to reading.

I'm grateful to both of them for their kind words and their friendship. And, just for the record, Misty, I'm young. Extremely young. Would you believe me if I said I was only 24? (I'm not actually saying that (it might be considered a tiny little fitb), I'm just wondering if you'd believe it.)

Now it's my honor to get to bestow this award to some other bloggers who I think are simply, well, brilliant. To be honest, I kind of hate doing this because there are so many wonderful blogs out there that I love to read, so I'm carefully choosing ones that really minister to me and help me to grow as a Christian and as a woman.

First up is Anya of Sanctuary Moment. Not only is her writing beautiful and powerful, she always makes me so thankful for my relationship with Christ. Her blog is like sitting at the feet of a very wise Bible teacher who makes the Word just come alive in a way that relates to me as a wife and mother.


Juliet of Not The Same is chronicling her efforts to change her life and be more Christlike in 2008. I find myself often nodding my head as I read of her challenges and successes.


Jess of Mourning Into Dancing is so open and so...raw...with her writing. Her desire to be in love with Christ first and foremost is so challenging to me. It reminds me of where I want to be in my walk with God.


I know that I was supposed to name more people, but if I start naming all the friends whose blogs I love to read, then surely I will leave someone out and hurt some feelings. But the three above really challenge me and teach me. But there are so many awesome women out there (many of them on my blogroll to the right) that I encourage you to check out.

Thanks again to Mylinda and Misty. I'm honored by your kind words.

Leeann did this awesome mosaic over on her blog. It was so beautiful I wanted one of my own. Very, very cool.

To do your own, go on over to Flickr and type your answers the following questions in the search bar one at at time. Pick the image on the first page that most speaks to you. Copy the URL for that image and add it to Mosaic Maker. It just takes a few minutes.

Here are the questions:

• What is your first name?
• What is your favorite food?
• What high school did you attend?
• What is your favorite color?
• Who is your celebrity crush?
• What is your favorite drink?
• Where would you go on your dream vacation?
• What is your favorite dessert?
• What do you want to be when you grow up?
• What do you love most in life?
• Choose one word to describe you?
• Your Flickr name?

I love the way all the images blend together to give a sneak picture of who we are. If you do it, let me know so I can stop by and see!

1. We like to hang out together, 2. homemade fresh tomato salsa & guacomole, 3. Sahuaro herido., 4. water droplets in the shower - o.k. bokeh, 5. Bon Jovi / Jon Bon Jovi, 6. thirsty?, 7. It will be forever this way, 8. Crème Brûlée, 9. Sunset Godly head 5, 10. The Avenue in mist and sun, 11. Nature Does Escher, 12. Walk the line

Updated: Ok, things seem to be working now, but that was frustrating! Almost 3 days for Bloglines to correct the problem. Welcome back!!

Oh, now I've done it. I tried to get all fancy and get hooked up with Feedburner and now my feed url doesn't work. My posts aren't showing up on Bloglines or on Google Reader or anywhere else.

Can anyone who knows about this stuff talk me through it?

This is why I should just stick with things that I know about.

::sigh::

I'm trying out a new look for the blog here. The orange was kind of wearing on me.

I hope no one comes and gets the idea that I'm a bedouin. That would be pretty funny. So if you are reading the blog for the first time right now and wondering - I live in an actual house with walls and a roof, I don't own a camel, I drive an SUV, and I don't wear anything on top of my head. Except sunglasses.

We'll see how long this look lasts!

I've been tagged for a couple of memes and have put them off long enough. Right now, I could use a little bit of fluff in my head, so today's a good day to tackle at least one of them.

First off, I was tagged by Leeann for this fun one ages ago and she probably thinks I forgot, but I didn't - I was just being lazy!

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player tags 5 people and posts their name, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

***

What I was doing 10 years ago: Ten years ago I had a three year old and a 1 year old. I was overwhelmed with mommy-hood!! We were very involved in our church and I was leading a woman's Bible study and on the Women in the Chuch council. It was a precious time, allowing me to get to know beautiful women, making friends with women of all ages. I was also probably at the time planning my children's education through college. No lie - I was a bit obsessive. I ordered my first homeschooling catalog while I was pregnant with Emily!!

Five Snacks I Enjoy:

In a perfect, non weight-gaining world 1. Potato chips with bacon and horseradish dip 2. Tortilla chips with either black bean salsa or mango salsa 3. Nuts - cashews, pistachios, honey roasted peanuts 4. Carmel sundaes with pecans 5. Toffee candy bars

In the real world 1. popcorn with Parmesan cheese on it 2. cucumber with almonds 3. Avocado and tomato sandwiches

Things I would do if I were a billionaire: 1. Fund our retirement 2. Establish a fund for helping people to cover adoption expenses 3. Travel the world 4. Buy a house for my parents 5. Fund research for a cure for cancer

Five jobs that I have had: 1. Missionary (now don't you think I'm spiritual!!) 2. Montessori preschool teacher 3. Children's ministry preschool director 4. Babysitter 5. Administrative assistant to the meanest man in the world and his mean wife

Three of my habits: 1. When I get into bed, I lie on my back. Then I turn over with a pillow between my knees. Then I turn over onto my tummy (always facing to the left of the bed). I know I'm not going to go to sleep in the first two positions, but still I always go in that order. 2. List-making!! I'm obsessed with making lists! 3. Running my fingers through my hair - I do it all the time. I just love the feeling on my scalp. I'd be worried about going bald if I didn't have enough hair for myself and 1800 of my closest friends.

Five place I have lived: 1. Tucson, Arizona 2. The O.C. (trust me, my experience was nothing like the tv show!!) 3. Ternitz, Austria (a small little town an hour south of Vienna) 4. Miami, FL 5. Doha, Qatar (for the past two months and counting!!)

Five People I Want to Get to Know Better: (a nice way of saying TAG!) Ok, I know some of you hate doing stuff like this. Don't feel obligated!! Just play along if you want to and laugh at me if you don't!

1. Mylinda (a good IRL friend who blogs about her adventures as a homeschooling mom of 4)
2. Lynn (a new friend here in Doha who is in the process of trying to adopt a baby from Ethiopia - her heart on her blog is so amazing!)
3. Erica (another new Doha friend - so into the scrapbooking that I can't do!! This site is full of great ideas if you are a scrapbooker!)
4. Karen (one of my loyal bloggy friends - Karen is a godly woman who I have enjoyed getting to know)
5. Tracye - (a bloggy friend who is doing an amazing job of being a single mom while her hubby is away)

There is a very interesting discussion going on over at Lightning Online about commenting on blogs. But it's not your typical discussion about how to get your readers to comment or if it's appropriate or not to lurk at your favorite blogs.

The discussion centers on the blogger's response to comments received. What is appropriate? Apparently, some people believe that each and every comment should receive a response. Others feel that only certain, well-thought out and meaningful ones do. And yet other people feel that replying is an optional thing that the blogger may or may not have the time or inclination to do.

First of all, I want to apologize if you've commented here and I've offended you by not getting back to you. I truly value each and every one of you who spend a moment or two of your time to visit me here. I may question your judgement, LOL!!, but I appreciate you!

If I haven't responded to you, it's most likely it's because I don't really know what the proper etiquette is. I feel awkward responding within the comments section (unless it's a question that would benefit other readers). I never know if someone will come back to see if I've answered, so I am not sure if that is beneficial.

I often respond to those who comment by writing them an email. However, many unfortunately have not checked the box to enable people to respond via email. Please, please check the box.

And finally, I will usually come on over and visit your blog and leave a comment on yours. Not so much in a tit-for-tat way, but to get to know you a little bit. Usually I'll leave comments thanking you for visiting and mentioning a post you've written that touched me.

So, I guess my question(s) is/are:

If you comment on this (or any other blog) do you go back to read the comments section to see if there is a response from the blog owner?

Is there a valid reason why people don't "check the box" or is it just an oversight?

Do you stop visiting blogs of those who don't reply to your comments?

Thanks for your input! You can be sure I will reply to each and every one of these comments!!! LOL!!

Thanks to the advice of Tammi, I braved the world of html code and searched for a blog template on my own. I love this one, but being a novice to all this, I have a few questions for those of you who have any understanding.

My nav bar is gone. Like a thief in the night. Does anyone know how to get it back?

All my little widgets are gone. I know I can rebuild these - favorites lists, counter, awards, etc. But it will take me some time to do that. No problem, but is there anyway I could just cut and paste from my old template?

Ok, off to clean the house. I've got a showing at 10. Pray!!!

I'm in desperate need of a blog makeover.

I spend w-a-a-a-y too much time each day visiting blog after blog that is smart and sassy, beautiful and inspiring.

It's enough to make that green-eyed monster rise up within me and cause me to want to go all crazy, playing with my template and experimenting.

Except I know NOTHING about html. Or Photoshop. Or Photobucket.

Basically I know nothing period.

So I'm looking for recommendations of blog designers. But money is an issue - I'm looking for something that would be maybe $50-75. I don't think I could explain more than that to Hubby, particularly since we haven't had a full paycheck since Christmas.

If you know anyone that could help me, please leave me a comment - especially if they've done your blog and I can pop over and take a look.

'Cuz so help me, if I don't do something to pretty up this place, one day soon you'll come here and see nothing but scrambled letter and colors.

Or whatever happens when your template gets all messed up.

Tracy over at Mama of Boys has graciously blessed me with the Blogging with a Purpose award. Tracy is such a sweet thing, with three adorable boys whom she homeschools. Be sure to go over and check her site out, particularly if you have a child with food allergies.

Anyways, on to the business of the Blogging With a Purpose Award Rules:


1. Awarded parties must nominate five people who have not received the award.
2. The blogs that receive the award must serve some purpose.
3. In their post about the award they need to link back to this entry.
4. Awarded parties must post the award banner on their site. The banner must remain linked to the above linked site.

My nominees are:

Jenny at Life is Not a Cereal - Jenny always has amazing insights (well, that or amazing scrapbooking ideas!). I always come away from her blog thinking about what she's said and pondering it. Good stuff!

Jess at Mourning Into Dancing - Jess is an amazing woman of God who doesn't believe she is. Which, to me, is the best kind. She struggles and has regrets and yet she has an amazing relationship with Christ. Reading her blog helps me to remember that it's about my relationship with Christ, not what I do or who I am.

Laura at My Quotidian Mysteries - Laura has become my "orientation" guide to life in Doha. She's offered tons of advice and encouragement. But her blog is a wonderful site full of thought-provoking stuff. Plus her devotions at CWO are incredible.

Anya at Sanctuary Moment - Anya is a beautiful writer. Her posts are so moving and so well-thought out, helping me to find sanctuary in all of life.

Mrs. Fussypants at Marriage Hacks - Her posts are forthright and funny, and always encourage me to be a better wife to Hubby.

Now, I know that some of the women do not post awards on their sites and that's ok. I just hope that you might find something new to check out through this post. All of these women are well worth your time.

Stacey from The Truest Thing tagged me for this (and blessed me with the accompanying award) quite some time ago and I've been too wrapped up in my own chaos to both thank her and forward it on. Sorry for being so neglectful, Stacey, but here you go - some absolute random weirdness about me to make up for it!!

Here are the RULES:

• Link to the person that tagged you.
• Post the rules on your blog.
• Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
• Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
• Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Now, just because it was so funny, I'm including Stacey's vow that she made you take when reading her post. It's really funny and I can't resist putting it in and substituting my name. Hope you don't mind, Stacey!

"Now before I get started, everyone raise your right hand and repeat after me:

I, ________, solemnly swear to not laugh at, be shocked by, nor hold against Lori, any of the below stated facts. I promise to continue to visit and support her despite any awkward vibes I may feel after reading her facts. I will not remove her from my Google Reader as a way of punishing her for her random weirdness."

Now that we got that out of the way, here are 7 weird and/or random facts about me.

1. I'm totally addicted to reading. I read all the time. My favorite place is the library. I buy at least 1 magazine every time I go to the grocery store. I will read the back of boxes if there is nothing else to read. It's how I relax.
2. I have a secret boyfriend. Well, maybe not so secret. And he's not actually my boyfriend, I just like to pretend he is. Who is this mystery man, you ask? Jon Bon Jovi. Love him, love him, love him. Yes, I hate his politics and I understand that some of his song lyrics are inappropriate. But ever since the day that I first saw him strutting around in his ripped jeans with his big hair singing, "Living on a Prayer" he's held a secret place in my heart. And hey, I think he's held up pretty well over time, don't you?
3. Other teen crushes who did not hold up so well over time - David Lee Roth, Prince, Micheal Jackson, Scott Baio, Gopher from the Love Boat, George Michael, and Leif Garret. Some of those I just shudder when I look back upon. Bet you can guess which ones!
4. I almost did not graduate from high school. Because of typing. Yes, you read that correctly - typing. My parents made me move in my SENIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL (an event which I am still in therapy over). My new high school required 4 more credits to graduate than my original school. Consequently, I spent my senior year in high school working after school for credit, going to night school, and coming in 1 hour early to take an extra class (instead, of course, of having fun like all seniors should be doing!!!). One required course was typing, which I did not do well at - ironic since I would later make a living typing papers for college students. I was getting an "F" and they were going to make me go to summer school. Only the irate, screaming phone call of my mother saved me from such a fate.
5. Moving on from high school trivia, we now move onto my criminal background. As I mentioned before, I worked as a missionary in Austria in my 20's. I worked mainly with refugees from behind the Iron Curtain (dating myself here, I know). The timing couldn't have been better - right before I came home, Communism began to crumble. The Berlin Wall came down, the Velvet Revolution took place in Czechoslovakia, Ceausescu was overthrown in Romania. A very thrilling time for me, but even more so for those people I had been ministering to who were watching their homelands being set free. I was blessed to be able to help some of those people sneak across the borders of Austria back into their home countries. Yep, human smuggling.
6. Prior to that, in 1988 I spent a month in Poland on a short-term mission. Guess what we did? Yep - more smuggling. But this time it was Bibles. Trust me, passing through the border from West Germany into East Germany, with barbed wires, towers with gun guards trained on you, and landmines on the fields along the roads to prevent running away made me awfully nervous. But we got through without any problems, thank God. As you can see, I'm a hardened criminal.
7. I am unable to blow dry my own hair. I mean, I can get it dry, but it looks terrible. Frizzy and not straight and beautiful like the salon does. I don't get it. Can anyone help me with this? It's a tragedy of epic proportions, I know.

Ok, now you know my whole sordid history. Seriously, the whole "I had a crush on Michael Jackson" thing? That right there is cause for questioning my judgement for life.

Ok, I'm tagging these people to play along:

Leeann - from Is It Morning Already?

Mylinda - from The Buggy Crew

Tammi - from ValleyGirl

Tiffany - from Life on the Road

Amy - from A Handful of Children

Laura - from My Quotidian Mysteries

Charity - from Faith, Hope and Charity

Have at it, ladies!!

First of all, a huge shout-out to Revka over at Designs by RS, who designed and installed my new header. I won this during one of their Christmas giveaways and she very kindly worked with me and made it just perfect for me. Be sure to drop by and check out their blog - they are always offering new discounts and layouts that can spruce your blog up.

UPDATED: After reading Amanda's comment, I changed the text from green to silver. I think it still looks pretty festive! Thanks for the help!


At home my blog looks all pretty and Christmas-y, red and green, happy and bright.

But I just checked in while I'm here at the church bookstore and it's so dark I can hardly see the words even!!

If anyone is having this same problem and can't see the words, please let me know and I'll change it. Otherwise I'll assume it's the horrible old computer I'm stuck with here at church.