Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Whoo-Hoo!!!
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 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!)
Thursday, September 9, 2010
I'm Back with a Quick Update
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.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Moving Again!
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!!!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Have a Blessed Easter
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!)
Monday, March 29, 2010
Menu Plan Monday - March 29
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.)
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Well, I've Been Surprised Again!
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!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Menu Plan Monday - March 22
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
LinkWithin
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments
