Yesterday was a blah crappy day. I wasn't feeling thankful and I was struggling to find anything to be thankful for. I have a new life plan and unfortunately, I can't move on to the new plan for at least 12 months so I was discouraged.
BUT... I have a lot to be thankful for!
I am thankful this thanksgiving weekend for...
classes that are canceled because the kids are going on a field trip
a roomate who helped our living room morph into a christmas getaway
good friends who celebrated american thanksgiving with E and I... (they were British, Welsh, and Emirati)
a 3 day teaching week, followed by 1 carnival day at work, then a 3 day weekend
friends from home visiting and bringing a care package from my mom
17 days, 15 hours until I board an airplane bound for the states and family
I have a lot to be grateful for.
Thanks.
Moral of the story: even on a latte detox you can find joy and happiness!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Delicious Desserts
I didn't want to make an entire Turkeyday feast this year because I'm still detoxing. No Sugar. No Starch. So I created a potluck style dinner. I made the turkey (a roast rather than a large turkey, our oven is smaller this year than last) and gravy. Elaina made the pumpkin pie and stuffing. Everyone else was given a dish (along with specific instructions on how to make it) and we had a feast!!!
Because I wasn't stuck in the kitchen making the main course, I experimented yesterday with desserts (Elaina suggested I post this to help my wife resume). I made chocolate covered pretzels, peanut butter cookies with candy-cane hershey's kisses on top, chocolate covered oreo reindeer cookies, and a four layer 10 kilo cake, covered with M&M's and surrounded by kit-kats...
For dinner, I ate turkey, asparagus, and frozen strawberries. . . next year I'll stuff my face with the rest... a skinnier healthier me!!
four layers of sugar
the bottom two layers are separated by a chocolate sauce
yummy yummy yummy
emma and sarah dig in... with a spatula!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Arranged Marriages
My brother Josh often mentions how he supports or at least is interested in the concept of arrange marriages. Since moving to the Middle East, I've witnessed some arrangements thrive, and others horribly fail. But I believe that there is hope for these marriages - IF the person arranging them truly knows and cares for both the bride and groom.
This is an open invitation to all you meddlers out there. Though I have a back up plan (someone who has agreed to marry me if I'm 30 and single), I thought I'd give this whole arranging thing a shot. If you want, I can even provide you with a short list!
Elaina is also onboard with the plan, but we can't rely on each other to find our perfect match considering our geographic limitations, so we're accepting interference! Since Elaina's smoking hot and I'm funny, this should be a breeze!?
Requirements:
25-45 years old
Loves traveling and must collect airmiles
Must respect and be willing to support our coffee addictions
* Volunteers will also be considered. We are equal opportunists and do not discriminate against race or color, however we do discriminate against gynecologist, pediatrists, urologists, snake charmers, or professional clowns.
** Parents need not participate.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
thanks
I've been waiting for 2 weeks to get a puncture in my left rear tire fixed. After taking my Honda racecar in for servicing last week, it took nearly 48 hours for me figure out the spare tire was on my car and my regular rims were in the trunk. A quick call to the service centre informed me that there was a nail in the tire, they swapped it out for me and 'forgot' to tell me...
I procrastinated getting the tire fixed because I didn't want to go to Sanaiya, the male dominated "fix anything" area of town. You can get a hair cut, buy a kitchen sink, smoke shisha, replace tires, and best of all, drive in circles trying not to hit the random Pakistani who thinks it's a logical idea to race across four lanes of traffic blindfolded. So I was thrilled last night when someone told me that I could get the hole fixed at the Adnoc Petrol Station. I was dubious, but headed off to Adnoc. I was so cocky that I stupidly made a bet with my friend that there was no tire service at Adnoc - whoops, I could have avoided Sanaiya weeks ago and fixed the tire (don't worry, I was driving on a full sized tire, not a donut).
After a quick inspection, the serviceman had some bad news for me - they wouldn't fix the hole because of the location on the tire. Apparently holes on the side will just rip open again, if it's on the flat surface area, the reinforcements will help hold the seal. So instead of a 15 minute, $15 fix - it was going to cost me $100 bucks and take much longer.
Dad doesn't have a cell phone so I rang Jason again and again, hoping he'd answer from out on the golf course, but of course he didn't. I literally sat in the open trunk, elbows resting on my knees, chin on my hands, waiting for divine inspiration. I'm often taken advantage of in such situations, I know less than nothing about cars, tires, and batteries! I glanced forward and realized that an acquaintance of mine was about 20 feet in front of me getting an oil change. "Mohammad," I called out and waved hello. He came over and wanted to know the situation... he laughed at my distress and told me I just had to buy a new tire - easy! He told the handyman (in Arabic) something that sounded like "just do it" and commanded me to "come" as he walked off towards the convenience store.
Not knowing what else to do, I followed him, let him buy me some water, then whinged about how life isn't fair, my tires aren't more than 2 months old, and how I was sure I was being taken advantage of. Mohammad just listened patiently to my whinging, sipping his guava juice and avoiding the layer of dust on my car. He explained to me the benefits of nitrogen in tires and the differences between his nissan patrol and range rover. 30 minutes later it was time to pay up and head out. I followed Mohammad into the little service office and realized he had already settled the bill. Whoa! My two week procrastination had paid off after a perfectly timed arrival at the Adnoc Service Centre!!!
Thanks!
I procrastinated getting the tire fixed because I didn't want to go to Sanaiya, the male dominated "fix anything" area of town. You can get a hair cut, buy a kitchen sink, smoke shisha, replace tires, and best of all, drive in circles trying not to hit the random Pakistani who thinks it's a logical idea to race across four lanes of traffic blindfolded. So I was thrilled last night when someone told me that I could get the hole fixed at the Adnoc Petrol Station. I was dubious, but headed off to Adnoc. I was so cocky that I stupidly made a bet with my friend that there was no tire service at Adnoc - whoops, I could have avoided Sanaiya weeks ago and fixed the tire (don't worry, I was driving on a full sized tire, not a donut).
After a quick inspection, the serviceman had some bad news for me - they wouldn't fix the hole because of the location on the tire. Apparently holes on the side will just rip open again, if it's on the flat surface area, the reinforcements will help hold the seal. So instead of a 15 minute, $15 fix - it was going to cost me $100 bucks and take much longer.
Dad doesn't have a cell phone so I rang Jason again and again, hoping he'd answer from out on the golf course, but of course he didn't. I literally sat in the open trunk, elbows resting on my knees, chin on my hands, waiting for divine inspiration. I'm often taken advantage of in such situations, I know less than nothing about cars, tires, and batteries! I glanced forward and realized that an acquaintance of mine was about 20 feet in front of me getting an oil change. "Mohammad," I called out and waved hello. He came over and wanted to know the situation... he laughed at my distress and told me I just had to buy a new tire - easy! He told the handyman (in Arabic) something that sounded like "just do it" and commanded me to "come" as he walked off towards the convenience store.
Not knowing what else to do, I followed him, let him buy me some water, then whinged about how life isn't fair, my tires aren't more than 2 months old, and how I was sure I was being taken advantage of. Mohammad just listened patiently to my whinging, sipping his guava juice and avoiding the layer of dust on my car. He explained to me the benefits of nitrogen in tires and the differences between his nissan patrol and range rover. 30 minutes later it was time to pay up and head out. I followed Mohammad into the little service office and realized he had already settled the bill. Whoa! My two week procrastination had paid off after a perfectly timed arrival at the Adnoc Service Centre!!!
Thanks!
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