Arabia

Micah and I have only been in Saudi Arabia for a few days but I already feel like there is so much to tell.  I guess the easiest way is to start at the beginning.

We had a very easy trip over.  Let me just tell you that flying business class is nothing like flying coach and even flying business class on Qatar airways is better than business class on KLM.  Once we made it inside the airport in Houston we were able to go sit in the lounge.  The Qatar lounge in Houston is only ok but it is still way better than sitting in the main area.  When we boarded the flight attendant immediately brought me champagne!  Our seats laid all the way down allowing for some great sleep during the 15 hour flight. Take a look at our spacious seating area on the plane:

After the 15 hour flight we landed in Doha, Qatar and in Qatar we were able to go to the first class lounge.  It was definitely first class.  I could have stayed there longer but we only had a short layover for our 1 hour flight to Saudi. The most frustrating part of our trip was the immigration line. I have heard many horror stories and compared to those  our experience wasn't too bad.  Our guy working our line looked really mad or upset, it was hard to tell which and he was very slow. He said maybe 2 words to us the whole time he was "checking" us in.  I had to do fingerprints and take a picture and then we were through.  We made it to our apartment at about 11:00pm Saudi time.  

Our first day in Saudi Micah had us scheduled to go to Khobar.  Khobar is a city about an hour to an hour and a half from Jubail where we live.  Khobar has bigger malls and better shopping.  We went to a store called "Desert Designs" where I found many things I could buy.  Then we just wandered around the mall taking in the sights and stores.  I did see a huge sign saying "COMING SOON: EXPRESS"!  I'm so excited to have an Express store in Saudi even if it is 3x more expensive.  There was also a GAP, Banana Republic, and New York and Company, plus some European stores that looked fun.  We ate at Chilis for lunch and then went to the Tamimis which is one of their big grocery stores.  

One thing you have to worry about here is prayer time.  Everything you do (off the compound) has to be scheduled around prayer times....and they pray 5 times a day!  So I'm starting to learn that you either get up and leave early morning to get stuff done before lunchish pray time or you wait until after.  Some stores and restaurants will let you continue to shop or eat but they won't check you out during that time.  

Today, Saturday July 3, was Micah's first day to go to work and leave me at home alone.  Luckily my parents were really great to the BEST driver here, Alex.  He is actually assigned to the President of S-Chem but since he liked my parents so much he told me to call him so I did.  Mom and Dad had left us a TON of stuff at the old compound in Saudi so Alex drove me and another lady, Lonna, over to the compound to sort through the stuff.  He loaded up 6-7 boxes plus other odds and ends into the car and then unloaded them for us at my apartment.  Then he was gracious enough to take Lonna and I to Applebee's and to the grocery store in Jubail called Panda.  So far my grocery shopping experiences have been pretty good.  I feel like I can find almost anything I would want.  Our grocery store on the compound is actually very well stocked as well.

Some interesting things I have noticed: Restaurants and even some stores have a "family only" entrance and a "singles" entrance. The mall food court had family seating and single seating. Most of the stores have beer, but if you look closely at the can you will see the big NA= non alcoholic.  Our table at Applebee's had a large wooden partition we could use if we didn't want people to see our faces while eating.  I was not able to get a sim card for my phone without my husbands permission. They truly do drive like maniacs. It is hot.  Jet lag is terrible. Our compound is beautiful and the facilities are wonderful. 

I have  feeling once I get over jet lag, and Gizmo gets here,  it will be a very easy transition for me.

*Saudi's don't like you to take pictures so I had to take these very carefully. 

notice the wooden partition on wheels by the booth

It's even budwieser!

The Goodbye Tour

After spending 39 days in Saudi Arabia all alone, Micah returned for the official "Goodbye Tour".  This tour started in the great city of Wagoner, Oklahoma.  

Gizmo and I drove to Wagoner from Houston and met his parents at their house.  Then all 4 of us picked Micah up from the Tulsa airport.  We were all so excited to see Micah including his Gizmo.  We only had a couple days in Wagoner so we had to cram in all the fun we could.  On day 1 we went to the Illinois river and did some canoeing with Micah's parents.  We had a great time swimming, floating, and soaking up the sunshine.

On Day 2, Andy and Jackie came to Wagoner to visit along with their beautiful little girl Kate and Gizmo's cousin Max.  During the morning the boys went to play golf while the girls relaxed.  And in the evening we did some jet skiing, eating, and family time.  Kate is such a fun kid to be around.  She was sick during our visit but she was still as happy as can be. She even decided to do some of Gizmo's tricks. 

And as it seems to go when you have kids around, I have no pictures of the adults during this time unless they are with Kate :(  I promise we were all there. 

Our Second stop on tour was Clear Lake.  We have been so blessed during our 3 years of living in Clear Lake.  Our friends are incredible and I know they will be lifelong friends even if from a distance.  Two of our close friends had babies in May only a few days apart.  This trip was Micah's first chance to meet the babies.  Our first night we went to our traditional Pappasito's dinner with Brad and Meredith. Before we left for dinner we met at their house so that Micah could meet Charlotte. She is so beautiful and so is her Mom. 

On our second day in Clear Lake we were able to go to our church for that last time in a long time.  This was a little more difficult for me than I expected.  Our church has been such a blessing to us over the past few years and it is the reason we have such great friends.  It is also hard to grasp that we will no longer be able to "legally" have church.  Thanks so much to everyone at Clear Creek Community Church! After church we were also able to do our traditional after church lunch with our friends the Perry's and the Carpenters.  

Also on Sunday we were able to attend our friends going away party.  As some of you may or may not know, our best friends Brooks and Lindsey Perry are also moving to Saudi Arabia with us!  Even thought this was their going away party a few of our mutual friends were there as well.  This party also was our time to say goodbye for the last time.  Sadly I don't have many pictures from the party.

At the party we were also able to spend more time with the other new baby, Addison Carpenter.  She is also a beautiful baby and she did so great at the party. 

Thanks to Lindsey for throwing a great party!

Our final destination was Humble, Texas at my parents house.  During this stop, Micah and my dad played golf, we swam and played with our niece Bailey.  We went to see Toy Story 3 and even ate at Pappasito's one last time.  And once again I have very few pictures of the adults and a million of Bailey and Gizmo. 

We spent most of our last day in Houston packing and getting everything ready.  It was a very stressful day for me since I was getting calls from our Realtor about selling our house and trying to make sure the loose ends with Gizmo were all tied up.  In the end, my mom made me a wonderful going away dinner of brisket and my favorite potatoes and we had some time to sit and talk.  

It was very hard to say goodbye to all of our friends and family but we are both looking forward to this new adventure and are ready to get it started.  We love you guys!

Sweet Home Louisiana

For those of you who don't know, I spent most of my "growing up" years in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  We moved to Louisiana during the summer before my 4th grade year.  My parents bought a house in a new neighborhood where we were the 7 house built.  This is where I met my best childhood friend, Camille.  I can't explain to you how great it is as a new kid to have at least one friend.  One of the next friends that I made was Holly.  We kinda had a strange meeting and I'm not sure I can actually tell you how it happened.  I know that we played softball together on my very first softball team ever and as it turns out, she and Camille were also friends.  Well, I tell you all this so that you will understand this picture.  This week I was able to eat dinner and hang out with some long lost friends but I know they will be friends for life.

Holly, Me, & Camille

This week, I was also able to hang out with some friends from college.  They moved to Baton Rouge almost 2 years ago after living in Houston by us for a brief time.  Jordan, Kristeen and I went to TJ ribs (my fav) and then hung out at their house....but I don't have any pictures from that.

On top of those two fun nights, I was able to hang out with my sister and her family. It was so great to see my sister and neices and nephews.  One of my neices recently turned 19!  Isn't that crazy!

Beau is my nephew and he is 8 years old.  Micah and I gave him my old laptop for his birthday.  I'm pretty sure I will be his favorite aunt for a while ;)  

My week also included lots of swimming which brought a great tan and a little sunburn.  The boys had a great time.  Madasin enjoyed it too but she really wanted to be free to swim on her own.

Louisiana and everyone in it will be greatly missed!

Are We Done Yet?!

*WARNING! This post may show dirty, disheveled, filthy pictures of tired people.

In the beginning of the moving process there are quite a few nastalgic moments when you think about leaving your home.  You look back on all the fun memories you have in your house.  All the times you had your friends over for dinner, family came to visit, and even just the simple times of laying on the couch watching tv with your hubby and your dog. And then it happens.  The cleaning, sorting, meetings with realtors, having to keep your house spot less at every moment, phone calls, appointments, etc. Then, more meetings, more phone calls, more cleaning, more fixing!

Thats where I am today with the more fixing section. Micah and I have started the process of getting the company to buy our house.  Part of that process is getting an inspection and then getting everything on that inspection list fixed.  The inspection came back with a nice list and an estimated total to fix everything at about $2500.  Now, I read this list and knew that most of it could be done by me and Micah.  If only Micah was still in the United States.  In comes Dad.  Let me just say, my Dad is pretty much the greatest Dad on earth.  I will also say that I thought this even before this weekend but I think this weekend is living proof.  Dad agreed to spend his Friday off work helping me "fix" my house.  He did everything from replacing gas lines in the attic to replacing siding on the top of our house.  Here was our work list:

- clean gutters
-replace rotting siding
- put an "anti-tip" device on our stove
-put back flow protector valves on the outside faucets
-change out a deadbolt key lock (dumb!)
-fix bathroom drain stoppers
- put fixtures on lights in the closets
- replace the gas line on our heating unit
-figure out why we had water spots, fix it, cover up the spots
-installing smoke detectors
- electrical things which an electrician will have to do

This list took us about a total of 14 hours over a 1.5 day period and $240 at Lowes.  What a saving! I find that I am actually a very handy person was able to do many of these things on my own while my dad worked on the more difficult items.   Here are a few pictures from our day. 

Dad working on the rotted siding

Me working on the deadbolt.  Watch out! I have a drill and I know how to use it!

I am working on rigging up a "anti-tip" device.  Dad is fixing some more rotted siding.  This picture doesn't really do it justice but he is actually on our roof in a tiny portion barely squeezed in.  I prayed the whole time he was up there!

By then end of these two days there was no nastalgia left in me.  I am just ready to be done with the house! Again, thanks to my Dad for helping out and saving us so much money!

Packing Up!

Wow, it seems like it has been a long time since I have posted.  SOOO much has happened since stepping off the plane from NYC.  Micah left for Saudi soon after we returned on May 13. Between May 13 and May 20 I spent most of my time organizing, cleaning, getting paperwork together, and doing our last minute shopping.  I also had to figure out where everything was going.  My 3 options were storage, sea, or air shipment. It is very challenging to figure out how much stuff to bring and what should go air, etc. I understand that many of you have no idea what it is like to have a moving company do your moving for you.  Let me just say, it is AMAZING.  I hope to never move without them again.  Here is a very basic walk through.

First the movers come in and get a basic walk through.  I did my best to remember what was going where and I had labeled a decent amount of my stuff before hand. After they feel like they have a good idea of the house and whats going on it is basically a whirlwind.  They move in tons of empty boxes, wrapping paper, tape, and even put down floor protectors. 

After they have most of their supplies inside they disperse throughout the house and get to wrapping and packing.  For our house we had 5 people packing everything up.  The air shipment was packed up first and I was able to run through the house and add a lot more stuff to it than I thought I would.  It is pretty amazing to watch how quickly they can wrap and pack stuff.  They were completely done with wrapping everything and putting everything in boxes by 5pm. 

Our house packing required a few "specialist".  There was a specific team that came in to break down and transport our pool table (which went to storage).  Another team came just to crate up our TV's.  Plasmas apparently do not transport well so they have to be extra careful with them. 

                          

They next day they returned with a truck to take storage items and a sea crate to take our sea shipment. The sea crate did not arrive on time so the guys started moving everything out into our garage/drive-way.  I think they were ready to be done. Once the sea crate arrived, they had our entire house loaded and cleared within 3 hours. 

I basically didn't do a single thing during these two days. I occasionally answered questions, bought the workers food, and sat in a chair in the kitchen and watched. My wonderful Mom was there with me both days for moral support and helped keep me company.

As the packers finished rooms, my Mom and I would work behind them cleaning out the cabinets and floors. At the end of the day we were able to leave behind a clean empty house. Now, we just need someone to buy it.

NYC

This past week Micah had training for work in New Jersey.  Before his training Micah traveled to Washington D.C. to visit his friend from high school, Andrew.  Since he went without me, he has no pictures and nothing to write about it ;).   However, I flew in on Monday and met Micah at the hotel on Monday.   Tuesday we were able to go into "the city" to see a Yankees game.  This was Micah's anniversary present.  We had great seats and even had our own waiter to get our food and beverages.  

On Wednesday night the company Micah was training with brought us to Time Square to a great restaurant called "Carmine's"  we had all we could eat and drink.  We had a great time.  Thursday was Micah's last day of training and we were leaving New Jersey for NYC for the weekend.  I decided to head in early by myself to get some shopping time.  Navigating the trains with a huge suitcase by myself was an interesting experience.  Shopping was fun.  I actually felt lost in Macy's most of the time I was there.  I'm pretty positive I walked over 3 miles that day before Micah ever even made it into the city.  Our first hotel in Times Square was....interesting.  It was old, dated, and reminded me of a Europe hotel. Check out the wallpaper. 

Thursday night we met my family friend who lives in Manhattan for dinner. We were able to see a part of the city we may have never gone to without her.  We walked around some of the buildings of NYU.  It's so strange to have a college "campus" that is nothing like the traditional campus.  

Friday we spent almost the whole day in Central Park.  It was amazing to see such a beautiful park in such a huge city.  There were places in the park where you could completely forget you were in a city.  We did a lot of people watching and imagining what it would have been like to grow up in Manhattan.  We even stopped for a few minutes to watch a little league game.  They were not very good though. 

Friday night we went back to the hotel to get ready to go see Wicked on Broadway.  This was my anniversary present.  As we were about to walk out of the hotel I looked at the ticket and realized it said THURSDAY!  Yes, that's right, we had missed the play.  I had completely screwed up.  Besides just missing my anniversary present, I will admit my ego was hurt.  However, Micah being the great husband that he is got online and bought me tickets for the next day.  How amazing is he!  So our plans for Friday night had to change.  We decided to go to this hole in the wall pizza place we had heard about in Brooklyn under the Brooklyn bridge.  We rode the Subway to Brooklyn, ate some amazing pizza, and then walked back over the Brooklyn bridge.  It was so much fun!

Saturday we finally were able to see Wicked.  It was amazing of course.  After the play we just roamed around the city.  We sat in Bryant Park and had a few beers and a fun conversation with some old (my grandparents age) British folk.   It was so fun to just take in the city and watch the way people live there. 

We Love NYC!

Schools Out Forever!

Friday was my last day at Landolt Elementary.  I spent a great 2 years (almost 2, didn't quite finish this one) at the school and was fortunate to work with a wonderful team.  Despite the worries and warnings before I took this position, everything turned out great.  I loved working in the public schools and loved getting to be in the gym all day, there is no better place at an elementary school.  It is great to hear the laughing and chanting and loudness of the gym as kids are playing games and learning new sport skills.  I'm not sure if I will ever actually be in the schools again but I learned a lot about kids during my short career time. 

Heres what I learned:

- Rock, paper, scissors can solve almost any argument

-If 2 kids are fighting over 1 thing, they both loose it

-I LOVE saying the most hated parent phrases such as "Because I said so".  I also believe every kid needs to learn how to accept these phrases 

-Never reject a hug from a kid (until they get older)

-If you want to know what kids think about you, teach Kindergarden! They say exactly what they are thinking no matter what

-the best laid plan can go very wrong- have back-up plans

-You have to teach kids how to win and how to lose and that it is a fact of life (most schools try to not teach this and I believe that is the worst idea possible)

-If you are having a bad hair day, kids will let you know

-Four  women  CAN  work  together in close quarters and get along (who knew?)

-When you start yelling, you've lost em', most kids start to tune out or know that they have won

-Never make a threat you can't keep

-Admit when you make a mistake.  Kids need to SEE how that is done and learn by example

-Most of all: kids learn by watching and they are watching your every move.  Live the way you want them to live and talk the way you want them to talk.  If you want them to be respectful, show them respect.

 Here is a picture of my wonderful team.