Cleaning out the Clutter

I spent the weekend going through my things in preparation to move.

Well, o.k. I really only spend part of Saturday.

Friday  I hung out with friends. 

At the mall.

Where I bought a really cute necklace.

I do love to shop.

And Saturday morning my husband and I went and had coffee.  It was tastee...


Anyhooo....

I chucked out a lot of things,

Expired sun tan lotion - the expiration date was in 2007...OUCH!

Expired vitamins - 2009

Old make-up - no idea how old it was and couldn't remember ever using it - so trash.

Elastic bands that were no longer elastic.

Random papers.

And of course I threw out things I didn't mean to throw out...

My nail clippers.

My eye pencil that I use everyday.

Safety pins.

And who knows what else.

But you know what?  My bathroom looks really organized now.  As do my drawers and my closet.

AND I posted some stuff on Dubizzel (the equivalent of Craig's List over here) and it all sold with in about 4 hours!!!!

I am so psyched! 

16 Days Left!!!

I only have 16 days left until I get to leave!!!!

Then I'm back in America!

For good!

I CANNOT WAIT!

Whooop! Whooop!  Shakin my ass, shakin my ass...

9-11 Remember

“There is no grief like the grief that does not speak” --- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

Pizzeria Uno

Yeah I know.

And no, today I can't think of anything better to blog about.

I think I have bloggers block.

Last night I went and had pizza with friends.

As you know, I don't usually agree to go out for pizza, I pretty much don't like pizza.

But this pizza...this pizza is GOOD.

http://uno.know-where.com/pizzeria/cgi/index?mapid=intl&design=default&lang=en

I'm certain they make the crust with BUTTER!

It's just sooo YUMMY!

And as you know - I cannot resist baked goods with butter!

And the chain is American.

Ahhhhhhh.....America!

AMERICA! The Job Hunt...Starts!

This is why I love America:

"Hi Judith.  Welcome back!  We have not met but thought I would reach out and see if we can meet.  Your resume online seems to indicate you are moving back this month.  If you are here I would like to work with you to see if I  can help you find a new role.  I am a fiannce and accounting recruiter here in Houston and have been in this business for 7 years.  Prior to that I was a CFO in a publicly held company.  Would be delighted to work with you.  Thanks for the reply.  Look forward to meeting you and see if we can find a new role for you in Houston. "


This was from a recruiter who pulled my CV from Monster, which I updated on Sunday indicating that I was moving back to the US in September and would be available for a J.O.B.  


Now she spelled finance wrong, but really it's about the fact that a real person wrote me regarding employment.


In America.


And...guess what?!


She didn't ask for a photo.


She didn't ask for my nationality.


Or my age.


Or my passport number.


Go figure.


A real inquiry from a real person.


That acts professional (except for the spelling error).


I wonder how long it will take me to find a job in the US...


Ain't life grand?


Oh sorry - Ain't AMERICA GRAND!

No Corn Tortillas

Here's reason 1,687 that I'm glad to be moving back to the US.

Supply Chain Management.

When you go to the grocery store here it's hit and miss.

Yes, they import way more American items than the UK did.

But it's not consistent. 

So sometimes you can get corn tortillas, but most of the time you can't find them to save your life.

Like last night.

I wanted corn tortillas to make something similar to Taquitos.  But no go.

But I did find a few cans of Bush's Black Beans.  So I picked up 3 cans.

I didn't buy them all because after all....

I'M LEAVING DUBAI AT THE END OF THE MONTH!!!!

So I don't have to horde food when I find it any more!

Actually I'm trying to eat through everything I have now. 

I think I have about 20 cans of Rotel.  I don't think I'll be finishing that off before I leave.

I'll try - but I'd have to eat one can a day.

And yeah.  That's not happening.

AMERICA!

Only in Dubai

My husband and I went out to dinner on Friday night.

We went to PF Chang's - where they have imported American Chef's and American management.

Go America.

So it's a slice of the US in the Middle East.

So tastee!

Anyway - we pop into Crate and Barrel (yes the mall we went to is US focused - they also have a Pottery Barn!).

And guess what we see.

Parents checking their bags in with the security guard.

Oh, and their children!

Ha ha ha ha!

The kids were left in the carts, with the bags, with the security guard!

Who was playing with the kids while the parents shopped!

Only in Dubai would it be normal and acceptable to leave your kids with a stranger!

Of course in Denmark they leave the kids in their strollers outside the shops, in the streets, by themselves.

No kidding.  In the street.

It's a pedestrian street, but still...

I guess people don't take kids over there, or over here.

Or it's so rare parents don't even think about it.