Rollin with the homies....

That song is in my head.

GET OUT! GET OUT!

There that's better...

Our stuff still hasn't arrived yet.

I'm a little sick of having no furniture.

Actually I an SUPER sick of having no furniture.  I dropped a note to the girl who is suppose to be "co-ordinating" the shipping to see where are things are and she says:

"Dear Judith,

 

I'm sorry but the update has not changed as of yet. Hopefully when this is supposed to arrive to the Bahamas tomorrow they will give me additional information for this. Again I'm sorry I don't have better news. I hope to be able to update you again within the next few days."

So I wrote back:

"Thank you Jessica.

I have a question.

My understanding is that shipping lines have schedules for their ships.  While I understand things can happen (storms, mechanical failure etc...) which would impact this schedule, I fail to understand how the company cannot give us an expected arrival date.  They must have some sort of schedule otherwise how are they getting business?  Most freighters have to have some kind of target arrival date otherwise company's wouldn't engage their services.

Can you please either question the freighter company and strongly request an estimated date of arrival and reason for the delay or give me their contact details and I'll contact them for the information.

Thanks,"

So she wrote back that the office is closed and she'll get back with me.

If I don't hear anything tomorrow - I'm going to call her.

Thanks goodness for our friends who loaned us a card table, folding chairs and dishes.

Anyway since I don't have furniture I'm obsessing over furniture.

So we were shopping this past weekend and I found the couch I want to buy when we get a house.

It's from Restoration Hardware and I love it - the Mr. didn't even argue when he saw it.  We may even get it sooner rather than later.  But first I need a J.O.B.

We also like this bed from RH.

I like this chair because it fits me.

I may get two and put a table between so there is a small seating area.

I also kinda like this instead of night stands.

It looks like a night stand to me - but it's listed as a "trunk".

Go figure.

Anyway I guess my shopping will be virtual until I'm working and the stuff I already own gets here.

What a

PAIN.

IN.

THE.

ASS.

On the bright side...

I'm in AMERICA!

I'm a Voter!

I voted early!

I'm very proud of myself.

Of course I voted Republican right down the line - except for one guy.  Randy something or another.

His little helpers left a flyer at my house with photos of him and his family.

I would recommend that he not do that again in the future.  He looks and dresses like a total bubba.

As does his children.

Think trailers, motorcycles, and people who live at the bar.

He reminded me of my father.

NOT a good thing.

Think alcoholic, never there, checked out of reality in the 60's.

So NOT going to vote for someone like that.

Who in the world thinks photos of them in their undershirt is a good thing.  Especially when you don't look like an Abercrombie & Fitch model.

If you look like this and want me to vote for you:

Feel free to send me your photos.

No wait - I ENCOURAGE you to send me your photos.

But if you look like this and want me to vote for you:

Please, keep your photos to yourself.  It will have the opposite affect that you want.  I won't vote for you.

I know the thought process behind it he's trying to say - "Look at me I'm a good ole boy, I'm one of you...".

But the only thing I hear is "Look at me I'm an alcoholic, I'll drink your money away."

Not good.  I'm voting for the other guy.

I don't care who the other guy is.

He could even be a Hippy Lovin' Democrat.

Which is what I think I voted for.

Scary huh?

Date Night

We had a date Thursday night.

It was a lot of fun.

We went to the Bayou Gardens and did the sip and walk.

That's where you walk through the gardens while sipping on a glass of wine.

Nice.

The hubby - he was carrying the wine while I carried the eats...

 I think the owners of the house were going for a European garden feel.

I liked it, it was a nice garden and a nice walk.

 There were also fountains.  I like this photo - it looks like a fake background.  But it was real...

My artistic photo.

And cupid.

A bridge - I liked it in black and white better than color.

It was a really nice evening out - we're doing more of this than we ever had before.  There are so many more choices in America.  What to do, what to be.

You just can't beat it.

More Americans should have to live out of the country so they can see how great our country is compared to the rest of the world.

I love being home.

Updates

I haven't been keeping in touch very well, neither on my blog or in my life personally.

I need to update my blog to reflect the fact that I'm BACK!

I'm going to keep updating this one until I'm move into our new apartment and our stuff has been delivered by the movers.

I think that's a good demarkation point.  I was there and now I'm here.

Then I'm going to start a new blog and link this one to it.

I've been busy getting things together and living with my bf SP has kept me busy.

Chatting

Shopping

Cooking

Hanging

And who knew kids were so time consuming?!

It's been fun, but I've been shit at calling my friends here and reconnecting, or keeping connected to my friends in the UK and the UAE.

It'll get better once I'm in my own place and have some sort of routine.  But right now I'm just trying to get settled in.

Yesterday we bought a new bed - since ours will not arrive until after the 30th and,

I've started the great job hunt -met with a recruiter and now need to get on the stick to apply and call etc...

Hopefully I'll be employed soon.

If not full time I'm going to go for a part-time job.  Maybe at Starbucks...

Anyway I'm going to make an effort to update more often, call my friends, and get my fricken Skype sorted out.  It keeps freezing up and not allowing me to chat or make phone calls.

Later!

What a Bum!

I thought I'd be:

Writing prolifically in my Blog.

Organizing my Kindle books in an excel spreadsheet jotting down the summary so I could tell what the books were about without opening them up.

That's the downside to an electronic book - if you forget the order they should be read in, forget what they are about, etc... it's a pain to open it up in the kindle to try and figure it out.


Madly looking for a job.

Calling all my friends and having lunch / dinner / drinks / coffee.

I can't figure out what I've been doing instead.

What have I been doing for the past week (can you believe I'll be home for a week this Wednesday?!)?

Well I did get some things done - I found an apartment, we bought a car, I set up the electricity for the apartment, arranged to pick up Gracie Jane, and I have an appointment on Thursday with a recruiter.

I also took AW to the doctor, and I'm running errands and going grocery shopping today.

Huh...I guess I've done a bit more than I thought.

But still nothing I thought I'd be doing.  I need to write a list.

Then I can mark things off.

Be productive.

I love being in America!

Another Great Day

In the 'hood!

Ha Ha Ha!

I had an interesting experience today - I took my best friend SP's son to the doctor.

I've never taken a child to the doctor before (not really a child he's 13 soon to be 14).

Thank goodness he knew where he was going - I wouldn't have gotten him there in time if I had been navigating.

I'm directionally challenged - I admit it.

Anyway, they ask A LOT of questions.  Questions that I didn't know - questions that the answers, I would have thought, would have been in the computer.

 Like - are you allergic to anything, how tall are you, etc...

After all he'd been there before.

Good thing he knew the answers.  I sure as hell didn't.

So basically I was the chauffeur - he did all the talking.  I'm really glad it wasn't the 3 year old I was taking to the Dr.

I would have really sucked at that, and most likely they would have called CPS on me for not knowing the basics.  You know questions like, what's his birthday?

Anyway - it was a good time, he's a good kid and very capable.  Who knew kids were so very time consuming and costly.  That 3 hour visit cost about 250 in co-pays.  But it turned out he did fracture his thumb.

So the visit did last longer and cost more than anticipated.

New topic....

I still don't know what I'm going to rename the blog.  Maybe I'll have this as one page and my American experiences as another....

I'm thinking, I'm thinking....

Sunday Morning

It's my first Sunday back in America.

I LOVE SUNDAY'S!

We're doing what one should do on a Sunday.

Having pancakes.

Watching TV, relaxing in the living room.

SUNDAY!

The First Day...

Home.

I'm home!  I'm home!

We arrived last night and it's my first morning home.

I dropped the husband off at work, and now life begins.

I drove in rush hour traffic - but did I get frustrated?  Upset?

NO!

I'm in America and I was just taking it all in.

The blue sky, the green grass (boy do I miss the color green), the courteous drivers.

Yes, I know in about 6 months I'll be cussing a blue streak at the so called courteous drivers - but really Houstonians drive much better than the drivers in Dubai.

In Dubai the locals (and the expats who've gone native) act like the roads are their own personal race track - I'm not kidding.

I'm driving about 120km an hour (which I think is about 80mph) and they are passing me like I'm standing still.  You do NOT want to be in front of them blocking their way.  It's very dangerous.

Now I'm going to finish up a few things from work - meeting notes and such.

Then I'm going apartment hunting - let's see how long that takes.  I'm thinking a day or two.

Tonight we're buying a car.

And the job hunt is going to be kicked into full gear.

I love my life.

I love my husband.

AMERICA!

OMG! It's My Last DAY!

It's my last day in Dubai!

My last night!

And I am so excited to be going home!

This weekend we've already planned to:

1.  Go to Einsteins and Nails by TN
2.  Buy a car for Sammy
3.  Look for an apartment
4.  Visit friends

Think that's too much for the weekend?

Not really - it's surprisingly easy to buy a car in the US when you have a credit history, the same goes for getting an apartment.

So nice to be going home!

Gracie Jane Update!

Here is the new photo of Gracie Jane!  She's about 6 weeks old now.

Isn't she adorable?!

The breeder said that they have put on about 2 or 3lbs but I can't tell because there isn't anything next to her for scale.

When we get here I'll be taking photos so we can document growth - next to a toy maybe?

I can't wait to get home and get settled. 

Only 3 more days!

Life is good...

Really good.

I HATE Moving

Can I just say to you that I absolutely hate moving.

My husband and I are fighting.

The movers are looking at us like we're pod people.

And they are packing us up.

I'm very glad to be moving to the US, but I'm really, REALLY, stressed out.

So, I went to my neighbors.

With my Vodka.

The good stuff - Belvedere.

I had a generous glass.

So right now I AM DRUNK.

Maybe not the best way to be when moving.

But it was either this or become a raging maniac.

Moving is NO FUN!  Even when you are going to the promise land.

Oh, did I mention that it's only 12 noon now.  I was drinking at 11am.

But it's 5 o'clock somewhere right?

It's the Final Count Down!

If I remember correctly isn't that a song by Asia?

Am I dating myself?

Anway here are the stats!

I have:

3 days left at work (not counting today)
1 day left until the movers pack me up
7 days until I leave on a jet plane!

I can't believe it's coming up so fast!

We've sold just about everything we wanted to, and the rest is going to a service called Take My Junk UAE.

http://www.takemyjunkuae.com/

They take your stuff and either sell or donate it to needy families.

I'm not sure how much actually goes to needy families - to be quite honest I don't care.

They are the only ones I've been able to find who will come take my junk away, so they get it.

We have quite the agenda for the first weekend back home.  My husband wants to buy a car, and I want to find an apartment.

And of course I'll be dealing with Jet Lag.

JET LAG

Which means I'll be ready for bed everyday for a week or so at 6pm.  I always feel like I've been drugged when I go home.  And when I fly to Dubai.  But flying to Europe is pretty easy - it's just anything over 12 hours kicks my ass.

Then the 2nd weekend we are home we're going to get Gracie Jane!  Unless we can't get an apartment right away.  Then we'll have to wait.

I bought the dog whisperer book on how to raise a puppy since I've only raised a dog from about 4 - 6 months old not 8 weeks old.

I figured I'd need a little more info and guidance on how to take care of a baby puppy.  And of course it's been a long, long time since I had a dog of 6 months.  Like 9 years ago.

I'm really looking forward to seeing her grow up.  I'm sure I'll be posting tons of photos of the little fattie as she grows.

Ciao!

No More Arabic Please!

I really do not like it when my web pages are flipped to Arabic.

I mean I've been typing and reading everything in English, my country is marked as America, yet my browser keeps flipping to Arabic.

My blogger page, my Google.com are both now in Arabic.

Because I can't even begin to read it and it's left to right instead of right to left I have to click on everything until I click on the English button on my Blogger page. 

I have to Google, Google.com so I can choose the English site - which may take awhile because the "smart" computer which identifies where you are physically keeps flippin me back to the Arabic site.

ARGH!

I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football.

You know what!?  I'm going to be back home in time to watch It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown on TV this year!!!!

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)

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!

I'm doing a little happy dance...you just can't see it!

Guess what!?

I gave my notice in the office today!

I'm moving back to the good old U. S. of A!!!!!

Crazy happy dance, crazy happy dance!

I am going to be so busy because our lease here is up on Sept 30 and I have to organize an international move in just 5 weeks.

But I don't care because I'M GOING HOME!!!

I'm...shankin my ass, shakin my ass, shakin my ass!

America watch out I'ma comin home!

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!

I'm very happy right now.

I'll tell you more tomorrow!

But I can tell you this I am sooooo HAPPY!

And I'm having some Ben Nevis!

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!