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!

Our New Apartment

Here are a few photos of our new apartment.

Here is the living room.  And no we have no furniture yet...it's currently on it's way to the Bahamas and is expected to land there on November 4th with no estimate of when it will arrive here in Houston.

Nice.  I hope my furniture has fun there...

I'm thinking of buying dressers from the 2nd hand store to put our clothes in while we wait.

Here is the kitchen - nice and open!  I missed that in Dubai and London both places generally have kitchens with doors.

Here is my nice BIG bathroom!  I love having drawers again!

Here is the court yard outside our living room.  It's green and growing...not sandy!

Life is good!

And We're Back...

I have internet again so I'm up and running...

Kinda.

Who knew moving back would make me so busy?  When I moved to Dubai I can remember being bored out of my mind getting depressed and having problems getting out of bed.

Literally.

Now I'm up at 5am and I'm going all day long.

I'm exhausted by the end of the day!

Between setting up the house, taking care of the puppy and looking for a job AND getting back in touch with friends I'm booked solid.

And I still need to re-connect with my friends in the UAE and UK.

I suck at keeping in touch when I'm in flux.

So I'm going to be putting up multiple posts regarding what has been going on....

Get ready...

Here it comes....

Oh and will you look at that location?  It's HOUSTON baby!

No Internet!

I have no internet right now so it's been a pain trying to keep in touch!  We should have internet tomorrow - fingers crossed!

Here is a quick summary of what has been going on...

We moved into our new apartment, we have no furniture but a good friend loaned us dishes and utensils thank goodness.

It is a pain and it's expensive to replace everything we had to get rid of when we moved from Dubai and I'm glad I don't have to purchase things we already have, but just haven't arrived yet!

We picked up miss Gracie Jane - she's soo cute!

I'm still looking for a job but have been really busy setting up the house.

I'll write more and add photos when we are back online...

Here I Sit...

In the hotel room.  It's 7pm and I think it's safe to say...

I ONLY HAVE 2 MORE DAYS LEFT IN THE UAE!!!

Can I get whoop, whoop, up in here?!

We have a few things left to do.

1.  Pay the movers.  Seems like they forgot to ask for payment.  Interesting.  It's a good thing I asked.  Because apparently they will not ship anything outside the country until they have payment.  And they forgot to get it from us.

2.  Get the final bill from DEWA (the electric company here) so we can...

3.  Get the deposit back from the landlord.

4.  Get verification that the cat can fly.

5.  LEAVE!

Shakin' my ass, shakin' my ass...

I seem to do a lot of that here in this blog.

Oh well I like it and it is my blog!

Here I go, shakin' my ass, shakin' my ass, shakin' my ass!

I'm Waiting....

For the movers to get here and finish packing me up.

For the spa to open so I change my appointment because the movers are not finished.

For my neighbor to wake up so I can go and chat while I'm waiting for the movers.

I can't believe I had to get up so early - 5:30 AM.

I can't wait to sleep in tomorrow.

I only have 5 more days left in this country!

I'm wondering if I should create a new blog for the US or just rename this blog.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

In other news - I did NOT eat that doughnut at Starbucks this morning.

THAT took some major will power.

I'm just sayin'.

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!

International Moves

Are very stressful and frustrating.

My husband and I are tense, have had some spats, and I feel super stressed out regarding the schedule.

6 more days of work.

3 more days until they pack us out.

10 more days until we leave.

What to take?

What to sell?

And why am I getting freaky about things.

That just. Don't. Matter.

You know like should we bring these glasses?  Or get rid of them?

I'm like NO leave them, he's like YES take them.

But really who gives a crap?

They don't add any extra weight or cost to the move.

So really it's just not a big deal.

Oh and guess what - I broke a fricken mirror.

What does one have to do to negate the 7 years of bad luck?

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...

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!

Good Golly Molly!

My husband's boss decided today that he should concentrate solely on North America, with an eye to Europe for opportunities. 

What does that mean you ask?

It means he will be based in HOUSTON!  And he won't have to visit the ME monthly!

Does it get any better than this?!

I don't think so!

Well, maybe if Gabi were still around to enjoy it...

Oh, I just thought of something - since he's going to be based in Houston it may mean that I won't be staying with my BBF SP for a the few months that we had planned. 

Hmmm - I was looking forward to hanging with her and the family for a few months.

Oh well - I'll still be A LOT closer to her than I am now!

Caio!

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!

I can't believe I use to be so small!

I'm going through my clothes - ones that I've had in my cedar chest for the past 5+ years.

Do you know that I use to wear a petite small in my dress shirts?

That I'm looking at a size five sun dress that I use to wear all the time?!  Yes the sun dress I use to wear when I was 28 - but still...

I am getting rid of all my size 8 suits that I use to wear in Houston.  Not only do they not fit - they're out of style.  About 7 - 9 years out of style.  So even if I lost my voluptuous curves - I still wouldn't wear them.

So out the door they go.

Who knows what else I'll find - considering that I haven't shifted through these things since London.  I don't think I even looked at this stuff when we moved from London to Dubai - I think the last time I actually looked at this stuff was when we moved to London.

Like in Feb / March 2005.

Treasures to uncover....

Productivity

Can you believe it - I was actually a bit productive this weekend.

I cooked food for the first part of the week.

I sorted through some boxes and tossed out a lot of stuff!

But, I didn't do an inventory of what needs to be insured.

My goal tonight is to start sorting through my clothes.  I have way too many that I don't wear. 

Well actually, can't wear.

It's the F.A.T.

My bootie is too big for a lot of my clothes. 

I have a hard time letting go.  Especially when I really like something.

I keep thinking - I just need to loose xx pounds.  Then It'll fit.

I don't think those size 4's are going to ever fit again.

EVER. 

So it should be safe to let them go, hmmmm?

Progress Report

Well, I've been thinking....

What... are you sinking about?

Well, I'm thinking about what the hell I can do in this ridiculous country if I'm stuck here for the next 2 - 3 years.

This is what I've come up with so far...

1. Join Fitness First - Because....

I need to get out of the house during the week and it's right across the street from where I work and I need to lose weight

2. Become so busy I don't have time to breath, in order to do that I believe I'm going to...

Get an Master of Science in Accounting and Financial Management

There is an online program that SP told me about at the University of Maryland which has an accredited online Masters in Accounting. 


And it's a lot cheaper than the University of Phoenix. Too bad I didn't find it when I was looking at MBA's I could have had mine for 1/2 of what I paid UoP.

Live and learn.

3. I need to find a new J.O.B.! 


I can't do the monkey work anymore.


My brain is totally dying. I'm going to start drooling and shuffling around the house if I don't do something about it soon. 

Soooo

I'm going to identify large multinational corporations who have operations in Dubai and
Look into the big 4 here to see if they are any better than they were when I checked them out 2 yrs ago.


So I figure if I'm busy at work, and I'm busy at home that won't leave me anytime to think.

We'll see....

Weight Loss - Vacation - America

I started a weight loss blog yesterday.  This should be interesting.

I'll keep you posted if I meet my milestones.

We decided to go to Bo Phut Thailand for our beach holiday in April.

Very exciting. 

I love America.  When we move back I have a whole list of things I want to do.

The top of the list...

Finding a house to buy!

Pros / Cons of Moving Back to America

I worry, I'm a worrier. The thing that I worry about with moving back to the US is that I won't get to see my husband, then our marriage will fall apart. Blah - I do not want that.

That is the only con to moving home.

The ONLY one.

But it's a big one - big enough to cancel out all the pros.

I must really love my husband because here are all the pros to moving home:

1. I can have my own house again (buy not rent).

2. I can see my friends easily - both those in Houston and those in other parts of the States.

3. I can do volunteer work.

4. I can join clubs that are meaningful for women.

5. I will be able to find a job more easily and be compensated properly - even in the middle of a recession.

6. I'll get paid on time.

7. I'll have a career track if I want one or I can work contract - my choice.

8. I don't need my husband's permission for anything.

9. I'm protected if anything happens to my husband - our assets will go to me not his father.

10. Easier to exercise - well it may not be easier in reality, but for some reason psychologically it's easier.

11. Better healthcare.

12. I can take a wider range of classes - i.e. felt making.

13. My sister is near.

14. It's America - even if Obama is trying to turn it into a socialist society.

So yeah I really, really love my husband - because those are a lot of pros and only one con.