justafewpics

the creek


black and washam at dinner


the beach january 30th. mmm. thank you.


patient actors for capitan ron's EMT class


yaya and sally


pensive yaya in the princess room


sally and norah. cute monkey.


laundry detergent


screaming sally and washam in the desert

not a real post.

i wish i could post something, but i am going out to dinner with new friends. so there is no time to tell you that we are doing well, and that so far still so good. more to come.

desert

well we went to the desert. with an experienced couple who have lived in the middle east for about 15 yrs. i didnt exactly know what to expect when they said "oh we will go to the desert" i thought sand. drive around a little. who knows. well when they showed up to our house pulling a four wheeler, i knew i was in for something. and it was something. we were working on the house and waiting for katie and glo to get back to the house, so we didn't even leave the house til after dark. we drove just about 15 minutes outside of town to "the desert" aka the side of the road in the sand. where we built a fire, ate foil dinners, and of course road the 4wheeler. i was hazed. forced into the unknown. part of the orientation i was told. oh the old peer pressure. then we went with the captain in his four wheel drive sport utility vehicle and went on a ride through the dunes. in the car. dodging camels and large bushes. they are now calling me screaming sally because of the loud voices that exited my mouth during the hazing. anyway. it was fun. no pictures sorry it was dark. i am sure we will go again. ron and kim are great. they work with gloria and dave, and have been really supportive during the move and transition.
we have no internet at the villa thus far. maybe next week.

my view.

from mine and katie's private balcony. :)

basically

its like normal, but on the other side of the world and in the desert. generally speaking. i mean really how different can living with an american family be eventhough we arent in america. kids running around, crying, needing diapers changed, and wanting their mommy and food and a sippie cup. we all speak the same language right.

really it all comes down to bubbles. what kid do you know doesn't like bubbles? i cannot think of one. katie and i took aliza AKA yaya, down to their courtyard of the apartment building this am for some quality bubble blowing time. of course two other little children couldn't contain their love for bubbles and joined in for fun with the magical airy balls of soap floating through the air. these two little kids weren't connected in anyway. one was maybe 2ish and the other little boy was maybe 6. they had different colored skin and some kind of accents, one was asian decent, and the other indian, but they both spoke and understood english. although the 6 year old would rather not obey english. but what kid would really. katie and i enjoyed our little dip into the culture ever so slightly.

we ventured to one of the massive malls here in Dubai, and today I will be going to Ikea where the Fur's will purchace a large amount of furniture for their new villa. we are all staying in their apartment right now, but the movers come on saturday. which will be great. they will pack and move and we will be all set to go and help Glo set up her new home.

also friday is the sunday here in dubai, so tomorrow is the first launch team meeting for the new ch.rch that will be starting in one month. sounds like there will be almost a hundred people for just the launch team! that is exciting. they will be meeting at a hotel, and there are three men on staff for what's about to happen. there is a lot going on to say the least. we are glad to be here to help out in all of the transitions. i am trying to be laid back adaptable and flexible. not my strong suits, but working on that.

we are officially in dubai!

welcome to the airport!



welcome to the burj!

here we go

here we go we gonna rock. easy come easy go now we on top.

i leave for dubai tonight. its gonna be a good night. ha.

NYC to DC to Dubai via 12hour overnight flight. think these two chicas deserve an upgrade? we can only hope.

i'm feelin good. so glad Katie and I are traveling together, and so glad i got to see some wonderful people here in the big city.

catch ya on the flipside.

earth shattering

i wouldn't normally stop to blog about something completely random when i am leaving in less that 12 hours to move half way around the world, however this is an extreme circumstance.

let me preface this story by letting you know that when i got back in the car my mother said, "oh i forgot that buying makeup is traumatic for you." i gingerly reminded her that indeed that is why i was hoping she was going to get out of the car and follow me in as moral support.

speaking of support. i think there should be a make up counter support group.

its that time of year again. i need new concealer. my little pot of laura mercier eye concealer is empty at the bottom and just lingering around the edges of the circular dish. so before i ran off to dubai i thought it would be in my best interest to go ahead and purchase new. but i knew what i had was not going to be a second time purchase, which puts me of course, back at square one. kassi- the well informed sister in law about had my head 6 weeks ago when she saw me do my make up, so i thought that since she does have her cosmetology license then i should take a shot at what she uses. so i stroll up to the lancome counter and of course its a nice woman there to help me. she has a beautiful accent, perfect make up. i tell her what i need, new concealer, she starts working. i say i am not buying both those even though she is trying two things on my eyes at the same time. and no i am not buying eye cream either.

well to make a long story short she asks in reference to the dark shadows on my skin below my eyeballs, " is that from lack of sleep or is it like that all the time?" an innocent question. i am sure you have all been dying to ask me the same thing for the past 26 years of my life. if you don't recall the other traumatic experiences i have had with makeup artists you should look at this PSA . and yes it is all the same.

so we are looking at the different options and trying the different types and colors and combinations. well we come to the conclusion that the combo of a corrector AND an undereye concealer clairII is very noticeably better than any one by itself. anyone of you could have been able to tell the difference. i asked one of the other make up ladies at the counter. it didn't take her two seconds to notice. my mother noticed at dusk with just the dome light of the car and my sister in law noticed in the odd lighting in her laundry room an hour and a half after application. well of course i had to buy both.

as kathryn would say.....
i.die.

keep calm

happy new year

went to houston to be with some good friends. saw maggie and nikki which was wonderful to see them both before i leave the country. i keep seeing posts on facebook about people looking forward to 2010 and lets just say they aint got nothin on my 2010. this is going to be a good interesting life changing year.

here's the thing. i am looking forward to nyc next weekend, because i am sure of the good times i will have there. i know it will be cold, and that i wont really have a good coat since after my two days in nyc i will be relocating to the desert, so it will be frigid, but i know i will see dear friends and be in a place i LOVE.

then tuesday will happen, and i will be in a brand new unknown. unknown culture, language, people, friends, home, job, bed, food, land, climate, all unknown. i have ideas, expectations, day dreams, but really it is all totally unknown. i guess that is what venture and mis adventure is all about. diving into unknowns and living and learning. here go's nothing...with the Lord's help thankfully.