What he said

Dan at Necessary Roughness has a good post on the murder of Dr. Tiller in Wichita. He sums it up nicely and better than I could.

What I have to look forward to

Elections race heats up as rival politicians trade accusations

The thing is...after all their posturing, ranting, and raving like the lunatics they so obviously are (where are the men in the white coats when you need them?) we still spend half our day on generator because they can't figure out how to get the power to stay on all day and we still have to watch our water supply and make sure it came that day before starting the washing machine (assuming we're not already on generator anyway). Oh, and do I run the refrigerator or the water heater? Which is more important...good hygiene or avoiding food poisoning? Hmmm...decisions, decisions.

Summer dreamin'

Well, only 2 full weeks of school left with students then one week of teachers-only...except for the day of the end of year program. I made the mistake of counting wrong and was thinking we had only 1 full week and then the light one. {sigh}

Grades are done, though.

In just a few short weeks we'll be in Lebanon! Life is so much better there. The air is better...if you're not near Beirut...and no A/C needed. Our apartment would be cooler if we were up a couple of floors but on the ground we have a garden. I prefer that. Windows on only one side keep it a bit warm but we can deal with it though. Fans are good.

I've been encouraging friends here to come and visit us if they have the chance this summer. Sleeping arrangements will have to be worked out, but who cares? Friends to visit and sight see with are worth interesting beds, n'est-ce pas?

There's something afoot at our place. I wish I could share it with you but I have to wait. I have no idea how long but once something gets sent off in an e-mail tomorrow we'll be on pins and needles indefinitely. {The few of you out there who know what I'm talking about...SHHHHHHHH!!!}

Well, I'm off to tutor for the last time and then back to help the Boss prepare for his spelling final tomorrow. Ciao, y'all!

Remembering fallen soldiers

Kuwaitis join Americans in honoring fallen soldiers

Summer Buzz

The kids got haircuts the other day. The Diva's isn't particularly noticeable. Just a trim of the bangs and any ends that needed getting rid of. But the boys...that's a different story.



The Boss wanted his cut very short so it looks {almost} like he's joined the Army. The Little Prince, due to his light blond hair, looks like he DID. He was very insistent that he wanted it as short as the Boss's and since I wasn't in the mood to argue, it would look nice, and, hey, it'll grow back anyway, agreed. I asked why he was so insistent and he said he didn't want A to brush it. (A is our maid/nanny who gets them ready in the morning...and love coming his hair, btw.)



Well, no one's combing his hair these days...but I warned him that we'd be rubbing his head frequently. He makes sure we don't forget. {"Here, Mom, rub my head!" as he sticks his head at me.}

Morning Commute

You say you have a God problem?

God isn’t the problem.

The problem is people wanting to be God.

We reintroduce God; we retrain people.

Craig Donofrio and Bill Cwirla are

The God Whisperers.

I have a long drive to and from work in the morning. It takes about half an hour (though usually less if I can beat traffic) to get to work in the morning. Before I received an iPod for Christmas over a year ago I was stuck with either BBC radio (which is good if you're in the mood for news) or Kuwait's idea of what ALL westerners want to listen to or Arabic music. Ugh!

Since receiving the iPod I've discovered the wonderful world of podcasts. I have a routine. Every Sunday morning, being the Lord's Day, I listen to the previous week's podcast of The Lutheran Hour. Then on Monday morning I listen to the podcast of The White Horse Inn. Of the podcasts I'm currently listening to, I've listened to them the longest.

Then on Tuesday, if the latest episode has downloaded for the week, I listen to The God Whisperers. If you've ever heard Car Talk, you have an idea what these guys sound like...only different accents. Think of it as Car Talk for Christians. This program is an hour long so I finish on the way home. Unless I'm giving my friend a ride home. She's an atheist that has been threatened with having to listen to sermons if she tells me what's happening on LOST this season. {We prefer to rent the entire season and watch in a weekend rather than download and watch an episode at a time.} Actually, I'll probably take pity on her and let her listen to TGW instead.

If you're expecting to hear sound doctrine and a thorough discussion of theology, you won't be disappointed. If how ever you're expecting to hear a serious discussion of it...well, that would depend upon your idea of serious.

These guys have a tendancy to go off on tangents. That's probably the understatement of the millenium. They usually start off the segment by discussing what's going on in religious news. They usually get to the topic du jour sometime before the end of the first half hour. However, don't hold your breath. During their series on the Lord's Prayer they spent the first half hour of one broadcast discussing the fact that it was International Toilet Day.

Then there are the last two broadcasts, called Pot Luck editions for a reason. They're one long tangent...or probably more accurately, a series of tangents woven together into a...something.

In keeping with the flavor of the show, there is the Endless Thread on the Wittenberg Trail. We go off on worse tangents than the show does. You'll find recipes, videos, theological discussions, sports scores, jokes, Latin quotes, Shakespeare quotes, things you just won't believe. We just passed the 7,000 post mark. For each 1,000th, the winning poster gets his/her pick from the Schwag Store.

If you like theology, humor, tangents, and open day on just about anything...you'll love The God Whisperers. You can listen online, listen on Pirate Christian Radio (see the sidebar), or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

Yuck!

Yesterday just kept getting better and better. {sigh}

I told you about the hot classrooms. The 4 classes stuck in hot classrooms spread out around the school. My class hung out in the auditorium for the rest of the day except for lunch when we came back to the room to each and have birthday cake brought by the birthday girl's mom. Great timing, huh?

I was already feeling bad anyway so I got permission to leave around 1. Remember that Range Rover I got for my birthday? The dark blue one? Guess what wasn't working yesterday? Yes, that's right! The A/C. A 30-minute drive drive in a dark blue car with no A/C. Lovely.

Last night I took the Boss to the clinic and there was only 1 doctor working so we waited about 45 minutes before heading to church where I was playing piano. {I have to admit my playing really sucked last night...we should have stayed at the clinic for the sake of the poor parishioners.} After church we went back to the clinic and waited about an hour. The A/C was cranked down so low that I was wishing for a coat. If I hadn't already been sick I would have been by then.

After we got the Boss's medicine for his throat infection {which the Diva already has} I went to my doctor and got medicine for MY throat infection. Don't you just love families? At least my doctor's office had the A/C at the proper temperature and a very short wait.

Today I'm home to rest and give the antibiotic a chance to kick in. Hopefully nothing will break down here.

The temps here are already in the 50s. That's not good. I'm really counting down the days now.

MEMORIAL DAY TRIBUTE, IN A MOTHER'S EYES

Oh, man!

Not only are the highs for this week in the 100s, but there's no A/C in my classroom this morning. Most class rooms have it, but on our section of the hallway, we don't. The teacher across the hall has a thermometer in her room and it's reading 30C in there...about 90 degrees. There are about 5 of us without in our classrooms.

Apparently yesterday it was 51 in the morning and is probably there today. If this is what May's like I don't want to know what this summer will be. I've never been so happy to head to Lebanon in my life! No a/c and no need for it.

I've done the core of the lesson for 1st period today but now the girls are reading silently. I wonder how long we can keep that up before that's too hot an activity.




ETA: We've spent most of the day in the auditorium...or at least the girls have. I've sat in here and graded papers that needed to get done and then I hid in a staff room on the boys' side. We're back in here for lunch and then back in the auditorium for the rest of the day. It's about 100 in our rooms now.

Is it feeling a little warm in here?

Today I took the Diva to the doctor in Salmiya. We noticed when we stepped out around 10 that it was feeling pretty warm. By the time we got to his office and were walking from the car to the building it was really feeling hot. The Kuwaiti couple in the elevator with us were complaining of the temp too and how hot it's supposed to be today.

We enjoyed the A/C in the office and the pharmacy getting her antibiotic and then braved the hot blast to the car. While checking my e-mail I checked Weather Underground and the forecast for today and tomorrow is 109...it was already up to 104. I'm so not ready for this. Especially when I check the current temp in Beirut and it's 75.

A few more weeks and we're in Lebanon...I can't wait.

Tampon Mystery

I received this e-mail several years ago. Actually before I was even pregnant with the Peanuts. So at that time I was also the only female in the house...except for the cat. I've kept this in my inbox ever since because it's one of my favorite forwards of all time. Enjoy!

OK, I'm the only female in a house full of guys. 4 sons and a hubby. Toilet seat is never down...etc.

SOOOOoooooooooo I'm the only one who would be using female products.....correct?

A STRANGE thing was happening at my house. Tampons were disappearing. *Insert Twilight Zone theme here*

Ok....A few months ago I went to my cupboard to get out a tampon and there was ONLY one left. I could have sworn I had just bought a box the month before. So, I go back to the store, buy a new box and forget about it.
The next month I go back to the cupboard.....and VOILA....there is only ONE tampon left again.

What's going on here? Gremlins???

I go to the store and buy another box, and forget about it. WELL.....I decided to clean out my two youngest sons' closet and LOW and BEHOLD....at the bottom of their closet are the wrappers, applicators and the tampons themselves. I am starting to FREAK!!!

Dear God, what are they doing with them??????

I get a hold of myself and tell myself that I am an adult and can handle this, despite the bizarre thoughts running through my mind. I'm thinking,

"Do I have enough money saved up in the bank for MAJOR THERAPY?"

I go to the top of the stairs and yell for my two youngest sons to "COME HERE!!!!"

They march up the stairs and find me in their room staring into the bottom of their closet. I said "What are you doing with THOSE? THOSE are MINE!"

My 12 year old looks like a deer caught in the headlights and is silent.

My 10 year old looks at me all innocent and says, "Well, Mom, we were playing with our G.I. Joes and stuff... and THOSE make really good SCUD missiles... What do YOU use them for?"

Here they are folks!

Way to go, ladies!

I know...I go days without blogging and then several in one night. Go figure! But I figured this is worth it. Great news, huh?

‘She’ did it … She’s in!; 4 women through in historic poll; Kuwait punishes Islamists … votes for change {For complete story go HERE}

KUWAIT CITY, May 17: Kuwaitis voted for change in the second poll in a year, giving women their first seats in Parliament and punishing Sunni Islamic groups, according to results released on Sunday. Frustrated at political turmoil that has rocked the country over the past three years, Kuwaitis voted 21 new faces into the 50-member Parliament, reducing Sunni Muslim groups to a minority. There was no immediate official figure on Saturday’s election turnout, but the state-run KUNA news agency estimated it at 58 percent, down from last year’s 65 percent. Four women candidates made history by winning the first female seats in the Kuwaiti Parliament, with one of them coming on top of the 10 winners from her district. Liberals Maasouma Al-Mubarak, Aseel Al-Awadhi and Rola Dashti, besides independent Salwa Al-Jassar won seats in the new house. All are US-educated and hold doctorate degrees in political science, economics and education. Kuwaiti leaders hailed the achievement as a deserved win. In a cable of congratulations to the four women, HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said he was “very delighted at the great results achieved by Kuwaiti women and their deserved sucess in the elections.” HH the Crown Prince also sent a similar cable. Sixteen women were among 210 candidates who stood in the election, the third since 2006. “This is the will of change of the Kuwaiti people,” MP Mubarak told AFP. “We hope the results will lead to political stability and help achieve the desired cooperation between Parliament and government.” The two mainstream Sunni groups, the Islamic Salafi Alliance and the Islamic Constitutional Movement, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, were dealt a heavy blow, winning just three seats versus seven they held in the previous Parliament. Their tribal Islamist supporters were also reduced from 14 to just eight seats. Liberals and their allies improved their tally by one seat to eight. The Shiite Muslim minority emerged big winners, almost doubling their strength from five seats to as many as nine. Five of them are Islamist Shiites. The nationalist Popular Action Bloc led by veteran opposition figure Ahmad Al-Saadoun took three seats, down one. Major tribes, which account for half of the population, won 25 seats, a few of them pro-Islamists. “Frustration with the past two Parliaments pushed voters to seek change. And here it comes in the form of this sweeping victory for women,” said one of the women elected, Al-Mubarak, who was also the country’s first female Cabinet minister. “Kuwaitis conveyed a strong and clear message of change when they elected four women to the Parliament,” MP-elect Al-Mubarak said. Expressing her interest in the Deputy National Assembly Speaker’s post, Al-Mubarak revealed she intends to compete for this position. She believes the success of four female candidates in the elections is a product of coordinated efforts among citizens, hence, the need to maintain national unity in the interest of the country. She added she has no intention to accept any ministerial post as she wants to focus on her new role as a parliamentarian to serve the voters, indicating the transformation of Kuwait into a financial and commercial hub is possible only through the cooperation of citizens. Calling for the implementation of genuine economic reforms, Al-Mubarak vowed to focus on development and protection of Kuwait’s image in the international arena. She hopes the next Parliament will put the remarks of the Amir on top of their priority lists and complete the democratic process. Proud of being a Kuwaiti, Al-Mubarak said the election results convey a strong message to those who have been initiating conflicts that change will take effect soon and “I am honored to be part of it.” She went on to say “achieving our dream to enter the Parliament has become more meaningful as it coincided with the 10th anniversary of HH the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah’s issuance of a decree granting women’s rights on May 16, 1999.” Dr Aseel Al-Awadhi said “we are at a crossroads and we should coordinate in overcoming the current political chaos.” She also unveiled her plan to seek membership of the parliamentary Education Affairs Committee, banking on her long experience as Social Science professor at Kuwait University (KU). She expressed her gratitude to the Kuwaiti voters who made history by supporting her candidacy. She thanked those who exerted tremendous efforts to help her during the campaign, especially the citizens who went to the polling stations to cast their votes and bestowed their trust on her. She promised to do everything to reshape Kuwait’s future and focus on development. In leaflets that she distributed to voters in her constituency, Al-Awadhi said she came from a middle class Kuwaiti family. Her father worked at the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW), while her mother was a Mathematics teacher. This, she revealed, was the reason why she took interest and excelled in Mathematics, stating she studied in Al-Adailiya School. “People voted for change because people are fed up with deadlocks. It is time to focus on our priorities inside the Parliament,” Aseel Al-Awadhi, one of Kuwait’s first women lawmakers told Reuters after her win. Under the tutelage of former MP and minister, writer and philosopher Dr Ahmed Al-Rubaie, Al-Awadhi studied Philosophy, which she enjoyed due to the influence of Al-Rubaie, who has always been keen on instilling hope in the hearts of the youth. She almost made it to the 2008 Parliament, prompting analysts to predict her success in this year’s elections in which she ran as an independent candidate. This time, she expanded her support base and maintained her agenda. During the campaign, she stressed the importance of transparency and reassessment of the political experiment for women to pave the way for unparalleled opportunities. She underlined the importance of developing the economy, education, health and environment to uplift the country and maintain stability among individuals. She vowed to give importance to the youth, particularly in honing their skills and tapping their creative potential, so they can greatly contribute to national development. Salwa Al-Jassar, another successful female contender, also disclosed her plan to be part of the Education Affairs Committee, while sources close to her said she will most likely be appointed Minister of Education and Higher Education due to her experience at KU and as manager of the Syllabus and Studies Development Department in the Ministry of Education. Al-Jassar stressed this is a historic win for women as they have succeeded in entering the Parliament without the quota system. “The elections are now free, flying with two wings. Women have proven their ability to enter the Parliament and effect change in the political system,” she added. Presenting this historic win as a gift to the Amir and people who bestowed their trust on female candidates, Al-Jassar pointed out women strongly contested the elections, especially in one of the most difficult constituencies — the Second. She said this also a victory for HH the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad who approved the political rights of women. “Finally, our democracy is walking on two legs as we now have both male and female parliamentarians — the first in the region,” she opined. She also thanked all citizens who trusted her ability to work in the Parliament, hoping to meet their expectations. Rola Dashti, who succeeded in finishing the seventh in her constituency, believes “the historic victory has put women on the Kuwaiti parliamentary political map, where they will join their male counterparts in legislative decision-making.” Dashti is not only a woman who dreamt of winning a parliamentary seat, but she is also a strong, resilient, irrepressible and confident person. She has never given up or allowed her morale to be dampened by any situation, which pushed her through to achieve this age-long dream. She gave male contenders a good fight in 2006 when she took part in the elections for the first time after 44 years of men monopolizing the democratic practice. Kuwaiti voters seem to have gotten used to the all-men assembly at the time, so male aspirants won all available 50 seats. Dashti was not deterred by the seemingly public disparity against women, so she carried on with the struggle without looking back. She gave it another try in 2008 with the campaign slogan “We Can”, which denoted that all Kuwaitis have a right to good living. She affirmed that Kuwaitis strongly believe in facing challenges and have the ability to overcome them. She concentrated her 2008 campaign on freedom of economy, involvement of citizens in the investment shares and agitation for amendment of residential law to enable Kuwaitis buy houses. This strengthened her campaign to the extent that she nearly won, except for some rumors that gained ground shortly before the elections. She, however, became a household name and a parliamentarian in the making. In the 2009 campaign, she adopted another slogan “Change and Development Are Our Responsibilities.” She demanded citizens to join hands and work on initiatives to effect change to overcome the economic crisis. She urged citizens to prioritize interest of the country above individual interests, stating that Kuwaitis are entitled to comfortable living, civil rights, family stability and economic security. With the ultimate opportunity of winning the National Assembly seat, Dashti reiterated her determination by saying, “I Can.” She was aware that the electors believed in her ability to deliver and bring about the much-desired change; hence the high number of votes she got. She remains a new face of early Kuwait and a role model for the children. Dashti said the coming era puts on our shoulders the responsibility of working together for Kuwait and as an MP “I will work side by side with my colleagues to realize the dreams of the citizens who voted for me.” Sources close to her revealed she is pining for membership in the parliamentary Finance Committee due to her extensive background in economics. Despite the whole nation’s euphoria over the success of women, some groups expressed concern over the return of ‘troublesome’ MPs like Faisal Al-Muslim, Waleed Tabtabaei, Daifallah Bouramiya, Musallam Al-Barrak and Mohammed Hayef. Their detractors who stopped them from exercising their constitutional right to grill the former premier like Ali Al-Rashi also made it to the Parliament, in addition to Sayyed Mohammed Al-Qallaf who demanded the unconstitutional dissolution of the previous Parliament. Bouramiya and Khalid Al-Tahoos, two of three candidates detained by the State Security for criticizing the regime during the campaign period, also won parliamentary seats. Khalifa Al-Khorafi, the other candidate, backed out of the race a few weeks before the elections. Analysts believe their detention worked in favor of Bouramiya and Al-Tahoos as they were considered heroes, thereby, consolidating their chances in winning the elections. Five out of nine Shiite winners — Dashti, Al-Mubarak, Faisal Al-Duwaisan, Hassan Jowhar and Adnan Al-Muttawa — contested the elections as independent candidates and put national development on top of their electoral platforms. On the other hand, only four Shiite candidates who joined alliances like Hussein Al-Qallaf, Adnan AbdulSamad, Saleh Ashour and Yousef Al-Zalzalah emerged as winners. It is also worth mentioning that AbdulSamad, who headed his alliance, came in the last position, while first-time female contender Al-Mubarak took the first position. Apparently, the five independent Shiite contenders made it to the Parliament through the support of the Shiites and Sunnis, who believed in the candidates’ electoral programs, not their religious perspectives.

Imagine

Thanks to TeaKettle for posting this on her blog. I loved it. I couldn't figure out what it was about until I saw Dave Thomas. (Baba used to be a manager for Wendy's.)

That's Why We Love Mom

Mum and Dad were watching TV when Mum said, 'I'm tired, and it's getting late. I think I'll go to bed'

She went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the next day's lunches.

Rinsed out the popcorn bowls, took meat out of the freezer for dinner the following evening, checked the cereal box levels, filled the sugar container and put spoons and bowls on the table.

She then put some wet clothes in the dryer, put a load of clothes into the washer, ironed a shirt and secured a loose button

She picked up the game pieces left on the table, put the phone back on the charger and put the telephone book into the drawer.

She watered the plants, emptied a rubbish bin and hung up a towel to dry.

She yawned and stretched and headed for the bedroom. She stopped by the desk and wrote a note to the teacher, counted out some cash for an excursion, and pulled a text book out from hiding under the chair.

She signed a birthday card for a friend, addressed and stamped the envelope and wrote a quick note for the grocery store. She put both near her purse.

Mum then washed her face with 3 in 1 cleanser, put on her Night solution & age fighting moisturiser, brushed and flossed her teeth and filed her nails.

Dad called out, 'I thought you were going to bed.'

'I'm on my way,' she said.

She put some water into the dog's dish and put the cat outside, then made sure the doors were locked.

She looked in on each of the kids and turned out their bedside lamps and TV's, hung up a shirt, threw some dirty socks into the basket, and had a brief conversation with the one up still doing homework.

In her own room, she set the alarm; laid out clothing for the next day, straightened up the shoe rack. She added three things to her 6 most important things to do list. She said her prayers, and visualised the accomplishment of her goals.

About that time, Dad turned off the TV and announced to no one in particular. 'I'm going to bed.'

And he did...without another thought.

Anything extraordinary here? Wonder why women live longer...?

CAUSE WE ARE MADE FOR THE LONG HAUL..... (and we can't die sooner, we still have things to do!!!!)

Holy Cow! It works!

A few weeks ago Baba received an e-mail that he forwarded to me. It told about how well this stuff works at stopping irritating coughs. If you have a bad cough you rub this stuff on the bottom of your feet, put on a pair of socks, and then, after a couple of minutes, bye-bye cough.

Two nights ago Baba woke up with a really bad cough. He went and got this stuff out of the medicine cabinet and tried it. It worked.

Last night I had a bad, tickling cough that was keeping me awake. (Gotta love shopping in a dust storm.) I kept drinking water but it didn't help. I asked Baba if he still had it on his nightstand and he handed it to me. He reminded me to put on socks and handed me a pair.


I swear to you...before I had the 2nd sock on my cough stopped. I could still feel the last tickle but I didn't cough any more until this morning after I was up and around.


I have no idea how on earth anyone came up with this remedy (they obviously have much more time on their hands than I do) but I'm so glad they did. Now I don't know how it works on the more "chesty" coughs but I do know it's great with the dry, tickly kind. What is it?



Ta daaaaa........

Lebanese are Lebanese

The Saint came to the Lord and said "I have to talk to you"
We have some Lebanese up here in heaven that are causing problems.

They're swinging on the pearly gates, my horn is missing, they are wearing Dolce and Gabbana instead of their white robes, they’re riding BMWs instead of the chariots, and they're selling their halos to people for discount prices....

Also, they're refusing to keep the stairway to Heaven clear, since they keep crouching down midway eating sunflower and watermelon seeds and smoking arghili, and some of them are walking around with just one wing!"

The Lord said, "Lebanese are Lebanese. Heaven is a home to all my children, If you want to know about real problems, call the devil."

So The Saint Called the Devil

The Devil answered the phone, "Hello? Damn, hold on a minute." The Devil returned to the phone, "OK I'm back. What can I do for you?"

The Saint replied, "I just wanted to know what kind of problems you're having down there?"

The Devil said, "Hold on again. I need to check on something." After about 5 minutes the Devil returned to the phone and said, "I'm back. Now what was the question?" The Saint said, "What kind of problems are you having down there?"

The Devil said, "Man I don't believe this.......Hold on."

This time the Devil was gone 15 minutes. The Devil returned and said, "I'm sorry my dear Saint, I can't talk right now. Those damn Lebanese have put out the fire and are trying to install air conditioning!!!

Lebanese by Nature, Proud by Choice

Well, actually I'm Swedish by nature, but Lebanese on paper!

Oops!

I'm sorry. I have been a very bad blogger lately. I have all these wonderful ideas for posts running through my head but, since my mind strongly resembles a sieve, they run through and keep right on going. Not to mention I was barely home last week.

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a workshop on Applied Behavior Analysis. Even though I have no Autistic students in my class, I was told that this would benefit all of us when dealing with our students. Many of them come from very dysfunctional homes, to put it mildly.

Well, apparently someone forgot to tell the presenter this. She spent the whole time applying it to her caseload, which is mostly severely Autistic children. I got basically nothing out of it. The school paid for it, so at least we weren't out any money, but by the end of the 2nd night we were about ready to reimburse them.

The last 2 weekends the Little Prince has been sick. Now we go to Dr. K's office and he just hops right up on the table and lies down, pulling up his shirt.

The Boss is getting ready for end of year exams. He has a lot of studying to do.

The twins are getting ready for the play next week. The Little Prince is a dwarf and the Diva is a rabbit (or a racoon). Not really sure on that one. I have to miss since we're giving assessment tests to the kids at my school and we've been urged not to be absent. {sigh} Oh, well, at least I get out of recess duty next week to grade the things.

I finally have my new car back...I was leaving it home due to lack of a working fan when I turned on the a/c. Even though it's fine in the mornings without it, the afternoons were horrible with the windows down. Ever tried to cool down a dark, navy blue car after sitting in the desert sun (even though it is only May) with just open windows? Just so you know...it doesn't work!

I'm still reading the book on Al-Qaeda. It's a really good read. So much of what we think we know about them is wrong...the truth is actually scarier. How's that for reassurance? I'm just thrilled that he mentioned a city here in Q8 and I know where it is. In fact, I get stuck in it whenever I run an errand there on a weekend night. Avoid it like the plague if you don't like jammed streets.

We're renewing the kids' passports this week. I'm unimpressed with our embassy here. Give me the one in Lebanon any day. I had to renew my passport when we lived there. I went to get the paperwork. I got my pics and filled out everything and took it back on a Thursday. The man told me to come back on the following Thursday. One week, mind you. I went back on the day he told me and there it was. My new passport.

According the website for the one here, we have to allow 4-6 weeks. Are they nuts? Why are they so inefficient compared to Lebanon? We're hoping that they just say that so people don't wait until the last minute and there happens to be a delay. Hopefully we'll get the kids' passports back quickly. We'd better...we have our plane tickets. We ARE getting out of this desert in June come you know where or high water. Actually, high water would be a good thing here...high dust?

Well, I'm off to bed. I wonder what we'll hear tonight. (Newlyweds upstairs. LOL)

Bach - Brandenburg Concertos No.2 - i: Allegro Moderato

Enjoy!

Adaptation

Sorry I'm not posting much lately. This week will be even crazier, with workshops after school for 4 evenings straight. But I figured I'd provide a little entertainment and education at the same time. What better way than with a camel?

Enjoy!