c'est la weekend!

yesterday i spent the day (almost the WHOLE DAY!) at avenues with shelly and the huffhos.  we shopped and shopped and ate a nice lunch.  i bought an external hard drive so that i can back up my computer, some candles and a blanket at ikea that were all on sale(!), some drug store stuff (like allergy pills and hair elastics), and some LOVELY hand lotion from l'occitane. 

today colleen came over YAY!  it was so great to catch up with her and let me tell you, it's been WAY too long!  we had a nice lunch together at my place and lots of chatting. 

otherwise, i have been watching shows, attempting to blog about my trip, looking at flights for future trips, and fiddling around the apartment (laundry, preparing food, etc.).

i hope you are all having a wonderful weekend too! :)

how could i forget?!?!?!?

oh my goodness!  i can't believe what i've done!!  well actually i can, because as i wrote my 2011 post, i KNEW i would forget something!!  and i did!  something important!!!  i will defend myself by saying that i hadn't been sleeping but i am SO sorry that i forgot about this!!!

in august, another of my WONDERFUL friends got married!  and i got to see her after WAY too long!!  my dear friend sarah was married this summer and i am so pleased that i was able to share in her special day!

sarah - i'm so sorry i forgot to write about this.  it was not intentional OF COURSE. love and miss you!  xo

in a word cloud...

2011 in a word cloud...inspired by my good friend cindy @ cscribbles

in a blog post...

well out with 2011 and in with 2012.  as i was thinking about what to do for my "new year" post, i kept thinking "in a nutshell".  but instead, here is 2011, in a blog post:

• i started out the year in sri lanka, finishing up a wonderful christmas vacation with colleen and the parkinsons.  
• my family went through a loss with the death of my great  uncle bud.
• we had many wonderful people come visit us in vietnam, including my MOMMA!  it was so great to share that experience with her.
• march was tough for me with the sudden death of one of my former students from egypt.  at only 7 years old, my precious salma was taken from her family much too early.  she will always be in my heart.
• april changed my life in a different way.  on april 2nd i adopted my cat, cow (who has since been named cowboy by my parents).  he was exactly what i needed and i love him SO much!
• in may i traveled to china and was able to climb on the great wall.  it is one of those "bucket list" things that everyone should experience!
• june marked the end of my time in vietnam and though it was hard to leave my wonderful friends and colleagues, it is always great to be home!  i spent the summer with my family and it went by WAY too fast!
• this summer i traveled to new york city for the first time with my aunt melissa.  it was an AMAZING trip.  i loved every minute of it and i can't wait to go back again and again! in NYC i also got my third tattoo of 2011 (holy cow!), bringing the total up to five.
• i witnessed the marriage of two wonderful friends from our time in egypt.  kathleen and simon had a gorgeous wedding and it was so great spending time with them again!
• i attended the most wonderful CISE reunion hosted by the terrific ma and pa cairo.  it was a great weekend and i wouldn't have missed it!!  
• in august, another of my WONDERFUL friends got married!  and i got to see her after WAY too long!!  my dear friend sarah was married this summer and i am so pleased that i was able to share in her special day!  
• august marked the beginning of a new adventure.  i started my job in kuwait teaching grade 5 english and so far so good.  i like my job and have made some amazing friends here in kuwait.  of course i miss home a lot but i am enjoying my time here and as we know, time flies!
• throughout the fall i had the opportunity to visit two more countries in the middle east - qatar and bahrain.  i got to visit with an old friend in qatar and straighten out passport issues in bahrain (thanks again fedex for losing my passport! lol)
• the fall also brought great news in the form of new life and new family members!  tiffany is pregnant and due in may 2012 and my aunt melissa adopted a 2 year old boy named jay!  from the sounds of things he is fitting into the family better than anyone could have expected and he is as cute as a button when i talk to him on skype!!  
• finally, december delivered a wonderful christmas trip to italy with naomi and valerie.  i visited rome, venice, florence, and pisa.  it was all magical!  more to come on that!

i'm sure there are things i have forgotten and left out, but as you can see it has been a year of mixed emotions.  ups and downs would describe 2011 well for me.  some great times and some tough times...that's for sure.  and not just for me, or my family, but for many friends as well.  so, let's hope for a happy 2012 - with more ups than downs - good health, lots of laughs, and wonderful experiences! xo

happy new year!!!!!!!!!!!

to all my friends and family....happy new year!  may 2012 bring only good things to you and your loved ones. 

italy bound

tonight i leave at 12:45 for the airport.  my flight leaves at 4 a.m.  and i arrive in rome tomorrow at noon.  i am SO excited!!!  then i will wait for a bit and pick up naomi at her gate and then we are off to explore (and freeze in) italy!!!  i will try my best to blog while i'm away - i am bringing my ipad and the new keyboard, but i make no promises on how frequently i'll get online. 

so just in case, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!  merry christmas. and happy new year!!!  xoxoxox

ups and downs

ok, do you remember that mug that i got last weekend from my secret santa that i was so excited about???
well, last night i enjoyed a lovely tea before bed, using my mug, and then this morning i bumped into my bed side table and SMASH!  i broke my mug.  :(  it was not a good way to start my day. 

BUT this afternoon i exchanged christmas gifts with shelly....and i got a new mug!!!!  thanks shelly :)

she also got me this cute elf hat!!!  look out italy!  here i come!!!

christmas dinner 2011

i think i mentioned last weekend that i had christmas dinner at shelly's (you know the one where i didn't even eat turkey?!!).  anyway, it was a fabulous dinner and i finally took my pictures off of my camera, so here's a peak at our evening....

trouble

this is what happens when colleen and i go shopping for warm stuff.....

**note:  we did not buy either of these gems but that doesn't mean that we didn't think about it....

today.

today was a wonderful day.  a day filled with friends and laughter and sharing and giving.  a day that makes me thankful for the friends that become my family when i am away from home. 

last night i slept over at the parkinsons because with their love-filled pleas, i didn't have much choice.  i feel so at home in their home.  this morning we had some "family" time and watch americas next top model which we all love.  then as they went off to play basketball and tutor, i headed to the huffho's to bake a birthday cake and wrap secret santa gifts with alex. we wrapped and talked and laughed and it was really great to spend some time with her.  next we were off to the pantomime at the kuwait little theatre.  the "we" in this case includes: me, shelly, lindsay, phillip, alex, ian, cathy, shahid, pat, and kelly.  it was SO funny.  we laughed o hard we cried.  highlights included the man dressed up as a woman hitting on phil throughout the entire play and when he/she put a whole bag of skittles in his mouth and then couldn't talk.  hilarious!  so much fun!!  (and if you don't know what a pantomime is, like i didn't, you should look it up and try to find one to go to- fun fun fun!)  after the panto we all went back to the parkinson's to celebrate the birthdays of ian, shahid, and lindsay (all in december) as well as christmas!  we had a secret santa which was very amusing.  i had phil and after hours of deliberating i gave him 10 cans of lays potato chips.  kinda weird, i agree but it's funny because he LOVES them and lindsay HATES when he has them.  it was perfect.  also it was wrapped in the shape of a tree.  awesome.  i got the most WONDERFUL gift, because my secret santa, cathy, got me JUST what i wanted!  it's a mug from caribou coffee with little inspirational messages all over.  it's perfect!  i also got 6 ikea glasses which are super fun and blue! 

anyway, it was a terrific day, and the reason i was writing is because many times throughout the night when we were all laughing or oohing and awing over someones gift, i thought to myself that i am really lucky to have them all.  it makes being away from home that much easier when you know you have all this love and support right here with you.  they are an amazing group of people and i don't know what i would do without them!!

so to my dear kuwait family,
thank you for everything.  for the laughs and the tears.  for the support, for your trust, for your patience. 
i love you guys. 
merry christmas and all the best in 2012.  safe travels!  i'll miss you guys!!
xoxoxoxo

all the gifts under the tree!

loving my gift!!

phil and his love from the panto

phil's gift...what could it be???

thanks santa!!!!

santa loves phil!!

giving thanks.

with this weekend being american thanksgiving, many of my american friend were feeling thankful but missing home.  so to them, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!! 

but here's the thing.  i get that this is a huge weekend in the states but there are some things that i just don't understand.

1. why ANYONE would want to go out shopping on this weekend.
2. why ANYONE would want to watch that much football.
3. why we must cancel ALL other tv shows this week.

i love my 'merican friends, but i just don't get it!!!  sigh....maybe someday i will understand....

indulgence

today was a day full of indulgence.  it went like this:

• shelly and joann picked my up early to start our day of fun.  we headed straight to a christmas bazaar which was lovely because it wasn't too crowded and there were lots of nice goodies!  i bought a scarf, a charm for a necklace, and two paintings.  let the indulgence begin.  
• we then had lunch at johnny rockets.  i am trying to eat better so i opted for an egg sandwich on RYE (YUM!) and a side salad.  full and happy, we continued our shopping.
• we looked for a pair of boots that i want but couldn't find them big enough to fit me.  that led us to a couple other stores including bath and body works where most everything was "buy 1 get 1 free".  here i indulged in a lovely candle and candle holder for myself as well as some hand soaps and one christmas gift.
• next up, true value.  i had never been before but it's great!  i bought some supplies to make a christmas gift craft, two loaf pans and two tupperwear containers, a christmas gift, a weight scale, and a few other odds and ends.  
• then we drove around trying to find a store that we had been to earlier (a different branch) to find a jacket that i wanted.  we looked and looked to no avail.  this place is CONFUSING!
• after our little sightseeing tour, we went for dinner at a wonderful restaurant that is owned by the parents of one of my students.  it was a WONDERFUL meal where i indulged WAY too much - appetizers, main course and even dessert.  it was SO good!!  
• we needed a little walk after that so we went through a super duper fancy mall where stores like chanel and fendi are the norm.  we indulged in our dreams at this stop!
• on our way home, guess what we found?!  that shop that we were looking for earlier!  it's in a strange little area and on the top floor of a local grocery store but we found it!  and i bought a jacket.  it's a black pea coat with toggle buttons and a hood.  it's really nice!  i just have to get the little man across the street to take the arms down a bit and i'll be good to go for italy!  

it was a great day filled with indulgence but a girl needs that every now and again right?!
as for tomorrow - we have a long weekend YAY!  and i need to be productive!  i have lesson plans to finish for this week, course work to complete and christmas decorations to put up!! 

praying.

praying for peace in egypt.  xo. 

just for you ;)

i'll be there for youuuuuuu
when the rain starts to fall.
i'll be there for youuuuuuu
like i've been there before
i'll be there for youuuuuuu
cause there for me toooooooo!

xo

the ghost of birthdays past

hey!  guess what today is?  besides world diabetes day.....
give up??
it's KELLY's birthday!!!!
happy birthday kel!  and welcome to the 28 club!! :)

here are some pics of kelly's past few birthdays since we aren't together on his birthday this year...

Egypt 2008

Egypt 2008

Egypt 2008

Egypt 2008

Vietnam 2009

Vietnam 2009

Vietnam 2009

Vietnam 2009

it seems that his 2010 birthday doesn't exist...so these will have to do!  miss you kel.  have a beer or two for me! 

one piece of good news

so remember the other day when i blogged about good things on the horizon???  well i can oficially tell you about ONE of those things! 

TIFFANY IS HAVING A BABY!!!! 

see her little wee baby bump?!  that's my little niece or nephew in there!!! 
tiffany and i have been best friends since i was in grade 5 and she was in grade 4.  i told her this summer to get pregnant in like october or november so that i could be home when she has the baby.  but NO!  she didn't listen!  she is due on may 5th and my dad thinks she should just wait ONE day and have it on his birthday! 
i am so excited to go home this summer and meet my (two month old!!!) niece or nephew!  YAHOO!
congrats bob and tiff!!  xo

go blue today!

 

spread the word!  we ALL know someone who is living with diabetes, so let's spread awareness.  together!

GEMILY SAYS....

gemily says...

• spending time with an old friend feels like home.  
• quirkiness is okay.  it makes you who you are.
• planning ahead is good.  not knowing until the last minute can be stressful.
• you're never too old for pb & j.
• time flies when you're having fun!!

dhows, mangroves, and sand dunes, oh my!

on day one of our holiday in qatar, we were off on our first of many adventures.  valerie and her friends, shane and erin, had rented a car so that we could head out of the city.  so the five of us, valerie, shelly, erin, shane, and myself, along with two dogs and all of our camping gear were off and away. 
stop one:  dhow port.  lots of boats and lots of rain!  yes, it was raining in qatar in the one day that we decided to go camping in the desert.  but we keep going...

that brings us to stop number two, which was some mangroves.  i don't seem to have any pictures but we did have a nice picnic lunch and the dogs had a wonderful run! 

then we were off to the singing sand dunes.  with only a minor back injury after going over a speed bump super fast, we arrived at the sand dunes to discover that the wind wouldn't allow for much camping.  we did have some fun playing in the sand though before heading back to the city:

something good.

something good is on the horizon.  actually two "somethings".  i don't want to jinx anything or say anything prematurely, but i am really excited about something.  something to do with a family member.  something to do with a friend.  i will blog more when i can.  just know that there are good things on the horizon...