london calling!

oh HI london!!!  i'll be seeing YOU in just over 2 months.  oh and did i mention that my MOM will be coming too!!!!??  i CAN'T wait to see my momma in london!!  it's going to be GREAT!!!! 

my momma and me in vietnam on our last adventure together! xo

it's love.

i have a new favourite cd.  it's called modern love and the singer is matt nathanson.  the cd is SO SO good.  so far i love every single song!  turns out he's been around a while and has had many of his songs featured in tv programs.  this week he performed live on the bachelor and i loved the song right away.  i was so inspired that i bought the whole album.  love love love!

let it snow!

looks like this little cutie is LOVING the snow!!!  look at those cheeks!!!  (and the hat - LOVE IT!)

santa's little helper.

this is cow.  and cow likes to help wrap christmas presents.  isn't he the cutest christmas elf ever?!

bad + bad

i've been waiting to blog about this (cause tv is my life...) and now that lindsay and phil have caught up on our shows, i can finally share my feelings!

the finales of survivor and x-factor were NOT ok.  in my opinion, both shows ended with the worst possible result!  let me explain:

survivor - ozzy should have won.  hands down!  he was SO good at the game and just because he lost the last immunity challenge, they voted him out.  why did they vote him out?  because they KNEW that they couldn't beat him.  losers.  i hate that he didn't win.

i love ozzy.  i want to marry him.

x-factor - chris rene ALL THE WAY!  i have loved him from the beginning and he made it to the final three.  ok, maybe he wasn't the best singer in the competition but he definitely had the x-factor!  he puts on the best show and will make the BEST album!  and i will buy it!!  i love chris rene!  watch this video and you'll fall in love too :)

so that's that.  both shows ended badly.  on a positive note, ozzy wins the people's choice award and chris rene will be a star!! 

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. 

the other good news

remember last week when i told you i had two exciting pieces of news??  well the first was that tiffany is pregnant and the second is....
my aunt adopted a baby!!!!
my aunt melissa ha been looking into adoption for a while now and finally decided that this summer was the right time to start the process.  so she went through the paperwork and home visits and then the waiting begins.  but for my aunt melissa, the waiting wasn't for long!  she found out two weeks ago that she would be matched with this child and this weekend she picked him up!!!!
i don't know too much yet.  i know that he is two years old and has blond hair and blue eyes.  his name is james daniel which means that he has the same initials as my grandfather did; j.d. abbott!  also, his birthday is on my grandparents wedding anniversary!  can you believe it??  i think it was meant to be!
anyway, aunt melissa and james had their first night together last night and from what i hear he is already calling her mommy!  i can't wait to meet him! i'm in love with him already!

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...

my baby

on saturday i talked to my mom on the phone and while we were chatting, cow jumped up on her lap for a little cuddle.  anyway, i wanted to say hi to my baby so my mom held the phone up to him and i was talking when suddenly, he started to PURR!!!  i could hear him on the phone!!  it was SO sweet!!  and then i cried.  cause i miss him a lot.  a lot.  a lot!!

THANK YOU mama c!!!

this week....I GOT MAIL!!! 
i got a lovely and thoughtful card and letter from the WONDERFUL mama c!! 
it was such a nice surprise!!
thank you barb for making my day!!  xoxoxoxox

GTR is BACK!

remember my friend sean's blog, green tomato relish???  well it's BACK!!  though he hasn't blogged since march, he's BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!  and i'm so happy!!  i love reading his blog!  so go check it out!!!

GREEN TOMATO RELISH

from sean

found this on sean's blog today.  i love MJ.  thanks sean :)

umbrellas for peace!

so this is only a week late, but i've been meaning to tell you something!

last thursday after school, shelly and i ventured off to the american university of kuwait for an art exhibition where i read that there would be a workshop for umbrellas for peace.  i didn't really know what umbrellas for peace was, but it sounded good, so off we went.  the artist who founded the project is named matt lamb.  he had an exhibition of his art work, along with the umbrellas for peace workshop.  people were painting umbrellas and there were umbrellas EVERYWHERE!  they were lining the hall on both sides and they were hanging from the ceiling!!  it was so neat!!  we asked if we could paint an umbrella but they said that the workshop closed at 4...and it was 4:10.  BOO!!  we kept looking at the umbrellas, enjoying the art, when a nice security woman came up to us and asked if we wanted to paint an umbrella!!!  UM, YES!!! 

we had so much fun painting our umbrella, and we were giving obvious "middle school teacher" vibes as we did so!!  while others painted theirs with beautiful scenery, collages, splatters, etc., we went the more literal route, with the words UMBRELLAS FOR PEACE and some symbols of peace.  it was great fun and we were so happy to have participated. 

NOW, what is this umbrellas for peace, you ask?!  well let me tell you!  it is a project where anyone can paint an umbrellas with symbols of peace and then use the umbrella to spread the message of peace throughout their "world".  it started after 9/11 when matt was asked to find a way to help individuals whose lives were affected by the tragedy to work through their grief.  the umbrella is a symbol of protection - no matter who you are, you are safe under the umbrella. 

here's a quote from matt lamb's site:  The umbrella is a metaphor for protection. It does not discriminate, and all people-regardless of race, age, gender or country--are safe under the umbrella.
The top of the umbrella is the shelter and represents our hopes, dreams and aspirations. The underside of the umbrella represents concerns and fears. Matt Lamb Umbrellas for Peace^SM helps children and adults express their positive emotions and heal negative experiences by painting them onto the umbrella. It teaches children peace, hope, love and creativity instead of the daily message of war and aggression. It is our goal to spread these messages into the world through art.

here are some pictures to check out our fun.  also check out matt's site:  umbrella's for peace

 

genius!

i L-O-V-E this.  i want to get this in poster form for my classroom and my house!  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

shokran

firstly, happy thanksgiving to all of my family and to my canadian friends around the world.  i hope that you have a wonderful weekend filled with love and happiness!

secondly, though we should be thankful all year 'round, thanksgiving gives us the opportunity to say a special "thanks" for the people and things that are important to us.  i am thankful, as always, for my wonderful family who are so supportive of me and my travels, even though i know that they miss me, just as much as i miss them.  i am thankful for my friends, old and new, who are there for me no matter if i see them everyday or once a year.  we are friends for a reason and a lifetime.  i am thankful for my health and the ability to do what i love and see the world at the same time.

so dear friends and family, "shokran".  have a wonderful weekend.  eat an extra helping of turkey for me!  i love you and miss you and don't know what i would do without you! xo

it changed my life.

the black and decker sandwich maker.  you haven't eaten a sandwich until you've eaten a sandwich maker sandwich.  seriously! 
you might think i am joking, but i'm not. 
when i was living with lindsay and phil, i had a sandwich or two (or many) made on their sandwich maker.  turkey sandwiches, pb & j sandwiches, cheese sandwiches.  it changed my life.  every sandwich made on a sandwich maker is SCRUMPTIOUS! 
since moving out of their house, it was imperative that i purchase my own sandwich maker.  so i did.  as soon as i moved out.  and then i opened it and it was smashed into bits in the box! BOO!  i went and bought a second sandwich maker and my life has been better ever since.  truly!
YUM YUM YUM!

congratulations andrew and tania!

last weekend my cousin andrew got married!  i wish i could have been there to celebrate with them!  anyway, i wish them years and years of happiness and love.  congrats you two!!  love you both xo

andrew and tania, his beautiful bride!

my mama and her sister, the mother of the groom, carol.  do you think they could look more alike?!

andrew and my mama.  she looks so pretty!! :)

holy moly it's fall!

where has the time gone??
i have been here for more than a month and now it's OCTOBER!! 
i think fall is one of the things i miss about home.  the colours, the sweater weather, i dunno...there's just something about it.