Spooktactular Bash

It was a monster bash. A graveyard smash. A witch, a vampire, a hippie and a ballerina. All escorted by Communications Officer Uhura. We all sure enjoyed it! Happy Halloween, all!

YouTube Tuesday: Reminiscing

Television programming for children sucks. There, I said it. We watch all of our T.V. on DVD. Not that that's much better; we get super bolus 92 minute injections of Dora instead of regular 23 minute intervals as live T.V. would bring us. There are some clever shows out there. Ben Ten has some pretty awesome aliens. And there's this other karate/ninja something show with a cowboy & a team of other things. But as a whole, it's really gone downhill since I was a kid. The 80s, in my humble opinion, were the pinnacle for Saturday morning cartoons. We had new ones and we had reruns from previous decades which {again my opinion} culminated in the perfect storm of t.v. viewing bliss. C'mon, we all enjoy a good show.

I have collected a list of different shows on YouTube and, to tell you the truth, I am a bit shocked! I didn't think I had seen that many different shows. But then again, it was the era of combining 4 into one. Nickelodeon had shows such as 'You Can't Do That on Television' and 'Pinwheel' which were comprised of a main story strung together with related vignettes of skits. Here's a quick list, in no particular order:

- Today's Special - Mr. Wizard - 3-2-1 Contact - Picture Page - Kid's Incorporated - Alvin & the Chipmunks - Smurfs - Gummi Bears - Gem (she's truly outrageous) - Inspector Gadget - He-Man - Pinwheel - Danger Mouse - Bozo the Clown -

I'm leaving a lot out. My parents will probably see this and think, "What is she talking about?" I know that's what I'll think when my children look back on their television viewing of the 2000s. {really, what's up with the name for this whole decade? well, that's a whole different discussion} It took me a while to catch on to Ben Ten. I realized, in Spring '08, that my kids had a whole cartoon figured out & were pretending it on the playground, and I had no clue what they were doing. I thought they had invented some of it, but then, I was suspicious. They explained it was from a cartoon called 'Ben Ten'. Hmmm. Let me tell you, Ben has some pretty cool aliens.

I haven't even mentioned sitcoms, but then again, I'd rather not delve into how much of my life I've wasted on television. I wish there was a way just to share my play list, but here's the highlights.

This first one still pops into my head at weird times. And won't leave. I can remember this silly short from 25 years ago, but I still don't know where I left my cell phone.



3-2-1 Contact. One of the finest shows that PBS had to offer. They need more of these kinds of shows. Everything doesn't have to be in animation. I loved this in first grade!



And a final addition, Picture Pages with Bill Cosby. Talk about an addictive song. Oh, and btw, when I was going through these vids with my kids, they were not sure how to react. First came the, 'You watched this when you were our age?' and then I could just see the thought bubble above their heads filling with 'Wow, she is demented! She thinks this is the best? Oooo-kay Mom.' Enjoy.

Come out, come out!

That phrase always makes me think of Glenda the Good Witch in the Wizard of Oz. "Come out, come out, wherever you are/To see the young lady/who fell from a star" But we're not calling on the good citizens of Munchkinland, we're calling for fairies! This weekend, we made fairy houses. And Grant made a sprite house. He said fairies were only girls, so I told him sprites were boys. Whaddaya gonna do?

I made little villages under trees and in the bushes when I was little. The premise is that if you build a little house for the fairies, they'll come live in it. But not if you don't keep it pretty & only use things found in nature, so that it will blend in, just like the fairies & sprites.

This is Eliza's house. She had a brilliant idea to tie the twigs together with long grass to make arches for the roof. And she's pretty proud of that little 'bed'. And that's a fairy scarecrow, to show the fairies that it's safe to sleep here.

This is Mairyn's house. She may have had a little help from me, but she did the decor. See the yard for the fairy? That date tree bark has a little hollow in it, that's the bath. She did find a discarded piece of blue cord and that's the towel rack. It is man-made, but hey, we're running a bit short on acorn caps and pine needles.


Here's some shots of the girls deep in their labor of love. It took some convincing; it's still a bit warm outside & who can blame them. Who wouldn't want to hang inside in the A/C instead of crouching under a tree in 99F weather? I made some lemonade & fairy snacks for them & we sat in the shade weaving little ladders for the playground and tying plumeria leaf stems together. I wanted this to be some 'creative independent playtime', but it turned into a whole girl affair. You won't see much of Grant. He liked the idea, but ultimately found more joy in digging holes & climbing trees. And destroying some of his sister's creations.

Jacqueline: Ga-rant! You woo-ind my house! {translation: grant, you ruined my house}
Grant: Well, something would have ruined it! That's why you make them, then they'll be ruined!

{I prefaced all this house building with the reminder to only use things found outdoors, naturally, so if the wind blew it over & it got ruined, it wouldn't pollute the fairy's habitat. My reasoning: when they are abandoned next week, I won't have trash blowing all over the yard. But the whole nature thing, too. ;) And I saw this as a big insight into the boy's reasoning. You make things so they can be ruined. The whole build a lego tower then knock it over doesn't seem so pointless anymore.

That's where I am . . .

Ah, the roundup! The theme for this week is: "A picture from the place where I am now'. Physically, emotionally, whatever we want to choose. Also if there's pink, there's bonus points! A fellow blogger, Jen, was diagnosed with breast cancer recently & we're all showing support!

We haven't been here in Bahrain for very long, so I haven't had the chance to 'capture' the country yet. But here I am, now. In the moment. All the fruit, backwards house numbers, *plumeria*, geckos, the fam, the big main mosque, shrubbery growing pink ribbons and I have no idea what the spiky thing is; a mutated cucumber? I couldn't include the ants which are a part of my daily life I'd rather not think about. I can't even look at those pictures.

Call out the cavalry!

*shudder* I've still got the itchy cooties all over me. This is about as close to losing control as I can come. Autopilot switches on & I'm transformed. Must. Kill. Ants. My thoughts become singular in a mission to destroy the incoming army. Die you evil six-legged devils!!

How did this war begin? I was doing laundry. Yeah. Laundry. I have to go outside to get to my laundry room. I was coming back around house with our tighty whiteys and noticed how dirty dusty the house was. Now, I can't solve that problem in one fell swoop or even at all, but I can hose off the column bases & around the windows. Why not? I said to myself, I have a hose.

I left the laundry wagon & Jacqui on the sidewalk and went to turn on the hose. Water running I snaked the hose over to the front porch area and began squirting. The white was showing again & I felt pretty accomplished.

"I'm on a roll," I thought to myself, "Laundry, hosing off the house, what's next? Maybe I'll even get the laundry folded!"

I turned around and just about jumped out of my skin. Ants were swarming up the wall from some unseen hidey hole!! Of course, I screamed. Then I ran pell mell into the house to grab my mega-huge bottle of Raid & a broom. Wait! (i said to myself) Nobody's going to believe this. (Well, they probably would) I grabbed my camera because pictures always illustrate the moment better. (I can *say* that I found a gecko in my bathroom sink, but what does it *look* like?)



After a few quick pics, I went to town. I sprayed & sprayed & sprayed & sprayed & sprayed & sprayed. Ew, they were just pouring out of that unassuming crack in the step. No previous sign that pure evil lurked under that marble. Once they were adequately under control, I grabbed the hose and began some serious sheeting action to sweep those piles of carcasses out of sight.

This isn't anything new for me, we get ants inside the house. I put ant traps at the junctions of frequent sightings and along with a big bottle of Raid, we keep them under control. There is a bathroom that seems to attract them, but we just don't use that one anymore. At least until the weather gets colder (relatively speaking). The locals say that the ants go away during the "winter" months. What I witnessed was not unlike a scene straight out of Arachnophobia, but the ant version. (not that I've ever seen arachnophobia. don't want to, never will) I still can't sit still. My skin is crawling, ew ew ew . . . I've got to go shower. For a very. long. time. I don't even know if I can keep these pictures on my computer. I guess this is what I get for trying to be ambitious . . . As the old saying goes, If you give a moose a muffin . . .

Victory!!

I don't even know if this video works or my hyperventilating can be heard. I won't watch it.

Weekly State Department Blog Round-up or WSDBR

WSDBR. Hmm. Did you know you can type that acronym with one hand? I know you all are trying it. It's ok. That's my job. To point out the obscure.

Weird Fact about Me #3,476: I have a Note in my iPhone dedicated solely to 'Words you can type with one hand'. Sub-categories: Right Hand & Left Hand. An emerging parallel category: Words you can type on the Top Row.

Ok, back to the real reason you're here. The Weekly State Department Blog Round-up! Optional Theme: What traditions have arisen in your life because of the State Department?

I know the theme of traditions is a bit early, but we like to do things well in advance in the Dep't. Like ordering our Halloween stuff at the beginning of September (or end of August. I saw a display in Target just days before we left) And getting our Christmas presents ordered by October.

That's one thing that has changed. My husband. Mr. I'm-leaving-for-Best-Buy-on-the-night-before-Christmas-Eve. Our first year overseas, his name on Christmas was Mr. Your-present-will-be-here-right-after-New-Years. Being overseas hasn't changed my Christmas habits. I'm more aware of them, but I always like to have Christmas presents at least decided by September.

The tradition that sparked the reason for this theme is our Thanksgiving Tradition. In Egypt, our kids went to a British School. We were introduced to new holidays such as Guy Fawkes Day or Burning Night. They had a big bonfire & burned little effigies of this guy that tried to blow up parliament over 500 years ago. One day that we knew would not be celebrated was Thanksgiving. For obvious reasons, but I don't blame them. The first year we made a decision; the kids will stay home & celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday. And in the Middle East, the weekend is Friday & Saturday, so no school to go back to on Friday.

Some people would just have Thanksgiving dinner in the evening, after school, and that's fine. But for me, Thanksgiving day is a whole day event. Turkey goes in the oven no later than 8am. Morning is consumed with food prep, board games and light snacking. Dinner comes at 1 or 2pm. Movie screenings happen in the afternoon during the post-turkey buzz. We watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on AFN. It works out nicely that it starts at 3pm. Dessert & pies are available for consumption. And 'It's a Wonderful Life' will be watched at one point during that day; usually post-dessert.

In such a peripatetic life, our kids need some sort of constant. I hope (though it sounds romantic) that maybe my kids will look back on their formative years and say, "No matter where we were, we always celebrated Thanksgiving." And in a world with many things out of control, traditions are one thing to which we can hold tightly.

So, in no particular order, I present a wonderful summary of traditions that, I hope, we can appreciate, learn from and, if it suits us, STEAL!!

Sara of Wife-Mommy-Woman is just beginning in this odyssey of foreign life. She and her hubby live in Costa Rica and have two children. They have some traditions 'in the works' as this is their first assignment. I won't spoil her post by telling you what it is!

Connie at Whale Ears and other Wonderings (ask her how she came up with that name, fun story) is a real pro at life on the move. She & Brad live in Amman, Jordan with their two chili beans. We were fortunate enough to be with them for 4 years in Cairo. I love love love Connie's tradition & want to steal it! They take a family vacation. Sounds simple enough, but really, what do you do with your summertime R&R? Travel, see as many family members as you can, cram in as much 'America' (or whatever your home country is) as you can, then come home in a whirlwind of jet lag, unpacking & starting school in a week. They take time for just them. And think it's high time we did, too.

Shannon at Cyberbones (I *so* want to know the meaning behind that name) is in Malawi with her husband & boys. She shared some weekly traditions they do & honestly, she's super-mom! I need to do more of that; dessert night, movie night, etc. And if you want to see some 'bone-achingly' (ha, get it?) cute little tadpoles & lizards, take a look at her Wordless Wednesday posts.

Becky at Small Bits of our FS life is in Mexico with her husband & children. Let me tell you, she has got it! She's realistic about expectations & knows that traditions just don't pop into existence. They evolve. That's the kind of attitude to have when you're in this line of work! Her kids get swimsuits at Easter & flowers on Valentines! Click on over there for the scoop in her own words!

And one more that I decided to add, even though she didn't email it to me, but I think it fits well. I hope it's okay!

Zoe at Something edited this way comes is in Italy. I haven't read much in her blog yet, but her post for today was a last minute addition I wanted to include. She wrote a wonderfully relatable post about how resourceful we FS people have to be. Getting ready for Halloween found her cannibalizing a Hannah Montana microphone and carving styrofoam to create the perfect Statue of Liberty torch. If anything, in the sense of tradition, it's something predictable in our house as well. Finding new uses for odd things because we either can't find it locally or forgot to order it.

That's all folks! Thanks for joining us this week for the Weekly State Department Blog Roundup. Also thanks to Kolbi at A Daring Adventure for keeping the cogs in this Roundup machine turning! The calendar says that Kamilla at A Junket Tale is hosting on October 22nd. Check the calendar for future roundup locations & to sign up!

Truly Outrageous

I have an announcement.
*clearing throat*
Today, the 14th of October, 2010 the temperature in Bahrain was 89F.
Oh, and humidity was only 48%.
It has been hovering between 98F & 105F for the last few weeks and 65-85% humidity. Before that, well, it was just hellish. There is not better description. You know when you open the dishwasher & stick your face in too soon? Glasses fog up. And you know when you open the oven & your face is too close? You feel blasted & your eyelashes may stick together a bit b/c your mascara melted? Combine those experiences & you know what it's like to walk outside when the heat index is 135F and humidity is at +80%.

For the first time in almost 8 weeks, I felt a cool breeze.
For the first time in 8 weeks, I *wanted* to be outside.
For the first time in 8 weeks, the air conditioning felt too cold.**
This afternoon, Grant said,
"Hey Mommy, It's not hot or cold, it's just (gesturing with open arms) this."
Yes, for the first time in 8 weeks,
I did not feel weighted down by just stepping outside.
It feels good.
It feels like freedom!

**speaking of being too cold: ironically, yesterday we had the power out from 4am to 10am & a busted central a/c. we camped out in our bedrooms by the wall units & made quick, furtive forays to get food from the kitchen. the a/c's compressor was shot. they fixed the central AC on this day, the day i turned it off. Oh, and 4 hours before this whole mess began, Spencer left on TDY for the rest of the month. Hoo-rah.

Oh, and don't forget, tomorrow is the Weekly State Department Roundup. I've only had two submissions so far. There's still time!

YouTube Tuesday: Juvenile

I stumbled upon this gem just a few days ago, through a friend of a friend. (of a friend) I just love the Old Spice commercials. And the spoofs that have spawned.

Here's the Grover version:


Here's the BYU version:


And the good ol' original:

Yee-haw!

*image from zazzle.com

I am swimming in new waters, people. I decided to be "social" online and am hosting the Weekly State Department Blog Roundup which will take place HERE on Friday, Oct. 15th.

Here's the deets. There is an optional theme that you may write on, if you so choose. I think I get to choose, so my 'theme' is:

Traditions: What traditions have arisen in your life because of the State Dept?

Do you always hit the beach on Valentines day? (depending on your locale, some people can) Or do the kids get new outfits for air travel on R&R? Something that is completely normal for you now, but wasn't before the State Dept.

Another 'for example', my two middle children had just gotten back from a grocery run with Daddy. He had gotten them each their own bottle of flavored sparkling water. My 8 yo, Mairyn, exclaimed, "I love this stuff! I'm going to save some of it so I can take it on the airplane with me!" Then my 6 yo, Grant, volleyed back, "No! No you can't, Mairyn! No liquids on the plane! The security mens says so!" True, so true, my young padowan.

So get thinking! I already have mine prepared. (in my head) That's the advantage to hosting the Roundup. If you want to host, go here. A Daring Adventure is quite the lady; she has the calendar for hosting. For examples of previous Roundups, go here. My good friend, Connie, at Whale Ears and other Wonderings, hosted last week.

*If there is any cloudiness to my explanation, please let me know & I'll explain better*

You can email me the blog post you want included in this Friday's Roundup or leave the link in the comments for this post.
--> lydia (dot) penrod @ gmail (dot) com.

Ten, diez, yol, ashara

This idea isn't really well formed. It's more out of a weird feeling of obligation that I post today. It's 10-10-10. I feel like I should have some clever thingy to do or make. I mean, it's 10-10-10. I know that a lot of people are probably getting married. I mean, a friend or two did it on 9-9-09.

I could think of a top ten list. Or ten things I want. I know that a ten sided figure is called a 'decahedron'. I like the twelve sided figure's name better; dodecahedron. It's just fun to say. Dodecahedron.

That's a decahedron.

I found a book on Amazon called '10-10-10'. Something about life-transforming ideas. I wonder how many people started reading it today at 10:10 am/pm. Apparently The Savoy in London had the same idea. Not to read the book, but to reopen today at 10:10am on 10-10-10.

Ah, and digging a little further, 10.10.10 global is cutting carbon 10% at a time this Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010 'A Global Day of Doing'. It will be the ' . . largest day of positive action on climate change ever.' Did you hear that? Ever! I think I celebrated by doing 5 loads of laundry and keeping my A/C on all day. Seeing as how the heat index was 106F today, it was just an act of preservation.

There's also a boy that turned 10 at 10:10 am today. I remember there was a kid in my school that had a sibling born on 8-8-88. He stretched it so far as to say he was born at 8pm, but I have to doubt that part.

What was I doing 10 years ago? I had a 10 month old baby girl and uh, we were dirt poor living in married student housing at the university. 10 years before that? Uh, I'd rather not reveal my age.

Well, that's only 6 or so factoids and/or random info on 10-10-10. I'd like to lose 10 pounds! There, that's another, 7. And something completely unrelated to the number 10, I'd like to share a clip from my favorite show on earth, The Soup, since I didn't share a clip last week for YouTube Tuesday. Enjoy!

Halloween Time

You can tell it is definitely Halloween time when the JibJab themed videos are out. Word.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Potato Love

Found this in the produce section . . .

Then I saw this down another aisle . . .

Is this Idaho's way of saying it misses me?

You say tomato . . . I say 'Cherry or Roma'?

As an initial observation of Bahrain, most everyone speaks English. Because not everyone speaks Arabic. There's the Middle Eastern contingent that speaks the native tongue. But then there's the imported people; Phillipinos, Indians, etc. People speak Hindu, Nepalese, Tagalog, and a variety of other dialects. That makes it kind of hard to speak to someone in their 'native language'. So English is the go-to mode of communication and whaddaya know, that's my first language. Pretty convenient for me, no?

I have also noticed that since English is widely understood, many more commercials & advertisements are in English. And because of this, there are definitely not as many mistakes on signs or billboards. But some still slip through. Like this one I found in the paper.

Is 'discomfortable' a word? I don't think so. (I checked merriam webster) Thomas, you're wrong! There were many phrases to keep me entertained in Egypt. Like putting 'saloon' instead of 'salon'. I wonder what they put in their hair coloring treatment? I think the biggest difference is that they use British English expressions, so some things sound 'almost right'.


'To Let'; forgive me, every time I see this, the juvenile 13 year old boy in me wants to put an ' i ' right between those two words. 'For Rent' would seem more natural to me, but that's just me. There is also another sign around here that I *have* to get a picture of. It precedes all the speed bumps. It says, "Humps Ahead". Just wait, I'll get it.