Out of Synch

I'm just not feeling it today. Or this month, for that matter. Try as I might, I stare at my screen, willing prose to pop from my brain, to my fingers & assemble itself into coherent thought. I have at least 4 *really* good blog posts I want to put up. I even have a good, no, great step-by-step recipe!

That last paragraph took me an hour to get down. I feel like one of those screen saver balls bouncing around the screen, aimlessly plowing straight as an arrow to the other side of the box. I have the feeling of being purpose driven, but the mission hasn't been revealed to me. Time seems to slip right through my fingers, but it can't move fast enough.

We just got our vehicle two days ago. One caveat**: It's been sitting in the Embassy Motor Pool parking lot since the first week of October, but two days ago was when all the paper pushing & money shuffling was done. Here she is:

Baby Beluga asks: Does this driveway make my butt look big?

It feels so good to be up above the crowd again. I really only feel comfortable driving the biggest outfit on the road. I've felt like I was in a roller skate these last 3 months; surfing right along the asphalt. She is huge; Spence shaved the paint off the right door handle parking her the first night. But I don't mind. Within 12 hours of receiving Ellie (our 4-runner we drove in Egypt), I backed up & scraped a nice Morse code along the passenger side door with a metal pole. Then we remained unscathed (through any fault of our own) for the rest of our 4 years. So maybe this is a good omen.

I promise to compose & post. I really really really want to get them up. We had a fun weekend; the older girls & I toured the USS Harry S. Truman, an aircraft carrier, actually a supercarrier! I got a picture of the refrigerated pork & beans! And . . . I made tortillas from scratch. Yep, it's been an eventful time. Also, we have a tentative arrival date of two weeks for our long awaited household goods. *phew* I'm going to go take a nap.



**Ooh, caveat. Another word you can type with one hand!

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!