Leaving on a Jet Plane

It is about 45 minutes before we have to leave for a 21 hour journey (about 26 door to door) from Kuwait to Houston. I am traveling alone with the kids, which always psychs me out. I have butterflys, but I know once we get settled on the plane, it is a matter of sleeping and keeping occupied. The issue I have is that the flight leaves at 1 am...so we have already been up since about 7 this morning. The kids have had just over an hour nap earlier in the day. It is already past bedtime, and they may snooze on the 30 minute drive to the airport. I have had ALL day to stress over it, think about what I may have forgotten to pack. I much prefer getting up in the morning, showering and hitting the road (or sky). I don't do well with no sleep, and it is about 38 hours of being awake. I have a good friend meeting us at the other end, so I don't have to worry about getting a shuttle to the car, installing car seats, driving an hour home, then finally heading to the ER for a broken finger for Jessie....I am hoping for an injury free trip this time.
We have 4 days in Houston to get over jet lag and see friends. Then we fly to Alberta for a week and 1/2, then to BC for 2 weeks, where Robb will join us. Then another week in Alberta before we fly home again. Wish us luck! Poor Daddy will be without his girls for 3 weeks! (he has the cats to snuggle, though), The cats are gonna miss us, I feel so bad leaving them for so long.
See you on the flip side of the world.

Progressive Driving

I think I have had the perfect situation for preparing for the driving experiences I have had. When I was young, my Dad would let me sit on his lap and steer the truck on the old logging roads while out gathering firewood. Then, eventually, he let us actually drive when we were big enough to reach the pedals and see over the wheel. At 15, my mom let me take her car to basketball practice every Saturday, using the 'back roads'. Once I turned 16, Dad spent countless hours with me driving down the streets of Prince George, parallel parking on 3rd Avenue till I got it right. It was a mild paced city, perfect for learning how to drive properly and safely, even in the snow and ice. Fast forward to school in Edmonton, a bigger city with divided, multi lane roads and freeways. It was there I learned the proper way to navigate through a traffic circle, or round-about, from a taxi driver. I then had to take my first professional driving course for my job, where I was to drive numerous vehicles large and small through the mountain passes. It was a defensive driving course where you learn to anticipate moves of the drivers all around.
Fast forward again to getting married, moving to Houston, Texas...the 4th most populous city in the US. I was SCARED to drive there...freeways, exits, not really sure where I was going. I would actually take frontage roads for miles so I didn't have to get on the freeways. I eventually got the hang of naviagting the highways and by-ways, and spent numerous hours making my way through rush hour Galleria traffic.
Now that I am in Kuwait, I feel so lucky to have had these past, progressively challenging cities in which to drive. It is a free for all, rules not apply place to drive. I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to LEARN how to drive here, as there is no way to learn properly. Apparently it is mandatory to have professional training to get a license for the first time here, so that is good, I guess. I don't think I will be signing up anytime soon to be a driving instructor here ;)
In my years of driving, I am happy to say I have had 2 incidents: A slide into a ditch from the ice, and having my Dad's truck slide down an icey driveway, scaping the egde along a light pole :(  DAMN ICE- I hope to continue my streak of safe driving - no ice here!

I am SO looking forward to driving the back roads and secondary highways in Canada in the next few weeks. I may even stop on the side of the road (because I CAN), roll the window down, breathe in the fresh air...and enjoy the pleasure of being there.

Pita Pizzas

Pita bread (called Arabic bread) here is CHEAP..like $0.50 for 5-6 pitas. I had some day olds, and some pizza sauce. I used some left over chicken, grilled some zucchinni chunks, cut up some tomatoes, sprinkled cheese and VOILA! Dinner. I am not talking gourmet, but easy, healthy and kid-friendly. Saige loves to help, Jessie loses interest pretty fast. We cut up some fruit for a tasty after pizza trwat. The kids devoured it (their's was made of turkey meat....)

Saige spreads the sauce

Big plate - small pizza

Playing with the Macro setting on the camera

Kitchen Sink Chicken salad

I meant to make it to the grocery store today to buy some fresh veggies for salad and cooking. That didn't happen. Well, I *did* make it to the grocery store, but not the one I buy veggies from. Long Story.

I had chicken thawing, and no idea what to do with it. So, I threw it into the oven to bake with some spices and garlic and olive oil. Once it cooled, I chopped it up, then raided the fridge to see what I could make that would be edible. I threw in some green onions, tomatoes, cheese, apple chunks and mayo. I put it in some fresh pitas, and that was dinner. It was quite tasty...more of a lunch fare, but food is food.

Tofu Fried Rice

More food pictures. I am putting more energy into finding easy, healthy and/or fun meals for the family. Today I had some left over rice from the Indian meal I made other day, plus I took some tofu out to make black bean/tofu tacos on Wednesday, but they didn't materialize as we had made last minute plans to go out. A quick search online found this easy and tasty Tofu Fried Rice to use up both ingredients. I also played with some color and macro settings on the camera ;)

Close up

Eat your Greens :)

I have wheels!

I have had my driver's license since the day I turned 16, and have owned my own vehicle from that day as well. I have been driving for 17years. Even some of my past jobs have involved driving, ALOT. That means the freedom to go whereever I choose, whenever I choose. Imagine the suffocating feeling of having the freedom of mobility taken away.
Fast forward (actually, it has been very slow motion) to almost 2 months in Kuwait. No vehicle, hot as hell, two bored kids, one bored Momma, one Daddy who has to head out shopping as soon as he gets home to appease his family and maintain sanity. My awesome hubby has managed to get me a car to use for a few months. I have had it for two days, and I am a brand new person! Yesterday, we made a trek to the Sultan Centre for groceries. We really didn't need much, just milk and bread, but I COULD, so I did...Today I took the kid to play at the pre-school where they will be headed to in the fall. It is only just over a mile away, and in any other season I would have walked, but today, I could DRIVE. That means I have 1 more thing to do to entertain the kiddos. Tomorrow, I plan on taking them to McDonalds fro breakfast....just so they can PLAY. Happy kids = happy Mommy. Having a car = Mommy being able to make the kids happy and wear them out. It's a win win.

Public transportation is not all that great here, and taxis are not an option because of car seats. If we lived in a more modern city with modern, safe, reliable transportation, then things may be different. In a hot, rude Middle eastern country where a woman is not equal to a man, I prefer the comfort and safety of my own car.

I have already been scouring the ex-pat websites for a reliable used car to buy for when my temporary freedom ends!

Vegetarian?

So, the meat here is gross. The beef here is putrid. I cannot stomach it, I gag at the smell. I refuse to buy beef here, so we are now eating mostly chicken, with a lot of veggie dishes. Since I have nothing better to do, I have been researching and trying new recipes. Robb thinks I am a dork, but I have been taking pictures fo some of the dishes....here are some:

Oatmeal Cookies (not healthy, but delicious!)

Chicken 'Pot Pie' - Rice and cheese crust

Eggplant Parmesan with Lentil Soup