A First for Everything

October 26, 2014

Today is Lisa's birthday!  Lisa if you're reading, happy birthday!!  Well, as I travel on my first day back home, I'm glad to say so far the trip has been fine.  I decided to stay at the Four Seasons hotel, Amman being that I have over twelve hours to kill before my next flight to the States.  It is a nice hotel both visually and the service has been great.  The staff bought my luggage within 5 minutes of my arrival in the room, check-in was painless.  I tipped him one dinar and for that, he gave me an orientation of the room.  How to control the temperature, the TV and even locking the hotel door (who would knew to turn the knob UP?).  Yes, this is the first time I got a briefing on room operations ever, in any hotel I've stayed at.  So for that, I give it a thumbs up.  I went down to the concierge and asked for a map and he provided me one.  He pointed me great directions on how to get to the circle/burger king joint.  I saw Popeye and my eyes grew big but oh well, the door was locked.  Guess their hours of operation weren't accurate but the giveaway was no one was inside.  Ended up at good old burger kind with chicken tenders..Well, their version of chicken tenders compares to that of nuggets for kiddies at the old Busy Bees play center that used to be open in Cooper City. 

I got to play tourist for the day..Got to go shopping, take pictures and walk downtown.  I initially wore shorts, not even thinking of  where I am at!  I'm in a country where most of the women cover themselves from head to toe, including the head.  Well, not everyone so here I am in short shorts and before I left the mall, I bought me a decent pair of stretchy jeans for 10 dinars (15 US). On the way back, I was ensured a safety retreat blending in with my environment a little more.  No more clicks and weird noises from the street :) Funny, safety first!

Well, my flight leaves, uuhhh 4 AM in the morning. This will be a great start to my jetlag.  Be sure to check pictures on my Flickr site as I will post more pictures taken from the BB.  Here's what I got on my surface... room and view of the city.  Oh, the souvenir shop, I got a genie, some jewelry that will go nice with my genie costume (one day) as this Halloween I'm an angel!  Finally, I got some flexi magnets.  Can't come home empty handed.  Alyssa can give to her teachers and so forth.  I also got a Petra keychain as a bonus..The guy was nice and gave me his business card.  Next time I'm going to buy the plush camel.  I don't think I want to exceed my allowance.  I only  had 1.2 lbs left on my carry on. 



Well time to get some rest and relaxation in.  Going to need it for two more flights (3 more) before I get home. 

4:30 PM

Well room service was impressive.  Alyssa and Jason can tell you as they were Skyping with me when he arrived with a trolley and salad and my sandwich. Yum..I finished all the sandwich fingers :) A lot better than the chicken fingers earlier LOL.  The difference between 3 dinars and 10 dinars hehehe.  The pool is beautiful but there were all men inside of it.  Hmmm, maybe next time.  The SPA is beautiful.  The sauna was nice and hotel and I definitely need to get a aroma massage next time..No deep tissue, thank you for much!!! 

Speaking of first, I like to recall my first time in a cab, where the guy stops by the gas station and asks me to pay for gas.  So I said, "Sure I didn't know I had to pay for gas.". Then I asked him how much to hotel and he told me 22 please and tip.  So not bad..He didn't rip me off that bad because the expected cost in dinars is 35 Jordanian Dinar which comes to about 49.59.  The actual cost according to the hotel is 28 Dinar so I'm going to use the hotel.  They are able to wrap me a breakfast box to-go at 1:30, excellente!  So far I'm loving it..Once you go to a 5-star hotel you can't go back :))

Some tidbits I thought I'd learned more about the middle east especially when I got some awesome souvenirs from the mall.  I got a Genie lamp, some magnets of Petra (the site from Indiana Jones 3) and some jewelry for my next Arabian costume :). I love dressing up.  Well did you know the hat in the last scene was actually what Robin Williams wore?  And who knew Jafar (the evil character was inspired by a villain in an Iraqi movie -- he sure looks like Jafar!  Finally, I see no resemblance between Aladdin and Tom Cruise though they say he based looks on it.. Hmmm..And Jasmine was indeed an Iraqi princess.  Interesting.

 



Last but not least, I learned that there are camel racing.  Wow, those things can run fast! I watched it on TV.  They have 100 channels here..Amazing how much I can learn from the comfort of my room!!

See you on the other side!!  :-)

A Real Upside Down Cake

Brought to you by  Bo V

 

What was life like before youtbue.com?  Having only one week to plan a dessert project for this weekend’s cookout I decided to save myself a mess and watch you tube.  Eh, voila, I got myself a nearly perfect upside down angel cake.  How I do it..Just google, “How to use a tube pan” or how to make angel food cake etc. etc. Check it out.

 

I am nearly packed but with my tons of lists, I know I’m bound to forget something.  After that lost-luggage incident (which by the way I got reimbursed 450 in vouchers from AA just last week when I asked), I have learned that you know what..I can do with a lot LESS.  So I definitely will not be a pack-rat, LOL.  No need for 10 pairs of underwear and 6 pairs of socks in every shade of the rainbow. 

Started preparing Alyssa’s Xmas list but from the sounds of it, she doesn’t even want to have many gifts.  It’s like, she says she wants to prepare gifts for Santa  J How sweet.  I guess she realize how loving Santa is and how he generously gives and gives ;)  Well, gifts *is* one of the known 5 love languages spoken across all cultures. 

Last week got my hair straightened.  LOL my spa lady nearly burnt my scalp a few times, but she did good.  My hair is sooo smooth and straight. I wish I woke every day and it was like that.  Unfortunately, best I can do myself is a 20 min decent hair dry.  She sections my hair into at least 30 sections, blow drying about 1” strand each time.  Yes, 1 hour well spent J  And it shows in the end result.  Sorry no pic this time! 

Well time to get some shut-eye.  I said I was going to start my delayed sleeping but I didn’t think it would be THAT late…Chores and baking did take a bit of time tonight.  ~

My Extra Time

Study Time, Reading Time, Scrapbooking Time, Zumba Time

 

 With so much quiet time to myself, for the first time, my personal inbox is empty – zero!  Everything has filed, either in archived folders or for later – to go through if I ever had the time!  Nice huh?  On the other hand, my inbox at work will never be empty, as I continue to have a 9-5 job hehehe.  I got a bike to ride to and from compound so I had a nice bike ride over the weekend.  After skipping several cafeteria meals,I lost 7 lbs already in three weeks.  If it costs $3 for frozen food, it’s worth it more than a dish of lasagna, fried chicken and what have you at the buffet.  Man, some people are so skinny and can eat all they want and not gain a lb.  I got the Ngernwichit fat “gene.” Sorry to say but I am what I eat.  So for exercise, I’m doing abs class M W F, Hiits (High Intensity) workouts, Zumba for cardio, or the T25 insanity DVD at home when I don’t have time to go to the gym.  Some of us aren’t born lucky and before Alyssa was born, time was what I had to keep the weight off.  Now I have to work more on the diet for the next ten years which is my super weak area.

I am still not sleeping well but at least I’m getting photo updates from Jason on Alyssa which always brings me a smile. I know he’s bad with e-mail but he knows what I like!!! Seeing Alyssa having fun gives me a peace of mind.  This is a catchup time for him and her for the year.  After all, the first five years of her life, momma Bo spent her time taking Alyssa to all these b-day parties and playdates.  Go to my villatravels.smugmug.com site and you will see the most populated folder or gallery is the playdates.  Now it’s time to reconnect with the three of us.  I don’t regret joining the playgroups, or paper crafting. I made great friends I never would have otherwise. 

The bottom is that Alyssa is a good girl, she’s secure, she’s resilient and she’s going to be OK.  And I hope that she will grow up to be a responsible adult and start a generation of healthy Villas or whoever if she decides to adopt another name for her future family. 
I’ve started to play around with voice recognition.  I figured I want to get rid of this keyboard thingy that I drag about with my Surface Tablet.  Alyssa finds it a nuisance and she won’t be a keyboard girl because she is born into the world where typing may no longer be needed.  Well, here are some of my productivity results.

 

I’m making going to the spa a weekly thing now; which was a luxury back home in Florida.  Making time for myself really is important…Now if I can just get those extra hours of shut-eye. I think it has a combination of factors and I realize, that I am actually grieving over my mother’s death.  A lot of guilt and unfulfilled wishes and never know if she heard me during those days in the hospital. I just have to trust and believe that she did.

Lately, I’ve been listening/and watching Mr. Russell Peters (Canadian Comedian).  I bought the audio CD, Outsourced and he’s been keeping me laugh so hard it hurts my stomach.  Man that guy knows how to make those various Asian accents.  My favorite one – Chinese people talk like their chopping veggies… Check it out here on You Tube - "Different Types of Asians": it’s in the last minute of the 6-min video clip:  “Don’t say nothing beck!”  What??!!!  “Back!” :-D 

October 12 – Columbus Holiday

Well today was well spent.  I got my mani-pedi done. Actually I did my own nails b/c wasn’t going to risk Spa lady cutting of my cuticles again!  She did do a great job on the feet here. 
I tried to do some distance training..Not going to happen with phones ringing off the hook. Hello, did someone forget it’s a US holiday?  Columbus Day which is incidentally, Canadian’s Thanksgiving day.  So Happy holidays to both US and Canadians alike!

Definitely my highlight of the day was Skyping with Alyssa.  She showed me her costume for Halloween..She is going to be a devil.  What a gal…She will be great at it too…b/c she can be a naughty little girl, “ooohhh that little devil” J. 

 

Nothing else to report.  Besides getting more time for exercise, dieting, watching movies on my DVD I am doing fine.  Finding groups who share interests are finally happening and then I’ll be back home for a decent rest and recuperation.  Good night.

 My Beautiful Accomplishment - Mani/Pedi! :)

These are a Few of my Favorite Things

I love getting extra money so my family can enjoy life a bit more and I can save for Alyssa's college fund.  Speaking of that, I keep having to remind myself even though Birthday planning is more up that alley than college fund planning :-)

OK, so let's start with my favorite thing - Chatting with hubby and Alyss-suh!  She calls me "ma maaaa.". And oh daddy hates this but what the heck... "Da. waaaa.". LOL, only Nana and daddy knows it.  He hates being called that, he told her you're not two years old.  She's so cute and funny she makes  me laugh.  Oh the things kids do and say.  Did I tell you the other day she was on the phone with me and she gave the phone to daddy.  Then after I talked with Jason, I hung up.  She called me right back.. "Mommy I called to say "bye bye.". I said OK, sorry honey I forgot to say bye to you after I talked with daddy.  Then I start going on a tangent and ask her, "Alyssa what do you want for Christmas" she goes, "Mommy I only called to say "bye, bye." Uh huh... being smart with me huh?

Chatting on Line app IS one of my favorite things.  But you can see that my fave thing(s) is Jason (a.k.a. Alyssa) :-)
 

My next favorite thing:  Scrapbooking.  Two days in a row, I actually had time to get to this after 8 months of no time in Swaziland.  I guess that's one thing great with the extra time.  I don't fret too much about the embellishments anymore or the perfect layout.  Who has time for everything?  Speaking of time, did you know that if you spent ea minute looking at all the art work in the Louvre museum it would take years as well?  Yup.  Interesting.  

Dance -- It's such a great way to express my innermost emotions and at the same time, I'm getting exercise.  I like to express myself in a physical way.  Growing up I had celebrity idols:  Cindy Crawford, Oksana the figure skater, and Jennifer Aniston.  I wanted to have the same qualities and Oksana was a beautiful ballerina on ice.  Jennifer Aniston was a great actor with lovely toned arms.

Well, since you got this far in my blog, you might as well know that my interests has changed. I still am the same person but I am become wiser (least I hope).  It's my last year in my thirties... next June the big 40 hits.  I've become spiritually stronger, I am still human but I believe we all have the power to change and develop skills.  

Another one of my favorite things - Skyping with Alyssa

Yesterday I went to the local beauty salon to get a massage..I thought I deserved it.  It turned out the spa lady was..uh, what do you say, a little "rough." I said that hurts but I don't know if she understood but she kept on going harder..Today I couldn't exercise because my back hurt.  Hmm..she cut my cuticles until it bled and now back muscles hurt :(. Not sure I would say it's a good muscle sore from a workout! We'll see how they feel tomorrow.

Done rambling.  Thanks for reading!!  Namaste

Planning for my Vacation :)

September 27

Well it's a Saturday and exactly a month before I venture back to see fam <3.  I'm so excited, no details yet but just brainstorming.  I'm planning my weekends here in Baghdad so I can look forward to fun activities while making the time pass by sooner :-)  I'm going to try the new Flip Jack that Kristi my friend bought me from the Facebook "pay it forward" or some similar thing where you participate and your friends send you a "surprise."  At least here they have a kitchen so good! I just watched a YouTube Video and didn't seem bad.  Let's look at the results of how I did:


Start out by cooking on one side 'til it bubbles.

Then flip over.  The second one was a lot better. First one I had to cook longer

First One  is on top.
Second one was a trial.

All and all it's great for making picture perfect pancakes. Accordingly I used this to make grilled cheese the other day. It cooks longer than the foreman grill for making hot sandwiches but can't complain! Supposed you can do eggs over easy too.

October 4, 2014

It's been a week  since I drafted my blog and haven't posted.  Next week we have a local holiday all week which means my week will go by so fast!!  Excited about that to get some home projects done..and plan for my vacation.  My top three to do with Jason and Alyssa is to go to the SPCA and get a cat together..If Mr. Jason is willing :)  Next, we will take some pictures for our Christmas cards. Maybe one weekend we'll go to Orlando and swim with the sting wrays although I'm thinking maybe the weather is too cool now.  So, my readers, what else do you suggest? ;-)  I think I'm going to get Alyssa a bike and teacher her to ride and the three of us can ride somewhere.. But of course traditionally the three of us like ice skating.

As of life at work, it's going.  I've ran into some issues at work, which I'm proud to say, I've dealt with assertively.  I won't let people tell me what to do, I'm setting my own priorities and not letting others (other than my boss of course) set them for me.  I've started Zumba, I hope to get more interest in.  I love dancing and I just hope to pass on this passion to get more people into fitness. I like training, I like helping people.  Work is work, but my passion is making a difference and maybe making things for the better.  My niche... Strengthening my soul as well as my temple (body).  My room has a corner for all my needs.. Devotion time by the bed, coffee table for scrapbooking, make up corner and DVD/exercise area.  I guess that is my niche for now :)

See you next week.