Foreign Circus Life

brrrrrrrr...

2012-01-22T17:27:00.001-05:00

Friday was a warm and sunny 71 degrees- short sleeve weather to be sure. Yesterday and today? 50s dropping to 30s at night. Wool coat. Scarf. Gloves. House heat kicked on for maybe the second time all year. No heat in my office so the scarf and gloves actually stayed on all day today.

Yes, I know this is not real winter. My last overseas post was Bosnia- first snowfall Oct 5th, last snowfall early April. Heck, we got feet of snow in DC my last couple of winters there. Still, I'm living in Saudi and coats/scarves/gloves are not the norm.

Part of me wants the temp to creep back up. Part of me delights in the chance to wear my winter clothes a bit (especially the super-cute scarf and gloves I picked up at Avoca in Dublin over Christmas). Part of me wants to document this chill to look back on in a few months when our temps hit 120+ with 90% humidity.

No snow here, but still a hint of January weather to enjoy. I'll take what I can get...

DIY Withdrawal

2012-01-19T14:46:00.000-05:00

OK, I'm not going to talk about how I utterly failed at last weekend's To Do list. I'm not going to comment on the ongoing clutter issue that I just can't seem to muster up the energy to cope with these days. I'm not going to focus on the things I know I should be doing; instead, I'm going to talk about the things I want to be doing.

I want a DIY project. A dresser to refinish, a chandelier to modify, a footstool to reupholster. Something damn it where I can combine some blood, sweat, and tears with a little creativity to transform something from trash to treasure. Just a little project that would be good for my soul- something I could really use at the moment.

Of course, with no Craigslist in Saudi and a house full of brand new furniture that I don't own, such projects are pretty much impossible to find. I need a fix baby, a DIY fix, and yet there is none to be found, so I'll have to continue to live vicariously through others who are recreating by renovating while dreaming of projects for my next vacation. Thanks in advance to all of you for letting me peek into your process and for helping to take the edge off of my DIY withdrawal...

Mama said there’d be days like this…

2012-01-08T16:29:00.004-05:00

Yeah, today was a crappy day. Not for any big important reason, just a series of small annoyances that left me wanting to come home and simply go to bed. Work is extremely frustrating at the moment for a wide variety of reasons.

I haven’t been good at my “leave work stress at work” resolution but I am going to work to be better. I haven’t started decluttering at all though I did unpack from my trip to Dublin which was a big accomplishment for me. I am looking forward to the upcoming three day weekend; Brad doesn’t have MLK day off so I am hoping to tackle the shoe closet that day, sorting and organizing and culling. It would be a great start to my year and help me get back on track with wearing my cute shoes which have been hiding in a closet in the back bedroom for too long.

I’m working on travel planning as well- a five day getaway for my birthday in late Feb (maybe Malta or Cyprus), a week in Thailand for training and leave in late March, a couple of weeks in DC for training and vacation in May. I’ll likely be here for the summer filling in for my boss, then will have time to take my big vacation in the autumn. Just looking at all the pictures of vacation possibilities is making me smile- I could use some tropical beverages served up poolside…

2012 Resolutions

2012-01-01T15:47:00.000-05:00

but first, a gratuitous shot of NYE featuring my new dress and Brad’s lovely velvet jacket…

OK, I don’t generally do resolutions, but I think I need some structure for my year and so I’m giving it a whirl.

I resolve to be a better blogger as I have certainly fallen off in writing over the last few months, though I am still following and reading all my favorites.
I resolve to try to leave work stress at work rather than bringing it home with me the way I have been. My husband deserves better and frankly our relationship and sanity is more important than my job.
I resolve to be more active; I started playing softball this fall and loved it, so though I know I hate the gym, I am on the hunt for other activities that get me out of the house and onto my feet.
I resolve to declutter and start truly culling through my belongings so that my packout in summer 2013 isn’t a complete nightmare. I have 18 months so I can do it slow and steady if I just do a little every week.

There, that seems like a sane and manageable list. Wish me luck!

Happy 2012 everyone

There's no place like home for the holidays...

2011-12-18T06:47:00.000-05:00

OK, actually we are going to Dublin for Christmas so it is only halfway home, but since my mother and sister are meeting us there, it will feel like home.

In the end, I did put up a few decorations but no tree. I've been playing Christmas music and drinking warm Christmas beverages and so I feel a little more in the spirit. Still, it is 77 degrees and sunny here today which makes for strangeness with wintery music; Dublin however should be much colder and wetter so that will be more in season.

Basically I'm feeling burned out at work and am ready for a vacation even through I haven't packed and we leave tonight and I'm having a minor freakout...

It’s beginning to feel a lot like…nothing…

2011-12-04T14:29:00.001-05:00

I have no holiday spirit. It is the beginning of December, it has finally gotten a little chilly here in Saudi, and yet I feel no desire to decorate or prepare for Christmas. We will be traveling for the holiday, going to Dublin to spend 10 days with family, and though I am excited about that trip, I just can’t seem to get excited for Christmas. I don’t know if it because there is no Christmas here (no carols, no decorations, no acknowledgement at all in public spaces) or because I’m just a grump, but I can’t even wrap my head around the idea of decorating. The thought of pulling out the tree and all the other trimmings leaves me cold even though the thought of not doing those things also leaves me cold.

Sigh…

Black Tie Turkey Dinner

2011-11-25T17:41:00.000-05:00

Our Marine Ball was held on Thursday night so instead of spending the day cooking a turkey and trimmings, I spent it doing hair and makeup! Though I did miss the leftovers today, it was a great event last night, despite that damn winter beard I swear my husband grows just to annoy me! This isn’t the best quality picture in the world but I think we look cute.

For my fellow Americans, I hope your Turkey Day was equally wonderful; for my international friends, I hope you had an enjoyable Thursday

C’est la vie!

2011-11-19T15:21:00.000-05:00

yes, I’m back from Paris. and yes, the trip to Paris interfered with my house clean-up plan. As did the complete collapse of our phone system and an ill-timed infection. nevertheless, there has been improvement so I feel I can document the process as a Before and Midway rather than a Before and After.

So here is the shameful before…

and here is the improving midway…

Those stacked boxes right behind the blue chair are all empty (well, they are full of packing paper really) and so are on their way out. It is hard to tell, but the area in the bottom left of the picture (which is actually along the wall leading to the closet) is a huge improvement. Proof positive? I can now actually ACCESS that closet which hadn’t happened in ages.

I have high hopes that I’ll get more done this weekend to finish up this room. We arrived back from travel early Tuesday morning, worked Tuesday and Wednesday, then spent the weekend (Thursday & Friday here) in Bahrain for a golf tournament (my husband plays not me but there was a dinner dance) which means I haven’t touched the room since I left for Paris.

Of course, I also still have to unpack my bag from Paris…le sigh…

my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad bedrooms…

2011-11-04T16:57:00.000-04:00

oh the shame…

I took these pictures yesterday afternoon to serve as my before pictures. Even knowing that we will never have guests here in Saudi, this state of affairs is terrible. Between the tubs of Christmas decorations, the stacks of empty boxes, the Welcome Kit stuff that needs to be returned to work, the piles of clothes to donate, and the boxes that haven’t been unpacked since I arrived, these two rooms are a disaster.

Red circles= empty boxes
Yellow circles= clothing to be donated
Fuchsia circles= Welcome Kit stuff to be returned
Aqua circle= clothing to be sent to my sister

(excuse the weird curves- these are merged from several individual pictures)

I focused on the back bedroom (the first picture) because it is the bigger room and the one I thought would be easier to deal with despite its size. The smaller second bedroom is the one where my cleaning lady just dumps anything she isn’t sure how to handle and so it is full of just random stuff (and as you can see) empty boxes.

That said, did take a few minutes to clear the empty boxes out of the smaller bedroom which made an immediate improvement as pictured below. I don’t have any pictures of the bigger back bedroom because I kept working until after the sun set and so the lighting made it impossible. I am about halfway through that room which makes me happy- I intend to finish it tomorrow and then hopefully still have time to work on the second smaller bedroom as well.

12 day vacation ahead!

2011-11-03T05:34:00.000-04:00

Between the Eid al-Adha holiday and the Veteran’s Day long weekend, today is the first day of a 10 day vacation from work; add in the 2 extra days I’m taking and I’ve got a nice little 12 day holiday ahead. I’m heading to Paris to meet my mom and aunt on Monday night; until them I’m holding down the fort for work (we always need coverage in country even when the office is closed). Brad is already home in Iowa so I have the house to myself, and- as usual- I have a list of projects I hope to get done before I head out of town.

I want to clean out the two guest rooms, boxing up the last of the welcome kit to return to work and getting rid of the stacks of empty cardboard boxes from my mail-order addiction. I need to always have a few boxes on hand to mail stuff out, but the current stock is excessive. I want to open up and unpack the last few boxes that were shipped here from DC last year. I’m pretty sure I don’t need the contents since I have done so well without them, but you never know. At the very least, I should be able to get rid of some stuff.

I’m giving myself today to lounge around, read a book, and generally be lazy because the last couple of weeks at work have been tiring. Tomorrow, I’m determined to tackle the big back bedroom- I’ll take before and after pictures to help keep me accountable.

Unrelatedly, do you like my newest side table pictured above? He is the cutest camel ever with lovely big feet. I named him Mustafa. My husband is a bit worried I’m naming the furniture, but really I ask how anyone could resist naming this little guy? If I start naming the couch, well then that might be a sign I’m teetering on the edge…

attention span of a gnat

2011-10-08T06:07:00.002-04:00

I am the master of starting projects and then letting them peter out in some stage of semi-completion. Let’s tally recent efforts, shall we?

The great wardrobe cleanout of 2011? about 3/4 done before I lost steam somewhere in pants and undies. Only two categories left to have a fully completed project but somehow I can’t get it done.
The great furniture rearrangements of 2011? about 1/2 done before I gave up. Living room is basically settled but the library now has extra furniture because I need to clean out two bedrooms in order to make room for chairs that are currently cluttering up the library. sigh…
Hanging art? Well, the living room gallery wall is completed which is great. I still have a boatload of art though that needs to find a home, but between rooms that aren’t ready for prime time and walls that take a hammer drill to hang a picture frame, my motivation on this one is slim to none right now.
The master bedroom makeover? another 1/2 project. I like the new bedding. I like the lamps I moved in from the living room. The curtains are just not right but I’m not sure what would be better. The piles of clothes from the almost there wardrobe project make further activity on this from futile.

The list goes on…

This element of my personality is one that torments my sister. She possesses the enviable ability to focus on one project through completion before starting on the next. When she is close by, she helps keep me on course, but right now she is thousands of miles away and it shows. Today is our Columbus Day holiday, and I am determined to finish at least one of the projects on this list before the day is over. Wardrobe Therapy- here I come!

the gallery wall grows…

2011-10-02T17:22:00.001-04:00

(if you haven’t already seen this on Apartment Therapy)

This was my gallery wall for months- I liked the layout and look of it, but it only occupied half of that weird wall.

Finally I got my ass to IKEA with the art I still needed to frame and was actually able to buy frames for all but one piece. My husband was NOT enthusiastic that this project was back because last time getting the holes exactly right for my anal design was a nightmare. This time I made paper replicas of the art to hang, taping it onto the walls with the location of the hangers marked on the the paper so I could just mark the wall once the paper was perfect. My husband was much happier to be able to drill all the holes in one 10 minute push so he could then return to college football.

See the wall is strange because it is both living room and walkway into the dining room. It is hard to explain without better pictures of the room (I swear those will come some day) but the room is big- that window is the span of two of those end tables and a loveseat and then the wall continues maybe another 5ft (the TV is in that corner). The living room has a couch, a loveseat, two armchairs, two coffee tables, a 54” TV, a DVD cabinet, and five end tables, and we still have lots of space to walk. Here is a not great picture of that portion of the room taken the last weekend when I rearranged the furniture.

Big room and yet only half of the art wall overlaps with the main seating area portion of the space; there are another two armchairs and another table in the walkway portion of the space. I swear it works better than it sounds. And please note that I own very little of this furniture- just the TV stand, the wooden cabinet, the two coffee tables and the chests. Plus the rugs- those I do own. The rest of the furniture, all bazillion chairs, comes with the house/job.

Here is the final art wall. I like it because it fills the space and allows me to display a lot of the art I’ve collected over the years. I wish I could let it be more random but I just don’t have it in me; more formless arrangements make me twitchy in my own house though I often admire them in the spaces of others.

Brad isn’t thrilled that after a year in the house (6 months with this furniture), I still see this as a work in progress. He would like the house to be done and left alone, but I am a self-confessed tinkerer so that just isn’t going to happen. Despite that, I think he agrees this new arrangement feels more spacious, and I know he is happy to get that pile of art off the chest and onto the wall. Now I need to get a little stand or something built to elevate that small carved wood chest on the left to raise it up closer to the height of the larger chest on the right. Great, another project…

Seasons Change, People Change…

2011-09-30T15:13:00.001-04:00

Autumn has come to Saudi Arabia. I know this not because there is a bite of winter in the breeze; instead, occasionally the breeze isn’t actually hot. I know this not because the colors of the changing trees surround me; instead, occasionally the sky is blue rather than yellow. I know this not because I need the odd hot drink to warm my fingers; instead, occasionally I need to add a little hot water to the stream of cold in order to keep my shower scalding.

I miss DC with its autumn smells and colors. I miss the ability to get a Pumpkin Spice latte from Starbucks. I miss wearing sweaters. I miss rain which I haven’t seen for months. I miss walking outside. I miss being out at night on my own. I miss being on the street on my own at time of day in fact.

I’m looking at my windows right now, soaked on the outside with condensation because the humidity that burns off during the day comes back with a vengeance at night. In another couple of weeks, the weather here should be lovely, not autumnal, but lovely. Nevertheless, I’m using travel to satisfy my need for climate change. I’m planning an early November trip to Europe with my mom and hopefully my sister, a trip where I’ll likely get to wear sweaters and boots in the rain. Christmas in Ireland will be cold and wet and soaked in the season; heck, I’ll likely be thrilled to return to the warmth of the desert for the new year.

Today was the end of the fiscal year and so therefore the end of a crazy couple of weeks at work. It was also the 6 year anniversary of my father’s death. For the first year ever, my mom, sister, and I were all in different places, different countries in fact, for this anniversary. My sister, alone in DC, had no one to travel to the cemetery with her to deliver flowers and drink a toast. Today of all days, I wish I had been there with her, for her.

Despite the fact that I love my job and love living overseas, some days I wish I led a more normal life, one that allows me to be present for special occasions both happy and sad. Today was one of those days.

Remembering...

2011-09-11T15:07:00.001-04:00

Ten years ago I was newly arrived in Kuwait, three weeks into a two year tour. I was working in the consular section, handling visas and settling into life in the Middle East. Weeks before, I had been in NYC with my mom and sister, one last hurrah before heading overseas. On that trip, we did almost every tourist thing you can do in New York save going up in the Twin Towers. I have a punishing fear of heights, and after having a panic attack at the Empire State Building, I decided to forgo any more trips on high, and my mother and sister agreed, promising themselves a trip to the top of the World Trade Center on their next visit to the city. Little did we know how much would have changed before that next trip.

When we first got word that a plane had hit the WTC, we all gathered around the TV wondering how such an accident could happen in Manhattan. When we saw the second plane hit, we knew it was no accident. The next few hours were spent in a flurry of setting up an emergency operations center and fielding calls from hundreds of American citizens living in Kuwait. In between it all, I tried frantically for hours to reach my family in DC before finally getting through and learning they were safe. We lived at work for the next couple of days trying to help people track down loved ones, trying to soothe their fears and grief, trying to wrap our minds around the attack. Kuwaitis came out in droves to express their grief, delivering flowers, signs, and cards to the embassy. Over time, as the names of the victims became known, there was time to mourn for college classmates, for the parents of friends, for members of my extended community. There was fear and uncertainty, there was grief and anger, and eventually, there was the dawning realization that the world as we knew it would never be the same.

Ten years later, I find myself once again living in the Middle East, living in a world forever changed and to a certain extent forever defined by what happened a decade ago in New York and in DC and in Pennsylvania. I see war and conflict and fear in so many places, so many lives lost and so many more changed by the events of September 11, 2001. And today, a day when it is impossible not to remember a day we can never forget, I find myself with nothing more to say than "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Bedroom Makeover: Curtain Angst

2011-09-02T13:05:00.002-04:00

So I'm trying to remake my bedroom into a cohesive space, not easy when I don't own the furniture and am limited in what I can do to the space. The first element that needs to be addressed is the windows.

I hate the windows in my house- they are barred and open right onto the "street" at the front of the house so leaving them uncovered is not an option. Before I moved in, the whole house had mustard yellow velvety curtains with torn yellowing sheers (they look much better in this photo than they did in real life). These came down when I got the house painted and never went back up!

The paint is "desert beige" and would not be my top choice but was the best of the 8 options I was offered. It looks better now that the carpet is gone and it is a nice neutral backdrop for art.

We got new blinds which was a plus- wide white plantation blinds that I selected for everyone on compound. The problem is that the windows have no trim of any kinds which I hate so the look of the blinds alone isn't doing it for me.

For months after I moved in, I lived with sheets on the windows, sheets provided with the house because my worldly goods had not yet arrived. Don't ask me why the sheets that come with the house have a strawberry pattern- that design decision is one I will never understand.

Finally when home in DC this summer, I hit IKEA (we have one here in Dhahran but the curtain selection is terrible). I bought these white curtains that are supposed to reduce the light. I don't love the tabs, but I hope to make them smaller once my new sewing machine comes from Amazon (free gift that I have to now teach myself to use). The problem is, I had planned to use only one panel per window but I think they look too stretched.

I tried using two panels on the window on the right below but I think that is too full for my taste. Also, ignore the pooling on the floor which will go away once I reduce the length of the tabs.

The last picture shows just one panel but less stretched- I kept all the tabs inside the brackets (at first I had one tab outside the bracket on each side).

I think this is my current preference, though I suspect my ideal would be one panel that was 1.5 times the width of the current panels. If my mom was here, I could convince her to make that happen for me, but I am fearful my sewing skills might not stretch that far (once they are actually developed that is!)

Sigh...still so very not happy with this bedroom...

where is wardrobe therapy when I need it???

2011-08-27T14:35:00.001-04:00

I finally unpacked my suitcases from my trip to the US and that made for quite the set of piles on the bed. The problem is, these piles do not include all the things already hiding in drawers and in closets. For a person who has never really liked clothes, I sure seem to have a lot of them all of a sudden. The stuff on the bed has mostly been purchased in the last 12 months (thank you Anthropologie). The stuff in the dressers and closet is mostly stuff I came to Saudi with, stuff that mostly fits but does little (sometimes nothing for me). Since I have these lovely 10 days off, I'm determined to weed out the nothings to leave me with space for the lovelies. Unfortunately, I tend to be very bad at this process- I really need my ruthless sister here to slash and burn her way through my wardrobe. Sigh...

most wonderful blog post ever

2011-08-19T13:30:00.000-04:00

If you haven't already read this magnificent article about towels and chickens and husbands, be prepared to laugh until you cry: And That's Why You Should Learn to Pick Your Battles.Now I want a giant chicken!

one year down, two to go

2011-08-14T13:01:00.001-04:00

I'm back in Saudi after a glorious few weeks in the US, and a terrible week coping with jetlag when I returned. I'm finally back on track with sleeping and work, and in a few days will have another glorious 10 days off of work to celebrate Eid. We aren't traveling anywhere for Eid because we just got back and Brad has different days off than I have and basically we just aren't in the mood. I do however have a long list of tasks to accomplish at home like wardobe purging, completion of unpacking (8 months after my stuff arrived), rearranging some furniture, and hanging some more art.

We'll see how much of that list actually gets done but at least I have high in the sky apple pie hopes!

nothing compares to hometown fireworks

2011-07-16T00:20:00.001-04:00

Just a little taste of how I spent Independence Day this year with family on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial watching fireworks explode around the Washington Monument. Heaven...

leaving on a jet plane

2011-06-22T09:57:00.002-04:00

heading out tonight for a much-needed break in the U.S. may be scarce around here until I'm back in Saudi in August. Happy summer everyone!

10 days and counting

2011-06-12T15:06:00.000-04:00

Brad left a few days ago on vacation, and I'll be heading back to the U.S. in ten days for my leave (our timing didn't mesh up for a variety of work related reasons). I had in mind that I would use this time alone oh so productively in the house. I would organize, unpack boxes, rearrange closets, sort through clothes for donation- the list goes on and on. In the six days Brad has been gone, I've accomplished nothing on that list. Now I have only 10 days left to get things rolling.

Time to get motivated!

infidelity part II

2011-06-07T13:42:00.000-04:00

I heard from another friend today who is going through a personal crisis. She and her husband were married not long before Brad and I, and the have been trying to have a baby for years. After three rounds of fertility treatments and lots of disappointments, they just found out she is pregnant. And yesterday apparently she threw him out of the house after learning he has been having an affair.

I feel so much for her, and for other friends who have faced infidelity, and am so angry at their partners for the pain and suffering they caused with their selfish actions. And I think a special place in hell is reserved for people who cheat on a pregnant spouse. And I still don't understand how anyone could so badly hurt the person they promised to love and cherish forever.

And Brad left last night for the States and so I can't even lean over and rant to him about how much I detest these men and the mess they have made of my friends' lives. I miss him.

The Chair I Just Can't Live Without Despite Its Lack of Style

2011-06-03T05:48:00.003-04:00

If you want to read the whole post, it is over at Apartment Therapy DC. I was delighted to learn (a) that lots of other people love their papasan chairs, and (b) that lots of other people have a piece that they love despite its lack of style. I was surpised that people had opinions on both the bookcases and the rug. The bookcases are Drexel Heritage and not my style, but they came with the house. The rug is a handmade Mahi Tabriz that I bought years ago in Kuwait; it is one of my favorite pieces and I was shocked by the number of people who thought it was the problem piece in the room! Just goes to show, everyone has a different style and different design aesthetic...

For all those who face the snowy heights of honor with a mighty heart...

2011-05-30T15:59:00.001-04:00

On May 30, 1884, then-Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. gave an address- his first important public address outside the law. The speech was given in Keene, New Hampshire, before John Sedgwick Post No. 4, Grand Army of the Republic, in a white painted town hall on the village common. His words seem as apt today as they were 127 years ago:

"So to the indifferent inquirer who asks why Memorial Day is still kept up we may answer, it celebrates and solemnly reaffirms from year to year a national act of enthusiasm and faith. It embodies in the most impressive form our belief that to act with enthusiam and faith is the condition of acting greatly. To fight out a war, you must believe something and want something with all your might. So must you do to carry anything else to an end worth reaching. More than that, you must be willing to commit yourself to a course, perhaps a long and hard one, without being able to foresee exactly where you will come out. All that is required of you is that you should go somewhither as hard as ever you can. The rest belongs to fate. One may fall- at the beginning of the charge or at the top of the earthworks; but in no other way can he reach the rewards of victory...

...But, nevertheless, the generation that carried on the war has been set apart by its experience. Through our great good fortune, in our youth our hearts were touched with fire. It was given to us to learn at the outset that life is a profound and passionate thing. While we are permitted to scorn nothing but indifference, and do not pretend to undervalue the worldly rewards of ambition, we have seen with our own eyes, beyond and above the gold fields, the snowy heights of honor, and it is for us to bear the report to those who come after us. But, above all, we have learned that whether a man accepts from Fortune her spade, and will look downward and dig, or from Aspiration her axe and cord, and will scale the ice, the one and only success which it is his to command is to bring to his work a mighty heart."

NOT what you want to find when you run home for some lunch!

2011-05-22T23:20:00.002-04:00

Seems the wind yesterday took out my lovely tree, the one that shaded my hammock. The tree in turn took out Brad's grill and some fence and a waterpipe for the irrigation system in the yard. Thank goodness I'm not responsible for the cleanup effort that I suspect will take days...

my evolving wardrobe

2011-05-21T18:30:00.000-04:00

I mentioned a few months ago a newfound love of Anthropologie; I am happy to report this love has not abated. Though I restrict myself to items that are on sale, I still feel I have accumulated a nice assortment of new clothes since that earlier post and so I am gradually coming to actually like my wardrobe options. I have also had a wee bit of sucess with Old Navy recently which is always a surprise in anything other than t-shirts and jeans.

This outfit captures the way I would like to dress (even if I'm not there yet):

Summer Party Outfit by quinncx featuring flare leg pants

Printed top
$40 - anthropologie.com

Old Navy flare leg pants
$30 - oldnavy.gap.com

Seychelles Amethyst D'Orsay Pump - Ivory
shoesrus.net

These are the Anthro cardigans I have bought since my first order in October. Some I have in more than one colorway. I may have a small problem with cardigans!

Anthro Cardi Love by quinncx featuring a wool cardigan

Velvet cardigan
$60 - anthropologie.com

Cardigan
$100 - reviews.anthropologie.com

Cardigan
reviews.anthropologie.com

Cardigan
$78 - reviews.anthropologie.com

Cardigan
$50 - anthropologie.com

Wool cardigan
$70 - anthropologie.com

Cotton cardigan
$50 - anthropologie.com

Cardigan
$24 - reviews.anthropologie.com

Anthropologie - Steamed Cappuccino Cardigan
$98 - reviews.anthropologie.com

Anthropologie - Cross The Lines Cardigan
$20 - reviews.anthropologie.com

for those of you who like the new background

2011-05-20T14:40:00.002-04:00

It is a photo of a section of a map that hangs on my wall. I bought the map on a trip to Istanbul back in 2005 at the book market- it is made of four separate sheets of paper glued together. It is handpainted and covered in hand-written notes in Turkish; the back is all handwritten text. The guy who sold it to me tried hard to convince me it was a very very old antique, and it might be, but frankly the age wasn't as important to me as the fact that I instantly loved it. My mom subsequently gave me the purchase price of the map as a birthday gift, and when I was looking for a new background to convey my feeling about the Foreign Circus, I knew instantly I wanted to use my lovely birthday map.

Closeup of the map

The map in my old apt in DC circa 2007

blog in transition

2011-05-19T20:13:00.001-04:00

so here it is, my work in progress. I really want to connect up this blog with my book review blog, and also make it more of a place where my family can check in to see pictures and to see what's happening in my life. I don't know though- I've never really been that open that I have a blog even though I never write about anything truly personal, so the idea of telling more people where to find me is kind of weird. we'll see- maybe this desire for more online interconnectivity will ease off and I'll be back to the status quo.

In the meantime, thoughts on the new design? I still have to clean up the links lists as they are seriously out of date but that is a project for another day, as is connecting up to my online photo albums. I don't know- I like the new look but I miss the old one too if that makes sense. sigh...

widespread dust

2011-05-16T05:53:00.002-04:00

No Mom that isn't a comment on my housekeeping...

Tragically, it is instead the comment for the day from Weather Underground. Now I know why my allergies are going haywire...

I'm feeling twitchy with my blog these days and am working on a total redesign (not here though- on a test blog). I don't know whether to wait until I have everything perfect to roll it out here, or to make the move now and then continue to tinker with stuff as I get used to the new layout.

Thoughts on which is better (or easier for my few readers to forgive)?

so much stuff, so little space!

2011-05-09T15:03:00.002-04:00

well, not really- I am living in a three bedroom house with a couple of bonus rooms to boot so I have plenty of space. The obvious truth is that I just have too much stuff. My stuff arrived in late December and I still have boxes to unpack. Plus I have stuff that I should never have packed out that I should be able to give away. Plus I have clothes that I hate that can be eliminated now that I've gotten some cute new clothes I love from Anthropologie.

After spreading out through the extra rooms, I had to reorganize in some way this week because they swapped out all of the furniture in my house for new furniture. I like the new furniture a lot more than the old but there is more of it which means I'm also working to sort that out. I hope to take some time this weekend to work on the boxes that need to be unpacked. Once the boxes are gone, I need to start working on sorting out the things that need to go vs those that need to stay. Finally I need to find appropriate ways to put away all the things I decide need to stay.

Calgon, take me away!

104 degrees and it is only May 8th!

2011-05-08T17:44:00.003-04:00

so obviously the long hot humid summer is about to begin. I'm torn- summer heat should mean a drop a sandstorms which trigger killer allergies in me, but when it is hot and humid at midnight, you begin to feel like you are living in a sauna on the face of the sun. We aren't there yet mind you, but I know it is coming. I'll be home for part of the summer and am sure DC will feel like a cool spring day in comparison to Dhahran, but I'll still be here for the worst of the heat. Time to start creating some summer beverages to take the edge off...

sometimes it's hard to be a woman

2011-03-10T17:15:00.005-05:00

a woman in Saudi Arabia that is...

Though I go for periods where I am insulated from this reality by my position here and the fact that I live on a compound where I can pretend I'm in a U.S. suburb, there are days when the I smack right up against the limits placed on women here. Today was one of those days. Brad had to work, and I realized when looking at the fridge and contemplating dinner that we cleaned out the fridge before going to Rome and haven't restocked. Of course, a quick trip to the grocery store is nothing of the sort here even though the store is about a 5 minute drive away in traffic. Going on my own requires calling to book a motorpool driver which sounds simple but leads to all kinds of guilt about using a driver purely for convenience and possibly tying one up who might otherwise be helping a woman who doesn't have a spouse here- I mean, I can always wait for Brad to get home to go to the grocery store. In the end, I opted to wait.

When we eventually got to the grocery store, we made the unfortunate discovery that we were hitting up against prayer time which means though the store is open for shopping, you can't check out. So much for popping in quickly to grab essentials for dinner- we were in for the long haul. It was a Thursday evening so the store was packed with way more people than I've seen in HyperPanda before, and as per my usual, I was not wearing an abaya.

The abaya thing is a bit of a sore subject here; most Western women wear them (though not the headscarf or face veil) in order to blend in and avoid harassment. I have an abaya, a gift from a lovely Saudi family, and I wore it out a few times during Ramadan when I first arrived. The thing is, I hate it. I hate the heat of it. I hate the way it catches in my legs if I walk too fast. I hate the way the sleeves interfere with normal activity. I hate the way it makes me feel- like the inability to drive, it makes me feel dependent, diminished.

So I don't wear one. I wear long pants and long black cardigans. I dress modestly, and I'm not the only Western woman in town not wearing an abaya, but still I do feel the stares. Today however was the first time someone approached to complain about my choice. A man approached us in the salad dressing aisle to say in English that I should be wearing an abaya as that was the custom of his people. Mind you, he said this to Brad not to me, and between his hearing and what I imagine is a total lack of concern about what I wear, it took a couple of minutes for Brad to figure out what was going on- long enough for the man to repeat himself. We didn't engage on the issue; Brad simply said he wasn't going to talk about that and we walked away with our cart. Now the man was both quiet and polite, and he addressed these remarks in English and was in no way threatening, but it still left us both off kilter. It reminded me of why I don't go off compound that often, and I think it opened Brad's eyes to some of those difficulties as well.

I'm sitting here tonight reflecting on the fact that in many ways wearing the abaya would be easier because I would blend in little better (among the other Western women at least) and wouldn't leave myself open to being approached by a strange man at the grocery store. On the other hand, given my position here, I'm not required to wear one, and so have a hard time reconciling myself to the idea when it makes me feel so wrong, like a betrayal of everything I stand for on a regular basis. And I think if one polite man can make me feel this way despite my outspoken views and my liberal upbringing, how must women here feel who have never had that chance, that exposure to a different way of life? How much more compelling must the pressure be to veil, to conform? How hard must it be to feel hemmed in at all sides, unable to work or travel or even seek higher education without the permission of male relatives? How hard must it be to be a Saudi woman?

weighty considerations that grew out of a desire to pop into the store to grab onions, cucumbers and tomatoes to make a salad for dinner...

Ah the joy of vacation!

2011-03-06T08:53:00.004-05:00

Not a blog vacation (though that appears to have happened without any planning or thought on my part) but a real vacation- a week in Rome to be precise. You may have noticed that things in my part of the world have been heating up lately, and so a week out of the region was a delight. Brad and I ate and walked our way around teh city for 7 full days of glorious unplugged vacation. It has been years since I took such a trip, and helped remind me of why I love this life I lead, helpful given the way work has been going lately.

I've been bad at blogging because there is just so much else going on and because I have someone to come home to at night that occupies my time. I'm trying to settle into a routine but keeping up with AT and Facebook and LibraryThing and book reviews and blogging is just overwhemling some days when I've already spent 9+ hours staring at a computer screen. Perhaps I just need a schedule, a day a week when I post here, a different day when I do book reviews...it's a thought. I may try to implement it. But not yet as I'm still basking in that vacation glow...

Thank goodness for IKEA!

2011-01-22T00:53:00.005-05:00

So this past weekend I tackled the ugly guest bathroom- you can read about the project over on Apartment Therapy DC to get a full flavor for the before, but the after is pictured above. The sham in the window us just until I can find the box with curtains in it, but that window faces the front of the house and we have armed guards patrolling the compound 24/7 so some kind of window covering is essential.

I like the way the blue works with the tiles, and though I know it isn't terribly sophisticated, I'm not sure sophisticated was an option with those ugly tiles!

why in the name of all that is holy

2011-01-16T16:57:00.003-05:00

did someone make these design choices for my guest bathroom? pinky-brown shower tiles and a plastic shower curtain on the window? REALLY?

Finding a shower curtain to work with those tiles should be a joy, not to mention replacing that idiotic cut-off plastic shower curtain with some kind of presentable window treatment since that window faces the front of the house and does not have privacy glass. Calgon, take it away...

the unexpected things you miss when away from home

2010-11-07T02:52:00.003-05:00

I woke up this morning to an unexpected sight, one that reminded me that sometimes it is the little things that I don't even realize I miss that make this place so foreign. This morning I woke up to find clouds in the sky, something I haven't seen since I left DC on July 26th. We don't get many clouds here in Saudi because we don't get much moisture- we just get a lot of yellow sun beating down all day long. This morning we have clouds, and a little breeze, and even the hint of autumn in the air (my light cardigan was perfect)- it was just strange enough to make me do a double take and to realize today is a day I really miss home for the colors and the crackle of the fallen leaves, and the crisp bite in the air on an autumn morning. I don't know how long these clouds will last, but I'm heading back outside to enjoy them for just a little longer...

in which I discuss my newfound love of Anthropologie

2010-10-30T16:02:00.003-04:00

My first Anthro purchases by quinncx featuring anthropologie tops

So I am a person who does not like clothes. well, actually, I don't like clothes on me because I am not happy with my weight and shape. Purses and shoes I buy for fun, clothes I buy when I'm desperate. I have a lot of success with pants and skirts from Old Navy/Target/Torrid, but am always bemoaning my lack of fun and cute tops to go with those bottoms.

One of my new friends here in Dhahran always looks cute yet professional, and every time I ask her about a piece she is wearing, she tells me "oh I got it at Anthro" which was depressing because I think of Anthropologie as a store for thin people. When I explained why I own nothing from that store, she immediately told me I was wrong and that I would likely be happy with several of their lines in an XL (she wears a M or L depending on the brand). She also let me in on the secrets of sale shopping (online of course) on Tuesday mornings.

I confess I was dubious, but bit the bullet and placed a couple of orders for a couple of cute tops that I found on sale. Of course, then I got an email about a big sale and ordered a few more tops and sweaters. Now I am the proud owner of six new tops and four new cardigans, and only one thing I've ordered hasn't fit. And so now I am an Anthropolgie convert, luring others into my new obsession- seriously, my wishlist is huge!

in which I muse on life in the Kingdom

2010-10-28T15:40:00.004-04:00

It seems like a million years since I had the time and energy to post. Work has been kicking my ass- being the number 2 here is a lot of work especially given that I have a staff made up mostly of first tour officers. My stuff still hasn't left DC (don't even get me started on the insanity) so I've been living with bare bones which I suspect would drive me crazy if (1) I even had time to notice, and (2) Brad were not here. Brad is here however and my it is nice being like normal married people...

I went carpet shopping in Khobar today and wandered a bit through the neighborhood. I found some beautiful carpets but the prices were insane- hopefully because we were getting the "random white girl" prices rather than because carpets have actually gone up that high in price. I'll have to return with some Arab friends and see if the numbers change.

My promotion just took effect and so I bought myself a pressie:

I love the colors and the carving and the wooden wheels. I have high hopes this is not the last great piece I find here, though so far the pickings are slim. There are a few of us on the lookout for cool furniture and art now which makes it all the more likely we'll find someplace great for our holiday shopping needs.

So many disjointed thoughts that I'm not sure what to write- perhaps tomorrow will be a better day...

BBC book meme

2010-09-15T19:30:00.003-04:00

courtesy of SCB:

The BBC apparently believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books listed below. The ones I have read are bolded in the list, though I have to wonder how they made the decision of what books to include...

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible (I've read sections of course, but never the whole thing!)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (I've read several plays but not all of them!)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy.
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth.
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

some thoughts from the Kingdom

2010-08-19T17:12:00.000-04:00

The picture above is sunset at the consulate, an especially important part of the day during this holy month of Ramadan. My first couple of weeks in Dhahran have gone fairly well. The weather of course is ridiculous- the temperature is bad enough, but factor in humidity levels higher than DC and you find yourself getting walloped. I have to keep reminding myself to drink more water, and I am much more tired and sleepy than I ever am at home.

My housing looked for a bit like a disaster because the place I was assigned was huge but hideously laid out and desperately in need of some TLC. Turns out that the staff is perfectly willing to work with me to fix the house, and so now I have a project which is great. I'll be moving into a different house on compound while mine is being worked on so I can check on the progress daily if I so desire.

I now own an abaya, a gift from a lovely Saudi family who hosted us for an iftar last week. The three daughters all went to college in the US; in fact the youngest graduated from GW in DC just this May. We were commiserating on the difficulty of abaya shopping (trust me, that is another whole post) and when I was getting ready to leave, her mom gave me a bag with a beautiful, super-thin abaya "just to have one".

I wore that abaya on Tuesday night when shopping with Jen for birthday presents for her two kids and it was a giant exercise in irritation. You have to take small slow steps to keep it from opening at the bottom, it is designed to sweep the ground so it is way to easy to trip when you are trying to walk fast, and people all still stare because there aren't a lot of pale redheads walking around unveiled. I wore it because it is Ramadan, and because I'm still getting a feel for things here, but I suspect it will not be getting regular wear.

I've got a party tonight with an Arabian Nights theme, and I've even got a costume courtesy of a young Aramcon who is becoming a friend. The jelabiya she is letting me borrow is lovely and light but I'm bringing a pair of shorts just in case. Anyway, things are good except that there is no evidence that my stuff has yet left the US so goodness knows when I'll ever see it. I'm pestering the shipping company so maybe I'll get some good news soon- I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

I can see IKEA from my house!

2010-07-31T02:18:00.003-04:00

seriously. I moved halfway around the world to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia only to discover that I can see IKEA from the front lawn of the compound- how absurdly fitting is that?

No pics yet because I don't have internet access at home to upload them (I swear I'm working on it!) but as expected it is hot and sandy here. Strangely familiar because of my years in Kuwait, but strangely foreign as well because of all the security precautions- I've never seen so much razor wire (around all the housing compounds for foreigners). I have impressions but am still battling jetlag and getting settled into my new job so they are not yet coherent. Expect to be hearing more from me though as I expect to have a lot of free time for blogging!

Making a Move

2010-07-12T11:56:00.002-04:00

I've been bad at blogging recently- too much other stuff on my mind. The primary thing on my mind is that fact that in a couple of weeks, I'm moving to Saudi Arabia for two years for work. Though I'm excited, I'm also a little freaked out by the fact that (a) I have to have everything ready for the packers next Monday, (b) life in the Kingdom is going to be much more restrictive than Kuwait was which could make for a stressful couple of years, and (c) in September my husband will make be joining me marking the start of our adventure in living together.

My brain feels like a gerbil on a wheel- I'm getting maybe 3 hours of troubled sleep a night because I just can't stop my mind. I'm sad to be leaving all my friends here in DC and can't believe all the things I wanted to do that I didn't in the five years I've been home. I'm sure I'll be patchy at best for the next few weeks online, but imagine that once I'm moved into my house in Saudi and have regular internet access, I'll have more to say.

Wish me luck- I'm going to need it!

Musings on relationships

2010-06-19T00:42:00.004-04:00

It seems like the older I get, the more I hear about infidelity. My time overseas gave me a wide range of exposure to "geographic bachelors", guys (and a few girls) who figured distance gave them the freedom to play. I have three friends in the last couple of years who had personal experience with infidelity: one cheated on her husband, two discovered their husbands were cheating. Both of those victimized by cheating have kids, and were focused on trying to work things out for the sake of the family. One is now divorced, the other still trying to work things through.

Cheating is one of those fundamental breaks in a relationship, one that changes things forever. I have always believed that if I was cheated upon, I would be out of the relationship immediately. Of course, I've never been faced with that choice, and I don't have anyone to worry about other than myself, which simplifies the question for me. What I don't understand is why people cheat, why they choose to break a relationship so cruelly and heartlessly. I have always believed if I came to realize that I no longer wanted to be in a relationship, I would have the courage and the grace to tell my partner before I seek solace with someone else. I also expect my partner to show me the same respect and courtesy.

Both of my friends who were victimized by cheating already knew they were facing troubles in their marriages. Both believed their husbands were committed to working on the relationship, and both were told by their husbands that it was their actions, feelings, decisions that created the tensions. Both were blindsided by the eventual confession of an affair. Truthfully for me, it is this effort to undermine them, to push the guilt for the failings off on them that most infuriates me. I know for me, that betrayal, that effort to force me to make changes to who I am in a vacuum of deceit, would be worse than the affair itself.

My husband and I don't live a normal life. Next week, we'll be six years married but we have yet to live together. In the next few months, we will move to Saudi Arabia for my job and experiment with living together for the first time. Though our reality is admittedly odd, it somehow works for us, which isn't to say that I don't miss him all the time. I miss the intimacy of a shared life- of coming home to a smiling face at the end of the day. I also miss the physical intimacy of a held hand, a kiss, etc. There have been plenty of opportunities in the years we have been apart to fill those voids with others, plenty of chances to share a moment or more with someone else. I certainly never sought such opportunities, and never thought about following through on those that presented themselves, because fundamentally I miss those interactions with my husband, rather than missing them for their own sake. I wouldn't cheat because it is him I want, it is him I love, and cheating would simply cheapen what we have and what we may someday build together.

I know relationships are complicated, and that every one is different. I know that my choices are not the right choices for everyone. I also know that for me, cheating is just wrong. It is wrong no matter how alienated you feel in your relationship, no matter how hurt or lonely you feel within the confines of your life, no matter how drunk or horny you are when separated from your partner. I feel for my friends who have faced this horrible reality. I have tried to provide a shoulder to cry on, a sounding board for them them to vent to, and I've tried to do it without letting my personal beliefs about infidelity color those conversations. I support them wholeheartedly no matter what because they are my friends, and it is their happiness that matters. At the end of the day however, I hope they know that if they decide what is best for them is a massive bonfire of all the cheating bastards' worldly belongings, I'm happy to oblige...

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer

2010-05-10T01:26:00.004-04:00

This time last week, I was stretched out on my bed, more tired than ever in my life and thanking God I had taken Monday off. I spent this past week limping around in flip flops at work because of two of the world's biggest blisters- one on each heel. Saturday's heat was absurd: I didn't make the full 26.2 miles on Saturday because of heat exhaustion- med put me on a bus around mile 16 and then I met up with my team at mile 24 to enter the wellness village together. Sunday was better- still hot and humid but cloudier to cut the sunshine: I was able to walk the entire 13.1 miles despite the mother of all blisters on each foot.

The fundraising was a pain in the ass, the walk itself was killer because of the heat, and my feet may never be the same, but it was definitely the experience of a lifetime. When the president of the Avon Foundation handed out checks to local hospitals and organizations involved in the fight against breast cancer, and announced we had raised $6.5 million in the DC walk, it was hard not to feel proud. When they gathered us all together at the end and marched the survivors in separately, it was hard not to cry. When one of those survivors talked about being diagnosed back in the 1980s and feeling ashamed of having breast cancer, and about having dedicated her life since then to raising money and awareness so that no other woman would ever feel ashamed of her diagnosis, it was hard not to feel humbled.

Though I won't be able to participate in the Avon Walk when I'm overseas, I will be able to help my sister and mom fundraise; we're going to start early for next year!

man, am I a delinquent blogger!

2010-04-29T10:58:00.002-04:00

Damn it has been a long time since I posted here! I've been doing better on my book reviews, probably because they require less thought (not to mention I have quite a backlog to wade through). One reason I've had less free time is the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer- all that fundraising has eaten up my weekends. Mom, sis & I are looking forward to the walk- 39.3 miles this Saturday and Sunday- and I at least am also looking forward to the walk being finished. It looks like I may be heading to Saudi Arabia for my next assignment- more details when that is finalized. My house as always is a disaster, my husband is in Iowa, and my allergies are a nightmare.

There- now you are all caught up!

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer- In It to End It

2010-03-15T14:03:00.001-04:00

As some of you may seen from my Facebook updates, my mom, sister, and I are hoping to participate in the DC Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in May. In order to walk, each of us needs to raise $1800; we'll then spend two days in May covering almost 40 miles in the city.

I’ve committed to participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer because money raised will help provide access to care for those that most need it, fund educational programs, and accelerate research into new treatments and potential cures. Too many women die each year because of late detection, and a disturbing number of those deaths are among the uninsured who often put off routine checkups because of finances. Survivor contestant Jennifer Lyon who died in January at age 37 stated that one of the reasons she put off seeing a doctor after finding a lump because she didn't have any insurance. That story really hit home for me as my sister is currently among the uninsured- her employer is not required to provide it, and she wasn't able to obtain coverage on her own.

The money raised in the 2009 DC walk supported the following programs:
The National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund received $1,812,018 to continue Project LEAD, a vital program that trains breast cancer survivors to be patient advocates and serve as advisors to research and funding programs.
Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore) received $850,000 support access to care programs at the Avon Breast Center at Johns Hopkins as well as cutting edge research.
Capital Breast Care Center (Washington, D.C.) received $750,000 to support Avon’s signature patient care program in the District, run in partnership by Georgetown Medical Center and Medstar Health. The Capital Breast Care Center provides critical safety net services to medically underserved and uninsured women in the Washington DC metropolitan area, serving more than 2,400 per year.
George Washington University (Washington, D.C.) received $300,000 to support research into a particular biomarker that is found in 80% of invasive ductal breast tumors and metastasis, with a focus on determining its use as a marker in risk assessment and predictor of disease progression.
Virginia Tech Foundation (Virginia) received $300,000 to support a research project entitled Environmental Risk of Breast Cancer Development: Molecular Basis for Prevention. This study will investigate the mechanisms through which the circadian clock acts as a tumor suppressor in the biology of estrogen-dependent breast cancer.
Food and Friends (Washington, D.C.) received $250,000 to support their Avon Pink Ribbon Delivery Program which provides specialized nutrition support and individualized nutrition counseling to women living with breast cancer and their families in metropolitan Washington, D.C. providing 460,000 meals to 1,600 women fighting breast cancer and their families since 2000.

If you would like to donate to the cause and help me reach my fundraising goal to ensure I can participate in the Avon Walk, here is the link to my fundraising page:

http://info.avonfoundation.org/site/TR/Walk/WashingtonDC?px=5354861&pg=personal&fr_id=1910

99 Things I Ought to Have Done...

2010-02-23T13:01:00.003-05:00

...at least accordng to some internet meme creator...

Copy the list, bold the ones you've done (with explanations), share with friends. OK, Wende and scb- here goes:

Started your own blog (ummm...obviously!)
Slept under the stars
Played in a band
Visited Hawaii
Watched a meteor shower (miles out in the desert in Kuwait- one of the coolest sights ever!)
Given more than you can afford to charity
Been to Disneyland (I'm counting Walt Disney World in Orlando where I spent my birthday last year)
Climbed a mountain
Held a praying mantis
Sang a solo
Bungee jumped
Visited Paris (multiple times, always magical)
Watched a thunder and lightning storm (nothing beats a summer storm in DC)
Taught yourself an art from scratch
Adopted a child
Had food poisoning (icky)
Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (not sure if this is possible any more?)
Grown your own vegetables
Seen the Mona Lisa in France (multiple times)
Slept on an overnight train (from Vienna to Paris and from Sarajevo to Budapest)
Had a pillow fight
Hitch hiked
Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
Built a snow fort
Held a lamb
Gone skinny dipping (in Barbados and St. Lucia)
Run a Marathon
Ridden in a gondola in Venice (several trips to Venice but no gondola)
Seen a total eclipse
Watched a sunrise or sunset (in Barbados and St. Lucia)
Hit a home run (if you count an inside the park home run)
Been on a cruise
Seen Niagara Falls in person (I was 13- it was magnificent)
Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (lots of trips to Ireland)
Seen an Amish community
Taught yourself a new language
Had enough money to be truly satisfied
Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person (Thanksgiving 2004 trip with my sister)
Gone rock climbing
Seen Michelangelo’s David (Thanksgiving 2004 trip with my sister)
Sung karaoke (with more enthusiam than talent)
Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
Visited Africa
Walked on a beach by moonlight (in Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada & Trinidad)
Been transported in an ambulance
Had your portrait painted (when I was 7-now that is a story...)
Gone deep sea fishing
Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (I do not do heights, but my husband proposed in the park at the base!)
Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (snorkling)
Kissed in the rain (one of my best kisses ever...and with the aforementioned husband)
Played in the mud
Gone to a drive-in theater (several times with my husband)
Been in a movie (I've been on TV)
Visited the Great Wall of China
Started a business (a tiny internet business)
Taken a martial arts class
Visited Russia
Served at a soup kitchen
Sold Girl Scout Cookies (even those I was not a Girl Scout)
Gone whale watching
Got flowers for no reason (I've gotten flowers "just because")
Donated blood, platelets or plasma
Gone sky diving
Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (Dachau. It was the coldest, eeriest place I've even been.)
Bounced a check (I do blame the bank.)
Flown in a helicopter (I was 5 or 6 years old and thought it was cool. In Kuwait I was offered multiple ride on Blackhawks but refrained- that whole hatred of heights thing.)
Saved a favorite childhood toy (many many in fact)
Visited the Lincoln Memorial (I am a native Washingtonian after all!)
Eaten caviar (first time I was 14- loved it then, still do now.)
Pieced a quilt
Stood in Times Square (most recently the week between Christmas and New Year's with Mom)
Toured the Everglades
Been fired from a job
Seen the Changing of the Guards in London (Mom, devoted as she is to the cause of a united Ireland, nevertheless indulged my love of all things Tudor and took me to London for a week when I was 12.)
Broken a bone (growth plate in my ankle, rollerskating in 4th grade)
Been a passenger on a motorcycle (husband owns a Harley, I've been on it once- cooler than I ever imagined but still scary)
Seen the Grand Canyon in person (if you could peering out of a plane flying over)
Published a book
Visited the Vatican
Bought a brand new car
Walked in Jerusalem
Had your picture in the newspaper (in Kuwait of all places)
Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
Visited the White House (again I'm a native Washingtonian)
Killed and prepared an animal for eating (I've been crabbing and lobstering)
Had chickenpox (in 1st grade- we all stil blame Brody Mullins who started the epidemic)
Saved someone’s life
Sat on a jury
Met someone famous (again I fall back on the native Washingtonian)
Joined a book club (I'm even still in it)
Got a tattoo
Had a baby
Seen the Alamo in person
Swam in the Great Salt Lake
Been involved in a law suit
Owned a cell phone (many at this point)
Been stung by a bee

46 of 99- not too shabby...

OK, the weather is just absurd at this point

2010-02-09T04:47:00.003-05:00

The Federal Government is closed again tomorrow because people are still stuck in their homes (many without power) because there are whole sections of the city an suburbs that have yet to see a plow. 24 inches of snow fell in my neighborhood which made digging my car out a joy this afternoon. The whole region is a mess of snow and ice and jackknifed trucks and abandoned cars, and now we have another storm set to start tomorrow afternoon that could dump another 8-12 inches of snow.

I have to say, Pensacola is looking pretty good right now...

Snowpocalypse II: I mean, really?!?!?!

2010-02-06T02:11:00.004-05:00

so just to be clear folks, DC is being hammered by snow right now with possible accumulations of 20-36 inches. In DC. A swampy Southern city that generally averages 15 inches per season. We've already had a 22" storm in Dec and a 5" storm last week, so we are on track for a record winter. Oh and yeah, it might snow again later next week.

I mean, I like snow. I would certainly prefer snow on a Monday night rather than a Friday night, but I lived in Bosnia for two years and so I know from snow. But the reality is folks here are freaking out, the grocery stores are stripped, the Metro and buses aren't running, and no one is capable of navigating the roads in these conditions. Plus, DC is about out of snow removal money because of that absurd Dec storm. The 5" earlier this week? They just let that melt because the temperature was on the rise. Since we still have piles of unmelted snow from the Dec storm (those piles from the plows are dense it seems), I for one am not sanguine about the efficacy of the melting plan this time around.

Worst thing of all from my perspective? All this excellent cuddle up weather is being wasted because Brad is on FL packing up the house, so I'm sitting alone on my couch staring at the raging blizzard outside. I need a drink!

10 Things I Like About My Home

2010-01-14T23:20:00.004-05:00

ok Wende, I'll bite as it seems like an appropriate first post for 2010...

Perfectly placed soffit for hanging glass Turkish lanterns

Wall of Japanese art (wedding kimono and framed vintage prints)

Great art from around the world

Wall of bookshelves bursting with books

Large wall of windows in living room

Eclectic vintage furniture collection

More Arabian carpets that I have space to display

Period details like high ceilings & deep mouldings

Fabulous hard wood floors

Great memories of the elderly woman who once lived here with much of the furniture and art mentioned above

counting down to 2010...

2009-12-31T18:02:00.003-05:00

I'm very excited to have plans, a pretty dress, and a date for New Year's Eve! That's right- Brad is in town and we're ringing in the new year together to help kick off the year when we will finally live together (in a few months) after 5+ years of marriage. in other words, 2010 will be the year we become normal married people!

Hope everyone has a happy and productive holiday weekend. Thanks for being such a supportive community of women- I love my internet friends!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

2009-12-20T02:54:00.004-05:00

on the outside at least:

Maybe I'll get my tree up tomorrow since I won't be leaving the house!

Today I'm proud to be a Washingtonian

2009-12-01T20:34:00.003-05:00

From the Washington Times:

"The Washington D.C. City Council voted 11-2 to give tentative approval for the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009, at City Hall in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, December 1, 2009. The bill, if it passes the 30-day review period, would legalize same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia. "
Full text of article here.

I loove Google Doodles!

2009-11-06T01:35:00.006-05:00

This week marks the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street and Google is honoring the occasion with a series of Google Doodles featuring some of our favorite characters.

I was always a huge Sesame Street fan- Snuffy was my favorite character (back when he was imaginary). I still love the Muppets and so I confess that I've been searching Google several times a day just for the smile it the doodles create.

Folks have also been posting this fabulous video from 27 years ago- it is Cookie Monster's tribute to the word Google (long before Google was Google). I dare you not to smile when you watch this one...

reflections on the season...

2009-10-27T11:41:00.003-04:00

Tis the season for reflection (at least for me). I'm reflecting on the fact that I'll be overseas again in less than a year. I'm reflecting on the fact that my husband retires from the USMC in less than 1 month. I'm reflecting on the fact that my house is a disaster area. I'm reflecting on the fact that my current job is a torment. I'm reflecting on the fact that I'm not sure what I want to be when I grow up.

Yeah, I'm doing a lot of reflecting but not a lot of constructive acting which is defintiely a problem. The only thing I did this weekend that relates to my house was to buy 30 books at the used book sale, and that was hardly designed to help with my decluttering.

maybe this week will be better...

Really Whoopi? Exactly what would make it "rape-rape"?

2009-10-02T01:03:00.002-04:00

I mean, if a middle-aged man giving a 13yr old girl alcohol and drugs, and then having non-consensual sex with her isn't rape, exactly what the fuck would qualify? I wonder if all those Hollywood folks calling for CA to drop the case against Polanski would feel the same way if the janitor in their daughters' schools were using these same techniques, or it they would be calling for blood? I want someone to publish the full list of actors and directors who signed this petition so that I can make sure to never again throw a plugged-nickel their way.

And Whoopi? She was 13 years old. He gave her alcohol and drugs. Despite that, she still said no. It was "rape-rape". And for you to go on national television and state anything else is both personally offensive and morally reprehensible. You were nominated for an Oscar, and won a Golden Globe, for playing a victim of physical and sexual abuse. You should be deeply ashamed.

Long-awaited justice may be coming...

2009-09-28T23:31:00.003-04:00

Despite my scattered thoughts about many things, I had to post about how satisfied I am that Roman Polanski has been arrested, and how angry I am at all the people calling for CA to drop the case or for Switzerland to let him go before he can be extradited. I'm attaching a link to an excellent article on this case, one that firmly makes the essential point that Roman Polanski raped a child. He gave alcohol and drugs to a 13-year old girl, and forced her to have sex with him even though she repeatedly said no. No matter how great his talent, how tragic his life, and how powerful his supporters, he cannot be allowed to walk away from these charges. He pled guilty. He fled the country because he feared the judge would impose a harsher sentence than agreed upon in the plea bargain. His ongoing freedom makes a mockery of the judicial system, and the cries of supporters to let the case drop after so many year makes a mockery of the pain and suffering of rape victims around the world.

Good for California for not letting this die despite the pressure. Good for Switzerland for arresting him. Shame on France for trying to somehow make this an issue of his talent and our scary justice system. All the money, power, talent and influence in the world shouldn't make it possible for anyone to change the central core fact that a 43-year old man having sex with a 13-year girl is an abomination- and thankfully, in CA, a crime.

Read more at Salon:
Roman Polanski Raped a Child

too focused on the future to focus on the now...

2009-09-23T23:02:00.002-04:00

I'm in the middle of bidding season so I'm completely focused on trying to figure out where I'll be living for the next two to three years. I'm also focused on the fact that Brad is retiring from the USMC in November. I'm all over the place mentally thinking about what life will be like in the coming months and year; I just don't have the energy to also focus on what my life is actually like right now.

I dunno- I feel like I need a week long nap, but that is unlikely. Bear with me- I will be back when I have news to share...

"The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action."

2009-09-09T21:49:00.005-04:00

Excerpt from President's Address to Congress on Health Care Reform:

"Our collective failure to meet this challenge - year after year, decade after decade - has led us to a breaking point. Everyone understands the extraordinary hardships that are placed on the uninsured, who live every day just one accident or illness away from bankruptcy. These are not primarily people on welfare. These are middle-class Americans. Some can't get insurance on the job. Others are self-employed, and can't afford it, since buying insurance on your own costs you three times as much as the coverage you get from your employer. Many other Americans who are willing and able to pay are still denied insurance due to previous illnesses or conditions that insurance companies decide are too risky or expensive to cover.

We are the only advanced democracy on Earth - the only wealthy nation - that allows such hardships for millions of its people. There are now more than thirty million American citizens who cannot get coverage. In just a two year period, one in every three Americans goes without health care coverage at some point. And every day, 14,000 Americans lose their coverage. In other words, it can happen to anyone.

But the problem that plagues the health care system is not just a problem of the uninsured. Those who do have insurance have never had less security and stability than they do today. More and more Americans worry that if you move, lose your job, or change your job, you'll lose your health insurance too. More and more Americans pay their premiums, only to discover that their insurance company has dropped their coverage when they get sick, or won't pay the full cost of care. It happens every day."

Why are these people on TV?!?!?!

2009-08-27T02:57:00.003-04:00

OK, given that I love HGTV and I love reality shows, Design Star should be making me happy happy happy. Instead I'm left wondering why the hell I'm not on TV redoing the houses of other people- despite my lack of professional design experience, I sure have better ideas than these yahoos. This week's kid's room challenge was a complete and utter disaster. I was going to write about it, but I can't improve upon this rant so I'm just linking to it instead...

My Favorite and My Best

Shifting focus a bit it seems...

2009-08-24T00:38:00.002-04:00

So I've been surprised recently to see that my blogging has drifted by the wayside. Now, I was covering extra posts on AT for the last two weeks so that was definitely part of it. I'm also behind on my book reviews (I've got 18 piled up that I've read but not reviewed) and on my reading itself (I've got a pile of 10 or 15 to be read as well). I've got a new job that is more difficult than it needs to be because of the my new (and weirdly hybrid) office's lack of understanding of the corporate culture of our agency.

In other words, I'm not writing much because I don't have much to write about in this forum. The jobs stuff is hard to explain without actually explaining which I can't do. The book reviews get posted on my other site. With a completely unexciting life otherwise, I just haven't that much to write about.

I know myself- my book blogging with get back under control and my job will level out and then I'll have something to write about. In the meantime, I'm still around, hanging out, just not sure when the spirit will move me to write.

does reading Julie & Julia count?

2009-08-16T22:51:00.003-04:00

So though I'm sad to be missing out on my friends' latest therapy adaptation, the reality is I really never cook in my current apartment. I cook at my mom's a couple of times a week, but that is about it. The timing of this break works out for me though as I'm currently covering some additional post on Apartment Therapy while simultaneously trying to get into the swing of a new job in an office of people who don't understand anything about the process at the Dept. sigh...

damn has it really been that long?

2009-08-04T22:45:00.003-04:00

Sorry folks- new job + weekend away with Mom + upcoming visit from husband = blog abandonment it seems!

I'm still reading (other people's blogs and books books books) but haven't felt the burning desire to write. So I'm out here, just taking a little break it seems until the spirit moves me...

Working 9 to 5 what a way to make a living...

2009-07-20T03:03:00.001-04:00

I've been AWOL because I've been working like crazy at home and at work. This weekend I painted my mom's living room and hallway, and tomorrow I start a new job so the last couple of weeks at my old job have been crazy. Now I'm suffering from insomnia which is not good the day before I start a new job. sigh...wish me luck!

Don't need nothing but a good time...

2009-07-15T00:47:00.003-04:00

Sunday night I joined friends at a real flashback of a concert: Cheap Trick, Poison & Def Leppard. It was magnificent- the music, the people watching, the memories...

Here's a visual from back in the day when Bret Michaels actually looked decent:

Gaping Maw of Sinful Doom...

2009-07-01T17:43:00.002-04:00

Absolutely wonderful story from the San Francisco Gate:

"I am sitting here right now smiling just a little, fondly recalling that famously controversial children's book, the one about the gay penguins.

Remember? That positively adorable pair of them, at the Central Park Zoo, who had adopted an abandoned egg and then hatched it themselves and were raising the chick together as a couple, even though the chick was clearly not theirs -- though of course how penguins can actually tell whose kid is whose is still a question. Never mind that now.

The best part: the story was absolutely true. The book, "And Tango Makes Three," was beautiful and sweet and touching in all the right ways -- except, of course, for the fact that it was also totally evil.

For indeed, the penguins in question, named Roy and Silo, were both males. This meant they were clearly in some sort of ungodly, aberrant homosexual relationship, mocking natural laws and defying God's will that all creatures only cohabitate with the opposite sex and buy microfiber sofas from Pottery Barn and eat their meals in silent resentment and never have sex.

Worst of all, the book depicted this relationship, this "family," as perfectly OK, as no big deal, as even (shudder) normal. After all, Roy and Silo didn't seem to give much of a damn. Tango sure seemed happy, what with not being left for dead and all. As of this writing, the Central Park Zoo has yet to be swallowed into a gaping maw of sinful doom. Any minute now, I suppose."

Full Story here

"Gaping maw of sinful doom" is my new favorite phrase- I'm thinking of getting a t-shirt made...one with cute little penguins of course!

"It had to be you, wonderful you, it had to be you"

2009-06-26T22:38:00.008-04:00

Five years ago, Brad did me the honor of becoming my lawfully wedded, with the whole old-fashioned "til death do us part" line (even the priest who married us said he hadn't used the old wording for years!)

Among family and friends, and with me dead on time for perhaps the only time in my life, we exchanged rings and vows and made a lifetime commitment. Then we had a kickass party!

Our lives have been far from normal since then, and we still don't get to live together or see each other that often, but despite it all, I know we made the right choice, that we are better toegther (even when we're not together)- our whole is more than the sum of our parts.

I'm sharing some pictures below because I remain enamored of my wedding photos even five years later (thanks Greg!) and in case anyone else wants to check them out. Brad and I are together for the next few days, so my already sketchy posting might get even worse, but I'll be back eventually...

Happy 5th Anniversary Bradley!

new levels of tinkering dorkiness

2009-06-18T12:30:00.002-04:00

OK, so I did indeed manage to (1) fix an vintage 8-track player we inherited from my aunt, and (2) jerry-rig it to play my iPod. It is a nerdy insane thing, but it made me so very very happy. I've blogged about it over here:
http://www.unplggd.com/unplggd/how-to/how-to-give-new-life-to-vintage-tech-087722

Check it out for more details and some pictures.

twitter twitter tweet tweet

2009-06-15T23:01:00.004-04:00

I'm not sure about it, but I'm giving it a shot. feel free to follow me- ForeignCircus is my name. if there is an easy way to link to the feed, I haven't found it yet!

edited to add:
wait, is it maybe this?

News that makes me happy...

2009-06-11T02:01:00.003-04:00

Item One: Gay Penguin Pair Raising Chick

BERLIN - A German zoo says a pair of gay male penguins are raising a chick from an egg abandoned by its parents.

Bremerhaven zoo veterinarian Joachim Schoene says the egg was placed in the male penguins' nest after its parents rejected it in late April. The males incubated it for some 30 days before it hatched and have continued to care for it. The chick's gender is not yet known.
(story continued...)

Item Two: Carrie Prejean stripped of Miss California title

LOS ANGELES - Miss California USA Carrie Prejean, who stirred up trouble for herself when she said gays shouldn't be allowed to marry, got two dreaded words from pageant poobah Donald Trump on Wednesday: "You're fired."
(story continued...)

so many books, so little shelf space

2009-05-30T01:22:00.003-04:00

OK, I have 7 bookcases with 8 shelves each and yet I am out of shelf space. I've gotten a bunch of free books to review lately which I love, but my goodness they start to pile up. In fact, at the moment, there are lots of piles of books all over my living room. I need another bookcase, but I'm not sure where to put one as I am completely out of space. I also need to purge books from the shelves but am terrified to begin such a project because it will lead to house chaos and I can't face that right now.

I don't know though- I really am beginning to think the books are reproducing somehow when I'm not looking...

"Let me tell you something about my family..."

2009-05-27T11:21:00.003-04:00

By far the best summer entertainment to come along in years- the Real Housewives of New Jersey. I know, I know- trashy and shameless. I don't care I tell you. I defy you to watch and not get sucked in- it's like watching a Sopranos/Beverly Hills 90210 hybrid, and it is magnificent.

Bravo, Tuesday nights- check it out!

Productivity

2009-05-18T15:41:00.003-04:00

So before Brad came to visit a couple of weeks ago, I did another one of my frantic clean and purge marathons (though I didn't blog about it because even I was sick of hearing about how messy my house was). Flash forward to this weekend, and my house is still all neat and enjoyable. Yes boys and girls, I decided that to focus some time on maintaining and have actually been able to remain happy in my space. I've got four days off this coming weekend, and I'm looking forward to spending some of it sorting clothes so that I can put away those five big loads of clean laundry- like items with like items.

I've been so pleased with my ability to just sit and enjoy my living room that I've decided to actually focus on that couch reupholstery project that has been in the back of my mind for over a year. I did have to laugh at my poor mom's reaction- she's thrilled my house is tidy but terrified she'll have to help recover the couch this summer...

boys suck!

2009-05-15T02:43:00.002-04:00

Yeah, I wrote that last post under the influence of something- I have to stop reading Dorothy Sayers when I'm looking for help with relationship definitions.

I suggested NOLA as a 5th anniversay destination, Brad responded with naughty words. I was hurt and annoyed, at work no less. Now we are not speaking which is absurd when we rely on telephonic communication exclusively as it is.

boys suck!

Getting ready to move on...

2009-05-14T00:17:00.007-04:00

I finally got panelled into my onward assignment so I will officially be stationed here for another year. Brad is getting ready to retire from the USMC and is suffering from typical short-timer's disease where every day feels longer now that the end is in sight. I can related; in October we'll be choosing where to bid for our first overseas post together, and this time next year we'll be getting ready to live together for the first time. I'm excited that the end of our long-distance relationship is nigh, but I do have to mock the absurdity of the whole thing as we are approaching our five year wedding anniversary in June.

Speaking of our anniversary, we might go to New Orleans to celebrate- I've never been and think it might be a fun place to celebrate us. I've been reading a lot lately, burning through my backlog of review copy books, and so many of the books involve women and relationships. I've read about women searching for the perfect man. I've read about women who thought they had the perfect man until it all fell apart. Hell, I've even read about women who did find the perfect man and live happily ever after, but those books were all trashy romance novels.

Regardless, I just keep thinking about relationships in general, and me and Brad specifically. I try to be realistic about my expectations, in the hopes that acknowledging the potential pitfalls ahead will make us better able to cope with them. I hope that thinking in advance about how hard it will be to live together for the first time, especially in a new environment overseas, will help us make it easier. I hope that the knowing it will not all be sunshine and roses will make it likely some of it will be sunshine and roses.

I've got friends who suggest the opposite, that what I perceive as a realistic outlook is in fact a negative one that will doom us before we really even begin. These friends suggest I adopt the trashy romance view and assume that we will live happily ever after because if I don't assume it, then it definitely won't happen. They think I'm too cynical and admonish me to think more posiively.

I think they might be crazy but hell, who knows, they might be right. What I do know is that I really want things to work out for us. I want us to enjoy living together, to discover that we are in fact a compatible couple, to finally get to live like normal married people. I want the last few years to have been worth the sacrifices and the time apart because they are just the start of a lifelong story. I want that happily ever after, however unlikely a dream that is in this day and age.

Oh, and I guess I'll wish for world peace and happiness while I'm imploring the universe- I can always use the good karma...

Have Passport, Will Travel: A Meme

2009-05-04T21:11:00.008-04:00

I wanted this to be an illustrated meme, but my scanner doesn't work with Vista and I didn't want to boot up my old laptop tonight. Maybe in the future...

First trip you remember:
Tralee, County Kerry (Ireland). My mom and I were living in Dublin, and we went to the seaside with family. It was cold and rainy (not unusual in Ireland) but I insisted we had to make sandcastles. I was a well-loved child- we sat on the beach in windbreakers in the rain making sandcastles. I was probably about four, but I remember that day and the donkey cart ride a couple of days later- I was allergic to the hay and I still don't like donkeys.

First trip you took by yourself:
My first solo flight was to VT when I was 14; my best friend's mom moved her family up there from DC and I went up for a couple of weeks at the end of the summer. My first completely solo trip was to Austria my junior year of college. I went to Paris with friends, then separated- I took the train to Vienna, saw Salzburg and Innsbruck, then made it back into France on the last train to enter before a massive railway strike.

First out-of-state (-province) trip as an adult:
If I define adult as over 18, then my first out of state trip was to the Delaware shore for beach week after I graduated from high school. If I define adult as out-of-college-and-working, my first out of state trip was to NYC to visit my then boyfriend. My first out-of-country trip as a post-college adult was my move to Barbados with the State Dept.

Most humiliating travel experience:
I was embarrassed when I got my mom and I thrown off the tour at the Tower of London for proclaiming the innocence of the Princes in the Tower, but my mom just laughed and told me we were better off not sticking with an ignorant tour guide. Heck, a few people left with us because they preferred my running commentary on the Tudors (I was a serious history nerd back then).

On that college trip to Paris I was humiliated by a fellow American at the Louvre who stood in front of the Mona Lisa and loudy proclaimed "You think he could have made it bigger!" You could see everyone around her take one step away...

Possibly best hour:
hmmm...this is really hard. One standout moment was from that college trip to Europe. When my train arrived in Paris, the Metro was on strike so I had to walk around the city. I hit the Eiffel Tower at the same time as a movie crew that pumped the area full of fake fog and made for some magical pictures.

Another standout moment comes from Kuwait of all places. One of the Army tankers I hung out with took a friend and I out into the desert to watch a meteor shower. It was completely dark out in the desert and we laid on the car and watched the stars and when the meteor shower began, I knew it was one of those moments I wanted to keep inside me forever.

Moment that most would have been improved by someone who could pick up a cue:
I can't think of one of these, so I'm going to add in Mella's addition instead.

Travel story most likely to cause the eavesdroppers at the next table to do a double-take:
"I was standing there at Irish immigration, flipping though passports to find the right one..."

I do so love You Tube...

2009-04-25T15:30:00.001-04:00

For Wende, who just shared a magnificent Eric Carmen video. My high school buddy Kelly and I used to sing this song walking to school from the metro freshman year...

WTF is an "Opposite Marriage"?

2009-04-20T09:36:00.002-04:00

sigh...I should have known watching even a few minutes of the Miss USA pageant would make me want to throw things at my TV. I thought it was bad enough when one contestant listed armadillo watching as a hobby, but then Miss California set a new bar of idiocy:

"We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised."

Seriously itchy feet...

2009-04-13T23:32:00.002-04:00

It's that time of year when I should be getting ready to move. I should be thinking about packing out, about moving on, about life in a new country. I am doing none of those things because I took another job here in DC that will keep me here for another year. I'm happy with the decision for lots of personal reasons, but I have to say I do find myself thinking a little wistfully about hopping on a plane and jetting off into the sunset. My sister rightfully points out that I am in no way prepared to pack out as I still have a lot to purge, but even so I just can't help envying friends who are getting ready to head out. Of course, I'll have the fun of bidding on a new job in October, but until then I'll have to cope with my itchy feet...

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly...

2009-04-05T15:47:00.004-04:00

Wow, for someone who doesn't actually like clothes, I sure do have a lot of them...

I'm working on cleaning out my closets because despite the fac that they are packed with clothes, I never seem to be able to find anyhing to wear that I actually like. Well, OK, I like my work clothes, but when it comes to clothes for non-formal social occasions, I tend to wear the same three of four things.

A junior in my high school alma mater is collecting prom dresses for a charity dress drive, so I started this process by weeding out a few formals that I know I won't wear again, and that I though might be good for kids looking for prom dresses. I then started taking a look at my shoe collection, and realizing I really need to weed there as well. I found three (yes three) pairs of unworn sneakers in boxes on my shelves. Given how often I exercise, this is CLEARLY overkill. I'm considering it a message from the universe to (1) exercise more, and (2) throw out the pair of New Balance sneakers I've been wearing into the ground for the last three years. I have a stack of summer shoes that I'm wavering on- if they don't get worn once the weather turns, they are going to charity as well.

My house is now a wreck because I have clothes strewn about everywhere, but the thought that some of these clothes are heading out the door is a glorious one...

complete lack of useful focus...

2009-03-31T14:05:00.003-04:00

I used to think of myself as a driven and focused person, but lately I seem to lack any kind of focus or direction. When I'm trying to clean my house, I flit from task to task as I get distracted, leaving a trail of half-done projects in my wake. When I try to relax, I find myself equally scattered. I fall into spurts of extreme passion for things (like Aparment Therapy) for weeks or months, then suddenly find that passion shifting to a new obsession (book blogging). The only place I can focus is at work, and even then it is only with deadlines that I manage to get lots of useful tings accomplished; swathes of open time leave me gadding about unproductively.

It can't be that I need a vacation because I just took one. I suspect I need to move on, but will be in DC until summer 2010 so I have to try to rein myself in a bit. I guess the whole Foreign Service move-every-couple-of-years thing really does suit me to a tee- let's hope I get to keep this job for eons!

Quote of the Day...

2009-03-24T23:34:00.004-04:00

From Retail Anarchy by Sam Pocker on the women's fashion industry:

"...you're trained from birth that how you look on the outside says a lot about who you are as a person, and after looking at clothes in 90 percent of these stores it seems to me the target customer is trying to say that they sleep with other people in exchange for money..."

Amen brother!

thank you Amazon!

2009-03-23T23:19:00.002-04:00

As a thank you for reviewing entries in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition (ABNA), Amazon send me a new and exciting toy- a Kindle 2! I've downloard a couple of free book to play with it, and it is a lovely thing. It will never replace actual books for me, but I can definitely see how it will make travel easier especially when I eventually head back overseas.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T23:56:00.002-04:00

Here's what I did with my evening:
Culkin School of Irish Dance at the Kennedy Center

When I was little and first started Irish dancing, Sean was the star champion of the school, and he still has fabulous footwork.

My mom and I then went to dinner and then stopped by to see my sis at our local Irish bar- packed to the gills and crazy so we only stayed for one drink but Mom was still thrilled. As she said, she hasn't done anything so crazy on March 17th in 20 years. My mom is so cute- I love her!

I really should have included vampires...

2009-03-10T11:50:00.004-04:00

So I've been reading and reviewing excerpts of novels entered into the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) and it has been a real hoot. I read a few great ones, several decent ones, a few that needed some heavy lifting, and a few that were past redemption. I am sad that my absolute favorite one included the name of the aurthor which is likely to lead to disqualification.

Of the (up to) 10,000 that were submitted, 2000 were selected based on pitch alone to move forward to this stage of the review process. After reading some of these excerpts, it is clear to me that some people must be genius pitch writers even if they aren't genius writers. I've also been lurking on the boards where some of the authors were describing the process and critiquing each other's work (though I didn't go over there until all of my reviews were done and entered) which has been an edifying experience. My favorite line so far? "I think you were smart to include vampires. I have dinosaurs and aliens, but I really should have included vampires."

See- Tender Mercies has an audience!

I oughta be in pictures...

2009-03-03T22:52:00.002-05:00

It really IS the happiest place on Earth!

2009-03-01T22:13:00.004-05:00

I'm at Walt Disney World celebrating my birthday- it's my first time here and I love Love LOVE it! I may be AWOL til I return next Saturday, but I'm sure I will then have lots to share! Until then, I give you Chip (or was it Dale?) wishing me a happy birthday...

why we need better healthcare system

2009-02-20T00:16:00.004-05:00

My sister has an infection in her hand- it may be regular staph, it may be MRSA. My sister doesn't have insurance because employers in the service industry in DC are exempt from the rules about providing insurance even though she works full-time. With rent and student loans, and a not necessarily dependable income from the bar, she doesn't feel she has the money to pay for the insurance she could get as a young single woman (did you know it is more expensive than if she were a guy because technically she might get pregnant which would cost the company more? I didn't!)

Her roommate is a 4th year med student, and last Friday she told my sister that medical attention to her bite was essential because it looked a little infected. On Saturday morning, they went to the Minute Clinic at CVS, and though the clinic couldn't help my sister, they referred her to a Nighttime clinic that could. Because there were no appointments before 6:00pm, my sister had to call around to find someone to work for her and forfeit the night's earnings, in addition of course to the $95 for the appointment. The doctor confirmed an infection, said my sister was smart to have caught it early, and gave her an antibiotic. An antibiotic that cost $71 to fill at the 24 hour CVS pharmacy. Based on the roommate's recommendation, we waited until Sun morning to fill it- calling around got us the drugs for $30 less at Giant.

Unfortunately, that expensive antibiotic didn't do anything at all for the infection. As it got worse, my sister had to take additional days off because she couldn't do her job (and didn't want to spread her infection around). On Tuesday, she spend hours on the phone and online looking for a low-cost alternative to the Nighttime clinic who told her that coming back out to re-evaluate their earlier diagnosis would cost another $95. DC does have some low cost clinics, but none of them could see her before May. MAY! We even called a couple of ERs just to ask about costs- GWU was honest and said she would be billed for hundreds and so to avoid coming in if at all possible. Back to the Nighttime clinic we went on Tuesday night- another night's wages lost and another $95.

This doctor agreed that the infection was much worse and might in fact be MRSA. He indicated he was switching her to a new antibiotic. I chimed in asking about costs and the possibility of prescribing Bactrim which is currently being distributed free at Giant and for about $5 in other local pharmacies. The doctor told me that Bactrim would be a step back from her current drugs and was not a strong choice to fight this infection. I was surprised since I was on Bactrim for my stupidly-ignored-for-two-weeks infection in the fall, but hey- don't argue with the doctor. We went out to wait for the paperwork, and a few minutes later he called us up, said that Bactrim was in fact an effective treatment for MRSA and gave her the prescription. We opted to get the drugs there for $14 so that she could start right away, and I of course was consumed with worry that I had pushed the doc into a bad decision. We called the med-school roommate who confirmed that (1) the drug he had wanted to prescribe was expensive and rather obscure, and (2) Bactrim was the best choice for my sister's infection.

My sis is doing much better so the Bactrim is clearly working. I am pissed that any clinic, knowing that she had no insurance, would choose to prescribe obscure expensive drugs instead of ones available at little to no cost. I am pissed that DC doesn't have a decent free or low cost clinic to deal with the uninsured (even though surrounding MD and VA have a network of such places). I am pissed that my perfectly healthy sister cannot get affordable healthcare on her own and that there is no discounted group plan for the service industry that she could buy into if she chose.

We need a universal healthcare system and we need it now.

loving the four day weekend!

2009-02-15T17:51:00.003-05:00

So I've been really enjoying my four day weekend. Friday I slept in, lunched with my sis, found a bridesmaid's dress for the wedding I have in March (long story to be told at another time) and stayed up late playing online. Saturday I drove out to Baltimore to see an old friend (the one getting married in March) but had to leave early because my sister needed to see a doctor for her sore hand. Her med student took one look at it and insisted on antibiotics, not an easy prospect for my uninsured sis. We found a clinic with a flat fee for the visit and they wrote a prescription for antibiotics, but we had to wait until today to fill it because pharmacies around here close early (or charge a LOT more for the drugs if they stay open late). We picked up her meds this morning so hopefully she'll be feeling better soon.

Though I still have a couple of items to list on CL, I've taken advantage of the space I freed up to move a dresser into the living room that was previously living in front of the chair in my bedroom. Really, I have one dresser too many but I'm not prepared to deal with that situation yet because I need the drawer space. I don't know, maybe I just need another iteration of Wardrobe Therapy to help me get rid of the clothes in those drawers...

Pictures may be forthcoming- we'll see how it works out tomorrow when I'm finished fiddling!

loving Craigslist...

2009-02-11T02:14:00.002-05:00

The desk is gone, sold to a young couple who will be moving into a new place in a couple of weeks (actually on my birthday). It is so nice to see some actual empty space in the apartment...

It now looks like I'll be in DC for another year before heading overseas so I definitely want to make some changes to the apartment since I'll be here for another 18 months. Heck if I unload a bit more stuff, I might even be able to move the furniture around- that always makes me happy!

Progress...

2009-02-09T23:50:00.003-05:00

A nice young man who just recently moved to DC just took away my box spring to help bolster the IKEA mattress he has been sleeping on since he arrived. A nice young couple is coming to look at the desk tomorrow night; I offered to deliver it if they purchase since they don't have a car. I listed two IKEA desk lamps that I found that haven't been in use for couple of years. I feel progress is being made, and I have a four-day weekend coming up...

working, working...

2009-02-08T16:26:00.003-05:00

3:30pm - Christmas tree undecorated and broken down into box

4:00pm - boxspring from dining room listed on Craigslist

4:30pm - glass computer desk listed on Craigslist

Green velvet wingback remained in storage room until next week when hopefully the desk will be gone and it can rest there until a good buyer is found.

still working...

ETA:
5:15pm - laundry folded and cart returned to laundry room

5:30pm - all books removed from living room and onto somehow added onto bookshelves

issues to be dealt with on Sunday

2009-02-08T02:33:00.002-05:00

1. I've been reviewing ARCs and find myself currently overrun with books that have been read, books that need to be reviewed, books that I'm giving away, and books that just arrived.
2. My Christmas tree is still up. and still decorated. yes, really!
3. I just did four loads of laundry which means I need to find places to put it.
4. I have two wooden chairs, a glass desk, a box spring, and a green velvet Queen Anne chair that must be listed on Craigslist.

Funny how a tiny change can have such an impact...

2009-02-02T13:12:00.007-05:00

I don't like to cross reference to ATDC too much, but I have to post about my mom's bathroom. I bought a new faceplate for the outlet there before Christmas, but it didn't fit because of the trim around the door so it has just been sitting there waiting for me to buy a chisel. I finally hit Home Depot this weekend, and this project is officially off the list. I still need to touch up the paint, but that will be done one evening this week.

More pictures and details here:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/dc/look/look-finishing-touches-complete-art-deco-bathroom-075503

Domino Delusions

2009-01-31T00:29:00.003-05:00

So today I received a letter from Domino magazine that surprised me to say the least. The letter helpfully informed me that my subscription was due to expire in May 2009, and that since I was set up for automatic renewal, my credit card was being charged now for the renewal. Now, I won't even address the fact that it is several months before my current subscription expires making the timing of this a little insane. Instead I would like to focus on the fact that Conde Nast announced this week that Domino is folding and that the last issue will come out in February 2009. February 2009. Several months before my subscription is set to expire. At the moment, I assume I'll be forced to accept some other magazine (likely Lucky) until my subscription runs out in May, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let them sucker me into this renewal. I didn't open my mail until after 11pm, but bright and early tomorrow I'll be making an angry call- I'll keep you posted on developments!

Are there no smart people on reality TV?

2009-01-26T02:09:00.002-05:00

OK, so I don't expect a lot of brilliance from folks on reality TV shows, but I am watching an episode of the Real Housewives of Orange County (I know I know, but insomnia is a bitch and there isn't much else on this time of night on a Sunday), and the teenaged daughter of one of the women is out with her friends bowling drunk and bragging about it loudly. With a microphone on. In front of a TV camera and production crew. On national television. Even by reality show standards, this is a dumb-ass move...

SecState Clinton: "A New Era for America"

2009-01-23T00:06:00.004-05:00

This was my morning- my new boss arrived in the building and made some inspirational remarks. I was up close, but must credit my co-worker Melissa for this picture as she had a more direct line of sight. Some of my favorite lines from the speech:

...There are three legs to the stool of American foreign policy: defense, diplomacy, and development. And we are responsible for two of the three legs. And we will make clear, as we go forward, that diplomacy and development are essential tools in achieving the long-term objectives of the United States. And I will do all that I can, working with you, to make it abundantly clear that robust diplomacy and effective development are the best long-term tools for securing America's future.

In my testimony before the Foreign Relations Committee, I spoke a lot about smart power. Well, at the heart of smart power are smart people, and you are those people. And you are the ones that we will count on and turn to for the advice and counsel, the expertise and experience to make good on the promises of this new Administration...

...we want to send a clear and unequivocal message: This is a team, and you are the members of that team. There isn't anything that I can get done from the seventh floor or the President can get done from the Oval Office, unless we make clear we are all on the American team. We are not any longer going to tolerate the kind of divisiveness that has paralyzed and undermined our ability to get things done for America...

I think this is a time of such potential and possibility. I don't get up in the morning just thinking about the threats and the dangers, as real as they are. I also think about what we can do and who we are and what we represent...

For the first time in a long time, I feel inspired, and cannot wait to see where this new adventure takes us.

Freezing my butt off in Florida

2009-01-18T00:48:00.002-05:00

OK, so it may be warmer than it is is DC, but still it is damn cold here in Pensacola! Brad and I just double-dated to Chili's and "Paul Blart: Mall Cop"- funnier than I thought it would be quite truthfully...

I have to confess I'm glad to be out of the Inauguration chaos in DC, plus this 5 day weekend seemed tailor-made to spend with Brad. We're having fun hanging out and planning the big birthday trip to Disneyworld next month. Just being with him makes me feel happy and relaxed and a little bit sad because I always know we're close to saying goodbye. One the plus side, his retirement papers are in and his last days should be my birthday next year which is the best present I'll ever get.

I hope everyone is staying warm, 'cause baby it's cold outside!

Bacon: A Love Story

2009-01-13T00:40:00.002-05:00

I'm behind on my blogging, but for right now, allow me to share instead wonderful news from one of my crew from college:

You can pre-order here. Congratulations Heather!

Focused on looking ahead

2009-01-05T00:44:00.005-05:00

So Brad is gone; he left super early on Saturday morning to return to Pensacola. I miss him dreadfully, and my sleeping patterns are all wrecked, but I am grateful we had such a great 10 days together.

On the home front, I sold the orange chair. Ever since my mom decided months ago that it wasn't comfortable enough for her neck, it has been living in my dining nook. Since there is also a queen box spring living in the dining nook, you can understand why this situation was absurd. After all my sister's hard work to get my apartment in order, I decided I owed it to myself to get off my ass and deal with the situation. I posted the chair on Craigslist twice, and this morning it was carried out the door by a lovely young woman who has been searching for the perfect unique orange chair for her space.

I'm focused on looking ahead and creating a better space for my last few months in DC. Now I'm looking around the house to see what other extraneous furniture etc I have lying around that needs to go. So far I've posted a sofa slipcover and a desk, and I'm seriously thinking about that box spring...