My favorite commercials from the 70s

This Dr. Pepper commercial is my all time favorite retro commercial. I love Dr. Pepper. I'm a bit surprised that they're not sold here.... I would imagine that ppl would like the flavor.... matter of fact, they have one of the best diet drinks, except for Pepsi. Both of these I can stand to drink. Diet Coke basically sucks in my opinion. But anyhoo.... enjoy.


I couldn't upload this video from YouTube... so follow the link below and you'll get to see my 2nd all favorite retro commercial. It's the old Oscar Mayer ad. It's the cutest ever.... by far. And you know... growing up, I must say that I had a lot of Oscar Mayer bologna. ummmm.... some of my favorite sandwiches were made from this bologna. It's just delish when you add miracle whip w/ crunched up Lay's chips.... aaahhh just heaven!! :) And... I love to fry it w/ cheese on top, and then make a sandwich w/ mustard.... and some good chips and tomato soup on the side. Aaaahhhhhh... the memories.

And... w/out giving anything away, if you haven't seen the video.... I just love how he shakes his little foot ..... he's so into it... and then the ending.... PRICELESS!!!

Oscar Mayer bologna.....

Prison Break

I've heard this show is pretty good.... but I haven't seen it. Altho... we did have our own little prison break in the family today.

We got a call around 10:30 this morn. from my husband's sister informing us that demon SIL's housemaid ran away, as well as this housemaid's sister who worked for said SIL's family. So... we head out to have lunch at in-laws and I notice all the shoes missing from the steps of our housemaid's room..... Hashim takes a look inside and EVERYTHING is gone. The room has never been so spotless.

I called her cell, which btw, I let her borrow and she has it turned off. We call her husband's phone, who worked for my FIL and is the one that begged us to bring his wife here in the first place, and his phone is turned off. He also ran away.

We're assuming they've been planning it for days or even maybe longer. Chulani, the girl that worked for us, went on and on all day yesterday about wanting to go out last night to look for a shirt.... that's the only thing she had on her mind it seemed. I took it that she was excited w/ the prospect of wearing said blouse or such.... so we let her go. Now, in thinking about it, I'm sure they were planning their getaway and getting everything ready or some such.

She did come in this morn. and do a few things in the house, and her husband was seen at my FIL's house this morning, so since we let her go to church on Friday's, I'm assuming she used the "church time" as her getaway time.

Funny.... or nice of her because she left all the clothes we had made (uniforms) for her, and she left all of these children's clothes for a little girl and a baby doll (she has a 2 yr old girl in Sri Lanka), which I thought was a bit weird. Some of the clothes were dirty or stained and there was a pair of little underwear... made me wonder if the stuff had been stolen from my MILs school... I don't know. There was a pair of worn little boy sandals, a toy car, a little Buz Lightyear toy.... and they have a girl. Plus, w/ an outfit she bought just the other day ... I knew these clothes are clothes she can't afford. I wonder why she left them.

They left several things. Hubby is going out there now to take the TV we were letting them use, in case they try to sneak back in tonight to take it and try to sell it. Apparently her husband was borrowing money from everyone yesterday or trying to. I'm wrapping up all the clothes that were left out there and the bedding and bringing it inside. Not quite sure what to do w/ it...

This girl thought she was a little princess. When she first came here she was all happy because her husband was helping her do her work but when I put a stop to that, her whole attitude and demeanor changed. And here I thought things were going so well. Yeah, I've had to give her little talkings to over the course of the last few months, but I thought things were going well. The baby really liked her and she was always sweet w/ him.... but I think it was all fake.

I noticed the other day and have noticed it several times for the last week that the cats act somewhat hesitant around her.... which is a clear indication, to me, that something isn't right. I've had to get on to her many times for not giving them enough food in the mornings because when I go downstairs in the afternoons, they're always starving and in the evenings they always act like they haven't eaten all day.

It's better that they're all gone. The rumors they were making up and the stories they were telling made my mind crazy inside. No matter how many times I told her that I didn't want to hear it, no matter how many times Hashim yelled at her or her husband about it, she never stopped. I had to use my fingers and zip them across my lips to tell her not to say another word so many times I can't even count it, and she'd still keep going... and here I was saying how good she was not too long ago.

I guess that was before her husband stole my husband's rollerblades and swore that Hashim gave them to him. There was a huge situation over this because he waited until Hashim left for Dubai to bring them out and use them and when I questioned him, he started yelling at me .... which.... was the wrong thing to do. This is when I stopped allowing him to come to our house because we've had several things come up missing.... matter of fact one of my husband's favorite hats that was given to him by my mom came up missing from our car and no one is in that car except me, the baby, Hashim, Chulani and her husband... who cleans it.

And... what is the freakin fascination w/ silverware????!!!!! I swear... almost all of our silverware is gone again. She swore she didn't take it but I've never been one to see a fork get up and walk away.... but maybe.... just maybe they do at night when I'm asleep.

death and cremation

Last night I got an email from my sister telling me that my BILs (her husband) grandmother passed away. She's been going in and out of the hospital for weeks now and a few days back they took her off of the feeding tubes, Hospice came into the home... so everyone knew it was only a matter of time.

Charlie, her daughter (the woman who owns the pot belly pig - in the video at my husband's site), is an only child. I really like her. She has a goodness inside of her and welcomes you in to her home w/ open arms. She loves her pig (whose name is Piggy Sue - just sooo cute!) just like she was part of the family.... this is a woman after my own heart... and I'm sure that's part of the bond between us.

Her father, who is still alive, has Alzheimer's disease. My sister says that he just sits by the window and stares out of it. She wonders if he knows and I feel that he does. I'm sure his wife has told him either before she passed or even in the afterlife. My prayer is that God brings him comfort and eases his sadness.

I found out today that my BILs grandmother is going to be cremated and have her ashes blown into the sea. I believe in cremation and actually decided long ago that I wanted to be cremated when I die. A lot of ppl disagree w/ cremation, but I see it as a beautiful thing. I would love to have my ashes scattered over some beautiful meadow high atop a mountain where the wind always blows and there's always beautiful flowers in the spring time.

All of my cats who have passed were cremated. I have their ashes. All but one, I should say. Our cat Chloe died here in Bahrain and we buried her outside.... and we also buried our baby parakeet that died outside. I've wondered about cremation here for animals and have meant to ask my vet about it, but each time forget.

All of this brings me to my point ..... why do Muslims not cremate the dead?

What if someone wanted to be cremated? Is it against the religion? And, if so, why?

Many, when thinking about cremation, can't see past the fact that your body is burnt to ashes... but when I think about it... your soul has already left your body and there is nothing left but a shell.... so isn't it or shouldn't it be up to the person as to how they want to use their body afterwards?

I'd be interested in your thoughts?

In my last thought... I want to send my love to my sister and her husband, and his mother during this trying time. May God be with you, keep you safe and heal the sadness and pain that you feel inside during this difficult time.

noisy theatre eaters

We went to the movies the other day and after talking about how I always eat my popcorn before the movie starts.... it got me to thinking about my mom which, in turn, got me to thinking about ppl who are noisy eaters... especially at the movies.

My mom could be classified as such. She loves her popcorn - like me - but when she's eating it, she digs around in the box and digs around.... and it almost seems like it's always at the most quiet time during the movie. I've been known to "shhhhh" her.... only to get one of those dirty looks that only a mother can give. She's a loud cruncher too. It makes me smile to think about it.... because, really, it's a quality that I love about her.... even tho it drives me batty when I'm trying to watch a really good movie. But.... she's not the only one. Altho he'll kill me for saying it, hubby is a loud digger as well. I've also been known to dig at the bottom... but I'm courteous or try to be because I always try to wait until there's a lot of talking during the show or loud scenes and such.

So does that mean there are classifications of ppl who eat at the movies?

What about the ppl who slurp their pepsi's down to the very last drop... sucking on that straw like there's no tomorrow and you know, as the person listening, that there's no more pop coming outta that straw... but it seems like the sucker doesn't realize it. You can always tell when you're getting down to nothing in the cup... don't ya think? The ice is a dead giveaway... it moves around in a way that makes it clear that the soda is gone..... finished.... khalas. But these ppl.... I think that they think if they move the cup this way or that, that maybe... by some chance, a little drop of pop will fall w/in the straws reach and they'll get that glorious satisfaction. And... yes, me... well, I have done this too. But I usually save it for when I'm in the car w/ hubby or at home.... ;) Because he tends to drink all the drink and leaves me the tiniest drops at the end.... so I'm used to this desperate plea for more soda.... :)

And... what about those nacho eaters? I think these are the worst. I don't believe crunchy nachos were meant for the inside of a movie theatre. Since when do you need nachos? It's dark... sometimes you can't see even how to get to your seat... why eat something that takes great precision? You have to get that chip into a tiny little square box filled w/ cheese. I don't know... I'm not that steady w/ my hands... I'd more than likely wind up w/ cheese all over my face or all over my clothes. but... that aside... I can't stand to listen to ppl eating this stuff during the movie. And I usually wind up sitting next to someone w/ them... or even a whole family eating them. And they're not that good!

So... how would you classify eaters at the movies?
1) loud obnoxious eaters w/ crunch during the most quiet of moments
2) dainty eaters who try to be quiet for all the other viewers
3) slurpers
4) diggers who never seem to find the right piece to put in their mouth
5) droppers (I'm one of these)... always dropping the popcorn you get, so you wind up having to go back for more and make more noise because you can't seem to keep what you get inside your hand.

Are there any others you can think of?

I want to tell ya a funny story that this post made me think of. Long ago... me and my little sister went to see Aliens. I had gotten some gum prior to going in, so once the movie started, I unwrap my gum, stick in my mouth and start to chew it up. Well.... I don't know what this gum was made of, but it started sticking to all of my teeth. When I tried to use my lips to get it off of my teeth, it stuck to my lips. This is when I decided to take it out of my mouth and when I did, it not only stuck to my teeth and my lips, but then it stuck to all of my fingers. It was at this point that my sister turned around and asked, "what are you doing" or some such. I leaned down to her and whispered that my gum was stuck to all my teeth and to my hands, and then I showed her. She started to laugh... you know.... one of those laughs that you try to keep inside w/ everything inside of you (the kind when you know you aren't supposed to laugh which makes you laugh even harder).... and as I worked furiously to get this gum off of me, she'd give me that look of horror and total shock while she laughed.... this only made me panic. Let me tell ya... my sister can make me laugh like no one I know of. She is sooo crazy. And when she starts to laugh and then gets me to laugh... we can go on for a good 10 minutes. As we're trying to be as quiet as possible.... she gives me the brown bag that held this wonderful chewing gum, and I proceed, as quietly as possible, to take this bag and stick my gum to it.

Well.... you wanna talk about not being able to be quiet!!!! The more I tried to stick this gum to that bag, the more the sound, to me, started to penetrate the entire theatre, which made my sister break down..... I should have gotten up, thinking back on it now, but I was young and didn't want to cause a scene... I suppose... but as I tried to keep as quiet as possible and get this gum outta my mouth, from my fingers and off my lips.... well... it just seemed crazy loud. And as my sister kept giving me those wild out of control laughter looks, the more this crap wouldn't come off. It was like she had a bubble gum demon inside of her! ;) And I was the target.

Finally.... finally.... that gum came off. This is when I started to laugh .... the kind of laugh that you hold in... like when you're in church or at a funeral. Yeah... I've been known to break down in inappropriate laughter at funerals.

I know you may think, OMG, there's something seriously wrong w/ her... but... the cat's outta the bag. It's the truth! ;) I do it. Not all the time... but it has happened on more than one occasion. I guess the whole not being able to handle it is my thing.

So.... anyway... thought I'd share my words of wisdom today. The baby is taking his early afternoon nap. They're painting the outside of our house and started bright and early at 6:00 a.m. this morning. Today they sprayed the outside w/ water, to get off the old paint and such, and we had little floods inside the bedroom and bathroom when we got up. But.... the house will be nice and fresh in a few days... so that'll be nice.

Have a good day friends.

movie day

Today we decided to run out to Sa'ar to catch the new Pirates movie. Since it opened a few wks back, figured there wouldn't be large lines and such... and Sa'ar tends to get busy in the evenings... so best to go during the day.

Not a ton of ppl in the theatre, which I prefer.... so not too noisy. We had good seats, popcorn... altho I finished mine pretty much before the movie started. Why I always do that is a good question, but I do. I just love popcorn at the movies... and here you get your choice between regular non-buttered popcorn and sweet popcorn. ummmmm... it is delicious but today I had regular.

The movie starts. So far, so good. I've heard some say it's way too long... and it's gotten a few bad reviews, but I've liked the first two and you know I'm a crazed fanatic fan of Johnny Depp's... you know the kind of crazed where I'd pay a million to kiss him... but only if it were going to charity of course! ;) so I figured at least if I'm bored...

I guess an hour 1/2 into it, the film stops, the lights go out and everyone is quiet. We sit for a bit wondering if the film broke or some such... and when the lights didn't come back on and we heard commotion out in the corridor, we decided to get up and leave. I wasn't in the mood for sitting in a hot theatre for gaaaawwwd knows how long.

We stop at the ticket booth to see about getting the tickets stamped so that we can go back and see it again and they were happy to oblige. Apparently all the electricity went out in and around the neighborhood... or so they said. But... no biggy.

We saw some friends of ours.... blogger Miss Scarlett from her Haven and the hubby, and her beautiful daughter. We chatted for a bit... they were there to see Pirates as well... and wouldn't you know it, it wasn't but probably 10 mins and the lights came back on. All were happy.

Since I was feeling tired and not wanting to go back in and watch another hour and 45 mins of the movie... we decided to head on.

I will say... I liked the movie thus far. The story line seems a bit more in-depth.... which doesn't bother me.... maybe that's why some ppl think it seems way too long. MIL and SIL are wanting to see it... so maybe the next time we go, the electricity won't plague us and we'll all go.

Take care blog friends... have a wonderful weekend. by the way... Bahrain is already experiencing 42 Celsius weather. It felt like a little sauna outside today.... phew.. it's early for this kind of weather or maybe I just forget from year to year. I can't imagine this year's August.

Naief enjoys Mahmood's Den

He's starting young... he does enjoy some good blogging!!

toilet humor

maybe you thought this post might be about the baby's poopy diapers... but since i'm feeling a bit reserved today.... i'll make nice!

this post is about a blog friend and his blog. i love toilet humor... always have. i think one of my all time favorite movies is Dumb & Dumber, and i think there was some good toilet humor in There's Something About Mary. i'm one of these ppl that laugh every single time i watch these movies... no matter how many times i've seen it.... i think w/ Dumb & Dumber... i've done the dreaded snort laugh... it's not pretty... and can't say i'd ever want to do it around a stranger... but gosh.... this movie really makes me laugh.

anyway... my blog friend at Sefton Taxis has a video clip on his blog that gave me a really good laugh earlier.... and laughing does the body good, so check it out. if you like practical jokes, especially if they involve toilet humor... go by his blog. i think it's the 2nd post down and it's called A Wee Joke.

what is a friend?

This past weekend I was invited by a friend of mine to afternoon tea at her house. She invited me along w/ Naief to come and visit w/ her and her two sons, and two of our other girlfriends. She's also married to a Bahraini guy, as well as one of our other friends... so it's nice because there's a common thread that binds up, so to speak.

Like I said, she has two sons, one aged 5 and the other is 18 mths. They are so adorable on one hand but a handful on the other. Our other friend brought her son whose a bit older, and since he loves to play w/ the other two, the house was filled w/ energy until it was time to go. I got a true sense of what it's like to have little boys.... or maybe just kids that age because the house never stopped. And... I liked it.

Can't say that I would have felt this way years ago when I didn't want to have kids. I could hardly stand to be around kids that age because they usually drove me nuts.... but I don't know... yesterday it was different. You just don't realize how children can change you until you have them.

Anyway... to my original point.

I guess it's been probably a good 8 yrs since I've had a group of girlfriends.... girls I can talk to, gossip with, laugh with, and just enjoy being around. When I worked full-time in Dallas, I had several good girlfriends and we'd go out on the weekends, have dinner together and such, but since moving to Bahrain - and even before then really - I haven't felt that closeness. I didn't realize how much I missed it until yesterday.

I met these women last year at a friend's BBQ. I lucked into meeting one of the girls... actually it was completely by chance that we even spoke. She and her husband were at a book signing for a friend of ours and she asked me when I was due. I didn't even know her... but her husband knew my husband, so I guess we were bound to meet at some point. She was the first person to ever really talk to me about my pregnancy and it was nice to have someone around my age that was friendly and interesting. It was at this book signing that she invited me and the hubby to a BBQ at their house.

And this is what started the friendships.

When I had the baby... they came and visited me at the hospital... and were so loving and caring when I broke down that afternoon after they asked how I was feeling. I still wonder why you get so weepy after having a baby. I know it's the hormones and I understand it... but it's just weird how easily it happens... as if you have no control whatsoever over anything emotional.

Their house was just lovely. So roomy... big enough for her oldest son to ride his bike inside the house, if you can believe it. I loved it. I told hubby that I'd love to move to Sa'ar. I really enjoy that part of Bahrain. It seems different there and it's soooo quiet. Here at our house we have cars passing at every hour of the day. Not to mention the two prostitutes that live in the apts across the way that keep unbelievable hours. And then the families that live in those apts... I've never seen families that stay out so late w/ little bitty children. They come home in the wee hours of the morning - during the week - I guess not thinking or really caring that their children have to get up and go to school the next day.

Anyway... I got a load of things to bring home w/ me after our day was done. My girlfriend that hosted the tea sent me home with a push toy for Naief... he'll just love that when he gets old enough to walk, as well as some hand-me-down clothes, which I love and was raised doing w/ all of my family (so it felt very homey), and many other goodies.

You know... this is how I am and I am so happy that I have new friends that are the same. I've always been this way w/ one of my sisters - we exchange shoes and clothes, perfume, jewelry - a little of everything really - and when she found out I was pregnant, she sent me all of her maternity clothes... which, btw, had been used by a few of her friends. Some of you might frown knowing that or would never think of using hand-me-downs... but I love them. My sister got so tickled when she'd see pics of me wearing the things she had sent... and I enjoyed wearing them because it brought me closer to her because I'm so far away.

So... when my girlfriend gave me some of her son's clothes yesterday... I felt a kinship to her and it felt really nice. I loved opening the bag today to see all the stuff she put inside. Maybe one day I can do the same for someone.

Well.. that was my day yesterday. Oh yeah, Naief was so good. He was so behaved and didn't cry the entire time we were there. He's at the age now that he really enjoys looking at ppl and watching his surroundings, so he got a kick outta the kids and w/ it being so busy there.

Love to Eat

I was tagged some time ago by a blog friend, The Moody Minstrel, to list 5 of my favorite restaurants here in Bahrain. Why it took me so long to think about this one... well, it's beyond me. But... after some long thinking, I finally came up w/ my list.

These are in order of preference:

1.) Senor Pacos. I love this restaurant. This is the first restaurant that me and Hashim went to when I came here back in 2001 for a visit. I was dying for mexican food and we came upon this place and fell in love w/ it. It's the one place on this island that reminds me of home. I love the weekends there w/ the singing and dancing, and they have the best holiday parties. Mexican food is one kind of food that I could eat every day. I love nachos, fajitas, enchiladas, tacos... you name it, I love it. ummm... it's just sooo good. So this is my most favorite restaurant.

2.) Cafe Italia. This is the italian restaurant at Seef Mall. They have some of the best spinach and cheese ravioli that I've ever tasted and their pizza... well, it's the best I've had in a long time. My favorite pizza place used to be Pizzeria Uno's in Addison, in Texas... but it was a different type of pizza all together - it was Chicago style. Cafe Italia's pizza is thin and they have so many different varieties. And... if you go there, don't miss their salads. They are sooo yummy. I love good salads though.

3.) Kei. This is a Japanese sushi restaurant at the Golden Tulip. We've been going to this restaurant for a while now and I really enjoy their food. I don't eat raw fish... not into that, but I do like their California rolls and many other dishes on their menu. They also have this fried banana dessert that is to die for... makes my mouth water just to think about it! ;) What I like about this place is that you have the choice of sitting where the chef cooks your food. They have this square area and I guess it seats about 15 ppl and everyone can watch as each dish is prepared. This is authentic Japanese whereas many of the other Japanese restaurants here aren't. I recommend this restaurant to everyone.. but I'm sure that most of you have tried this place.

4.) Hash House. This is a Thai restaurant in Adliya. I love their Red Thai Noodles w/ chicken, shredded carrots and cabbage... ummmm... just delicious. It's on the spicy side which I love... but also has a hint of sweet to it. I like the restaurant especially at night when you can sit upstairs on the cushions. This is the only Thai restaurant that I enjoy in Bahrain... the others ... well, I'm not all that impressed.

5.) Melh Al Zad. This restaurant... well... it could probably be my number 2 easily. It's an Iraqi restaurant that we've been eating at for a while now. We first went there some 3 1/2 yrs. ago w/ the in-laws for Eid. I love their hummus, and I must admit they have some very tasty lamb chops. They also have fabulous fattosh salad... I would say it's my favorite of all the restaurants that I've tried since living here w/ the salads, hummus and eggplant dip. Actually, I haven't had anything there that I haven't liked. I love Iraqi spices... they fix Arabic food like nobody's business. It's another place that makes my mouth water just thinking about it. YUM. It's located over off Exhibition Road.

Now... I'm hungry. I do love good food. I'm not a big eater but when I eat... well, I want it to be good. All of these qualify, in my book, as good food. I hope you guys like the list.. and if you haven't tried some of these places.... try them and let me know what you think.

Also... we watched the season finale of Lost tonight. I cried. I was sad to see one castaway get killed. I was hoping it wouldn't happen, but it did. From the things I've read, seems like a lot of ppl were happy to have this person killed off... but it made me sad. I'll write about it probably tomorrow. I'm upset because I really look forward to seeing this show.. and now... we'll have to wait until the next season comes along. This finale left a lot of things unanswered... and put a lot more questions in my mind. I thought it would answer a lot of questions, but it didn't. I'm bummed about that... but figured it would happen.

10 Simple Pleasures

I've been tagged by Munther at The Drivel of 2 Modern Bahrainis to list 10 Simple Pleasures of mine. I've also been tagged by the Moody Minstrel to list 5 of my favorite eating places here in Bahrain. So.... I'll list my pleasures first and then tomorrow or so, I'll make a list of my favorite eating spots. For some reason, picking these has been harder than I thought.

so.. here goes:

10 Simple Pleasures

1) hearing Naief laugh

2) feeling Naief sleeping against me

3) watching squirrels play

4) having coffee outside when it's really early (and there's a cool breeze) and you hear nothing but the birds... this is so relaxing.

5) listening to my husband play the piano

6) watching Christmas tree lights

7) sleeping while it's raining or relaxing while it's raining (i love loud thunder and then to hear it downpour)

8) planting flowers

9) relaxing and watching a good movie

10) feeling ice cold water in the back of my throat when it's really dry and I'm really thirsty. nothing quenches your thirst better than water.

I tag Olivia, Moody, Thursday, Leilouta, Jane and hubby, if his site is back and running. :)

I See Dead People

I guess over a month ago, I noticed the baby looking at something or someone in the bedroom at night when I was the only one up and in the room w/ him... and I'll have to admit, at first, it scared me. I found myself becoming very aware of everything around me... I guess for fear that it might be an evil spirit or some such. But then... how could something like that make my little one smile and laugh the way he does whenever he watches Fred... as we call him.

We call him Fred after the movie, Drop Dead Fred. This is a movie about a little girl named Elizabeth that has an imaginary friend or so everyone thinks... but Fred is very real to Elizabeth. She's an only child and he helps Elizabeth thru difficult times in her childhood and then also returns when she's an adult to help her out of a difficult marriage.

The movie Heart and Souls w/ Robert Downey, Jr. is also about a baby boy who has several souls that stay with him until he's a teenager, I think, and then they come back when he's an adult to help him thru difficult situations.

I believe in spirits and I believe in ghosts, and when I first told my husband about this, I'm not sure he believed me. But I guess within the last several weeks, he has started to believe that there is definitely something or somebody that is visiting our son.

Whoever it is makes him smile and laugh like nobody. They entertain him and make him really happy. Tonight... my husband said it sorta spooks him somewhat... and I told him that it did me too, at first. Now... I try not to let it bother me because I know that they have only the best intentions... I only wish I knew who it was. I wonder how long they'll stay around.

My husband had an imaginary friend when he was little and it's very healthy for children to have imaginary friends.... I just don't think this Fred is imaginary.... we just can't see him. :) But the baby can.

Added info: I was also gonna state that the movie City of Angels had angels visiting young babies and such and this is also something I believe in. This is a favorite movie of mine starring Meg Ryan and Nicholas Cage. I believe in angels and I had wondered if it was a guardian angel looking over the baby and staying w/ him for a while - until he gets older. I just know that whatever it is... it's w/ us daily and the baby really likes him/her. They say that everyone has guardian angels and I know that I've had a few close calls in my life and have always thought that I had someone looking after me... here w/ me. I know God looks after me, but I also think there's an angel here w/ me as well.... and now the baby has someone or something. Someone made a comment that it's nice to know that there's angels and such looking after the young ones and I agree. :)

Momma Mia, C'On Down

I grew up watching The Price Is Right with Bob Barker. It is my utmost favorite game show ever and I can hardly believe that within a few months The Price Is Right will be no longer. :( Now that I'm thinking about, I'll bet that the show continues, but Bob will no longer be a part of it... and, to me, it just won't be the same. He makes that show.

I can't believe I didn't even get the chance to be on that show... I think it's one of my biggest wants or wishes.... wanting to feel the thrill of hearing my name called and then being told to "C'On Down". Then as I take my place down in the front, I get to bid on items w/ the hope of being the closest bidder or, better yet, being w/in a 100 bucks of the price of the item which affords me the thrill of receiving a 100 from Bob and then getting to get up on stage to play one of the games and hopefully be so successful that I get to be in the final show down at the end of the show, of course after spinning on the Big Wheel.

Which brings up another favorite of mine and that's the Big Wheel. This is what decides your fate after six games have been played. The games are split into two sets of three, so you step up w/ two other contestants and only hope that you pull it hard enough so that 1) it gets all the way around and 2) your first spin gets close enough to $1 so that you don't have to spin again because if you spin again, you could go over and if you do... well, you're out and the next person gets their chance to spin.... because whoever's closest to $1 w/out going over is in the show finale that day. Can't tell ya how many times I've cried here because one of my favorite contestants won and they got to go on to hopefully out bid the other contestant competing against them in the show down.

I was sooooo addicted to this show! And, truthfully, I'm actually depressed that I don't get to watch the final ones. When we went to California last year, every day, during the week, I'd watch the show at 10:00 a.m. I loved playing along w/ the contestants.... and I just loved Bob Barker. He is so funny and everyone loves him. He is a huge animal rights' advocate and one of the only ppl on daytime television to tell ppl to spay and neuter their animals, which he says at the end of each show. I really admire him for this and only wish more ppl would do the same. He's in his 80s now and is still a huge animal rights' advocate and a vegetarian.

And.. for anyone whose watched this show, you know of Barker's Beauties. Man... what a job. Tyra Banks lived out one of her fantasies which was being a Barker's Beauty for one day... she was so excited.

I just can't accept that the show's ending and here I am in Bahrain and not able to watch it!!

Some of my favorite games on that show are Cliff Hanger, Plinko, Clock Game, Dice Game, Double Prices, Hole in One or Two, Lucky Seven, Make Your Move, Money Game, Now or Then, On The Spot, Punch A Bunch, Range Game, Secret X, Spelling Bee, Ten Chances, and maybe a few others.

You know, as I look at their website, I can't help but think about how many ppl love this show. The contestants were of all ages.... young and old, thin and fat. They had bloopers sometimes... w/ one lady wearing a tube top and as she ran down to the front, her top fell down.... needless to say, everything popped out.

Bob has been doing the show for 35 years.... I think that's longer than anyone on daytime TV. Even what's his face, Pat Sajak hasn't been doing Wheel of Fortune for that long... another show I love.

Well... this is my goodbye to Bob Barker and The Price Is Right. Maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll get to catch a few shows at the end.... maybe it'll be on long enough to allow me that opportunity... if not, I'll miss that show!

Our afternoon

Today we decided to go to Toys R Us to look at the car seat that we have because we couldn't figure out how to lengthen the shoulder straps and to see how long we can use it because Naief is getting big and it seems, to me, like he's outgrown it.

So we head over to the Seef area, park and go inside. I was surprised to see that they've added a Babies R Us area and it has all sorts of developmental toys and such... tons of stuff actually. We also found a Bahraini girl that worked there and she actually knew all about the car seats and was soooo extremely helpful. That is a first and her pleasant attitude really made me rethink that store.

We found out that his car seat is good until 9 mths, altho... if his feet are touching the seat, then it's time for a new one. Since they are, I think we'll have to invest in a new seat w/in a few months. We did find out how to extend his shoulder straps and I found out that our stroller has an easy closer system that I didn't know about and she also showed me how to lower the seat, which I couldn't figure out to save my life. She was so helpful and showed us all the different car seats and we'll probably go w/ one that'll last him thru to age 6 when we buy the next one.

After Toys R Us, we decided to go over to the mall and went in thru Marks & Spencer. It's the first time that I've been to this store... and I've lived here for 4 years! Yeah, I don't shop like I used to... but I really liked this store. When we first went in, we noticed that off to the left of us was a food section. Hashim said that he didn't realize they carried food so we headed over to check it out.

It was all organic or pretty much and I loved all of it. They had tons of really interesting teas and I picked up an English breakfast tea and wanted several others but decided to wait, and then we looked thru their sauces and decided to try a spinach, asparagus and ricotta cheese sauce to put on pasta tonight. I also got some apple, raisin & cinnamon breakfast bars as well as cranberry and orange bars... I can't wait to try these. They had so much stuff there and I wanted to take a little of everything home w/ me... but instead of scaring the hubby, decided to get just a few items until the next time! ;) Oh yeah, they had all kinds of yummy sounding crackers and I just love cheese and crackers, so the next time, I think I'll try many different varieties of these.

And.. as we were walking thru the store to find a cashier, I saw sooo many cute things that I'd just love to have. Gosh, I haven't been clothes shopping in too long and since I'm starting to lose the weight from my pregnancy, new clothes sound rather appealing.

As we were walking thru the mall, we came across the new Play Station 3 so we stopped to check it out. There were a couple of guys playing in front of us and when they left, hubby stepped up and I couldn't help but be amazed at how realistic the game was. Matter of fact, I had to stop watching because I was getting a bit sick - sorta like motion sickness. For any of you game addicts out there... if you haven't seen the new one of this... you're gonna love it! I can only imagine how the hours will pass when Naief gets older and he and his father start playing these games....

I walked over to Mothercare as he played and they had some of the cutest summer clothes for little boys. But seeing that Naief is only 3 mths, I find it hard to buy anything that he'll outgrow within a few months... especially when it costs more than a cute outfit for myself... it's amazing how expensive kid's clothing is!! But... I'd love to have at least one outfit for 3 - 6 mths... just in case .... you mother's know how it is! :)

It was really nice to get outta the house and go walking around the mall. The only thing is... my back still starts to hurt, rather badly, after so long, so I find that I have to leave or take meds to calm it down. Tonight was no exception. I read on the internet weeks ago where some women continue to have back pain for years after having c-sections... I wonder why that is.

Well, dinner is ready and I'm hungry and it smells good. Can't wait to try the new sauce. Before I go, thought I'd leave you w/ a cute pic of Naief from his bath today.

comment on a blog

i made a comment on Leilouta's blog yesterday - the one entitled Why the Panic? and i guess i sounded someone sexist or so someone said....

her blog was about she and her husband getting into an argument and the fact that she didn't speak to her husband for a week afterwards. his mother was coming into town and on the next to the last day or last day, he asked her if she was going to clean the house and whatnot. when she made it clear that she would not be doing any such thing, he left and went to the grocery store, bought cleaning supplies and a chicken for dinner. all the supplies were used in the bathroom and when she asked him if the chicken was being served to his mother for dinner he stated that it was - and only the chicken - no sides or anything because he said that his mom probably wouldn't be hungry since she would have eaten before coming and that his mom always went to bed early (she went to bed that night at 12 a.m.). anyway... if you're interested, go read the blog. it's quite humorous.

well, in my comment i stated that me and the hubby can be the same - very stubborn. and i said that her husband should have buckled under the pressure and apologized, and that he probably knew that when he came home w/ the cooked chicken and made it clear that he would serve that for dinner, that Leilouta would basically come to the rescue. seeing that they've been married for a while, i'm sure he knows his wife and knows how to get certain things from certain situations. i think that most married couples are this way.

someone commented that i was being very sexist in that i didn't know who started the argument so why did i assume that it was her husband's responsibility to apologize. ok, i'll give that anon person that... yes indeed, i didn't know whose fault it was... but does it really matter? when you've been mad at each other for a week and in-laws are coming into town, isn't it best for someone to apologize? to be the bigger person and just do it? isn't the relationship worth that? or did he not give a damn? obviously he does...

i thought since it was his mother coming for a visit, then it should be he that makes the effort and apologizes... no matter if it was his fault or not.... because in the end, don't all of us women know that the man is always at fault!!!! (kidding!)

anyway.... i do think that her husband should have stepped up, been the better person and tried to at least make it all better. maybe that's what he was doing w/ the chicken. i know that when me and the hubby get into an argument, more times than not he'll go and buy food, which always seems to make the situation better. i think food calms a lot of nerves.... and eating together somehow, for us at least, brings you closer together....

i don't know... what do you guys think? was i being sexist in that i felt that her husband should have stepped up and said something to change the situation? maybe it couldn't have been solved that easily.... but, maybe it could have been since when she saw the chicken, she took the bull by the horns and cleaned the house and made a fabulous dinner that her MIL loved.

tell me... what would you have done? and do you think i'm mistaken?

in 10 days time

after weeks of waiting, i finally received my school papers from the states. so on thursday, me and naief headed to the american embassy in hopes of getting his little fingers on an american passport, social security card.... and all that jazz.

after hooking him into a sling thingy, carrying him inside, waiting in line for what seemed ages, answering a few more questions and giving them enough proof that i am actually who i say i am, and that both of the names were used by me and that i'm not someone posing as an american, the officer working on our case said that everything was in order and naief will be getting an american passport. :)

i feel so relieved and just so happy that i was able to show from the records i received that i was that person who had two different last names. thankfully for me, it showed such on these papers. thank God!!!!

while waiting, we had the chance to watch lots of ppl and one lady had a little girl that was so interested in naief. she made her way over to where we were sitting to look at him and say hello. she was too shy to get close... but she was a cutey.

finally, after about 2 hrs, we were heading out and the lady w/ the little girl was ahead of us as we headed thru security. after giving them the necessary badges, we finally got our personal belongings, head out and as we're walking back to our cars we chat a bit.

come to find out, her husband is british, her daughter has a british passport and she has an ethiopian passport. her husband said he's never seen such and was shocked to see how difficult it is to obtain a visa to go to the states. he said they act like you're going to blow something up or that we're all out to harm the americans. i agreed. i told them what i had gone thru and the father told me that in order to get his daughter's passport, he only had to show his birth certificate and he had it.

it just shouldn't be so difficult for americans.... i really believe this. i find it utterly ridiculous that we have to go to such lengths to prove that we are indeed american.... and i find it utterly ridiculous that the "common" folk have to go thru so much to get simple visas... but i had members giving me visa apps and they lied on them over and over again and got visas within a couple of day's time. just not fair. glad i didn't have to bring up anything like that while i was at the embassy.... because if they had continued to give me crap, i think i would have mentioned a few things that i saw taking place over and over again... but ... maybe not.

shame how much power these officers have... and it seems they hold your life in their hands.... sadly enough.

but... i'm happy. naief is getting his american passport and i'm very pleased with this.

how he's changing

naief has now realized he has hands and loves them. he likes to try his best to stuff his whole hand/fist into his mouth all at one time.... he'll gag and seem like he's gonna throw up, but it doesn't stop him. i laugh and ask 'em if he's practicing to be bulimic. yeah, sick joke or just sick that i would say something like that you may think... but hey... i can be that way! :) he just loves his hands though and will suck on them usually until he falls asleep. i've tried giving him a pacifier but he isn't interested, which i guess is a good thing.

his eyelashes have grown in fully now and they are soooo dang long. like his daddy. i love them and there's a strong part of me that wants to dab a little mascara on 'em just to see what it'll look like.... but i won't.... :) right now. :) (kidding dear sister so no since in telling mom!)

today i was playing w/ him and i took his little hand and stuffed it into my mouth. i think it scared him because when i took it out, his eyes got so big and he started to cry. i felt terrible... i wonder if he thought i ate it or something. ;) and i'll tell ya, when he gets upset about something, he really gets upset. this little boy has some strong lungs. and usually he not only cries but will do a thing that sounds like he's screaming or yelling.... it sounds like it's only something a boy would do, but i have no idea. my sister says that my niece didn't do this... but i'm sure there were times when she got mad and cried w/ mad fits.... or at least i would think so. i sometimes wonder what it'll be like when naief gets a little older. i could see him throwing himself down on the floor and having a full fledged fit because when he doesn't get his way, even now, he throws fits and it's hard to calm him down.

for instance... he hates his car seat and the stroller. i made the mistake one day of taking him out of the stroller as soon as he started crying and now he gets tired of being in it or just wants to be held and will start throwing a little fit. if i don't respond immediately and take him out, he gets beet red in the face and will have yelling fits, sometimes even sounding like he's growling. the other day he did this when we were heading to Al Bandar because he didn't want to be in the car seat. my sister laughs at all of this and tells me that i'm getting what i deserve and my mom said that i used to have little screaming fits when i was young. i watch the Nanny on TV and imagine what it could be like and really hope that we don't go thru the falling to the floor, having a fit stage....

he mimics the things i do w/ my mouth. if i stick my tongue out, he'll do it. it's so cute. i'm trying to teach him to pucker for kisses... he does it just a little or so i think... and i've taught him how to stick out his tongue when he's finished w/ his milk and i say blah and do the same.

and he gets the stinkiest little feet... like his daddy :) i love to smell them though, and when they're stinky i'll laugh and say phew and tell him, "smell, smell" and put them to his nose... he just smiles.... i'm looking forward to when he starts putting his feet into his mouth.

in 3 days, he'll be 3 mths old. i can hardly believe it. tonight we looked thru the pics from when i was in the hospital.... and of him when he first came out.... he sure has grown and changed, but also looks the same. i miss being pregnant a little bit and sometimes when he's sleeping, i just look at him and know that it won't be long and he'll be a little boy.... not a baby.

and... i think he's gonna be left handed. i thought he was going to be a while ago but hashim kept saying that it could change... but now i'm pretty certain. he mainly uses his left hand for everything. one of my brothers is left handed.... and does a lot of stuff w/ his right hand as well.... but hashim worries that he won't be able to teach him musical things because of this difference.... but i'll bet that it won't be a problem.

his hair is falling out and growing in darker, which i figured would happen. right now his hair is a dark dirty dishwater blonde w/ golden or golden red highlights. i have a brother that had red hair when he was young and then a cousin of mine has bright fire orange reddish hair and it's beautiful.... so i'm not surprised he has a little of this in his hair. the new hair coming in is darker.... so i'm thinking it'll be a dark brown w/ maybe some golden highlights or something. he's changing so much.... and it happens so fast. if only time would slow down just a bit.

the big argument

(sorry... but this is a really long post... but worth the read, I think)

This past weekend, my MIL got a cabin for two nights at Al Bandar. She took it one night and me, the hubby and Naief took it the 2nd night. Since we usually have lunch w/ the family on Friday's and since MIL was staying in the cabin on Friday, it was decided that everyone would do lunch there. We were told to be there around 1:30 p.m. or so.... but since most everyone is always late for lunches like this, we showed up at 2 pm.

We pull up, get out and put the baby in the stroller and head to the cabin. Once there, we knock, the door opens and we go in. My SIL, who married into the family, is there w/ her son who is almost 2 yrs old. She's holding him and comes over to say hello and kisses my cheeks - as is the custom here.

Since my housemaid was told by her housemaid that her son was very sick just two days prior to this - running fever and possibly w/ chicken pocks (even tho the SIL made it very clear to her housemaid not to tell anyone in the family that her child was sick or so we were told), I, not caring if this was supposed to be a secret, immediately asked if her son was sick. I could tell she didn't like it and she went on and on that her son wasn't sick.

As I was getting Naief out of the stroller, my husband went outside to get a few things from the car and SIL followed him out to ask why I'm always asking her if her son is sick. Hubby didn't tell me this until we were sitting down to lunch, which btw, SIL, MIL, housemaid and SIL's sister all went to the pool area for a swim fest, so it was only me and the hubby and Naief at lunch.

Needless to say, when hubby told me what SIL said, it pissed me off because one, she told him thinking that he would reign me in and tell me a thing or two so as not to upset her in the future and two, it just pissed me off because she didn't have the nerve to say it to my face.... she's always going around trying to stab ppl in the back. Here's a little history about this girl/woman/demonic thing that some of you might like to know.

She has caused me problems from the very start - even before she married into the family. I suppose she made it her mission in life to make sure I didn't marry my husband or to cause me such emotional stress that I would question everything related to him, Bahrain and Arabs in general and then, because of this, me and the hubby would eventually break up or some such thing.

I can remember the first time I came to Bahrain to meet the family. She was over to the house w/ some other girl and hubby's sister, and when we came inside from being out, she started flirting so heavily w/ hubby and was wearing such revealing clothes that I started to wonder if all the girls were like this and why didn't she have any respect for the fact that we were engaged.... so when I came here to live a couple of yrs later, I was shocked to see that this same girl was marrying my husband's brother! fun fun

There is so much about this girl that I can not stand. I could probably write continuous blogs about her and the things she said and did in the beginning of my life here, and all the things she still does (it's my real life soap opera).... but.... instead, I'll get to the point. Oh... but let me say one more thing about this and then I'll get to the somewhat juicy details.

All this stuff w/ this guy Cho and the killings at Virginia Tech made me start thinking about my years in junior high and how I hated it and why, etc., etc..... so needless to say, I was feeling a lot of sadness the other day and because of that, I decided for my husband's and son's sake, I would try to turn over a new leaf and not let these type of situations cause me stress, and instead of playing all nicey nicey and letting certain ppl walk all over me, so as not to offend anyone, I decided it best to start speaking up about the things I care about.

So w/ this said.... here are the juicy details... ok, maybe you guys won't think them all that juicy, but they are to me because this is the first time, ever, to go against the family (why do I always envision the mafia when I think about this?!) and speak up or make a scene - you could say.... which is pretty much never done in the family. It's usually said or done behind the person's back, which I literally can NOT stand.... because I hate two-faced ppl.

After lunch, we head back to the cabin. I first wanted to head over to the pool area so I could speak to her face to face, but hubby said it could easily turn into a huge scene, and not wanting to embarrass my MIL, my husband and myself, I agree and decide to phone her instead. You all may be wondering why this particular situation is the one that struck a nerve... all I can say is that I think this has been building for years, and since this girl is married to my BIL, it isn't real easy to just say something. She fully believes she's a princess, but she is nothing more than one of the ugly stepsisters.... and since I'm not afraid of her, this was my opportunity to get heard and to stare the new side of my leaf in the face!

From our room, we could see them over at the baby pool. The demonic bitch, ooops, I mean thing, is sitting at one of the tables w/ her rude sister and my MIL. BIL is w/ the housemaid at the pool area tending to the child... like always.

The first call shows that she's on the other line. I wait a few minutes and call her back. I'm using hubby's phone coz I know she'll pick up.... and she does. I immediately tell her that I'm calling because hubby told me that she had an issue w/ my asking if her son was sick. Without hesitation, she starts her crap telling me that I always ask if her son is sick and why, blah, blah, blah. I raise my voice and tell her to please stop talking in order for me to tell her the reason for my call. She stops talking for probably 10 seconds... this is when I tell her that I asked if her son was sick because two days prior they had taken him to the hospital w/ a very high fever and what looked to be chicken pocks. She said that he wasn't sick and that it was one of his normal visits.

This is when I said, "then why did your housemaid tell my housemaid that he was really sick and not to tell anyone". She started screaming and said that she didn't care what her housemaid said and that her son wasn't sick. I come back w/ the fact that he looks sick and that my son is only 2 1/2 mths old, has only had one dose of his injections and that he could very easily get whatever her son had, and that it did matter to me if her son was sick because I didn't want my son getting sick. At this point, she starts talking non-stop. Going on and on about how this is her son and how I shouldn't ask this. This is when I raise my voice again and ask her to stop talking (which is a joke because she doesn't understand what it means not to talk). She screams back that she won't stop talking, so I start talking non-stop w/ my voice raised, so as to drown her out... and tell her that I asked because her son is ALWAYS sick and that everyone knows it and how she takes her son to the school sick and that I knew this and so did my other SIL, and that she never lets her son get well, and again I state that my son is a baby and that I will not have him around her child when he's sick or around any one that is sick.

At some point, she tells me that I should leave my son at home if I'm so worried about him getting sick, and I tell her that I do and have always done that, and that she should leave her son at home if he's sick. (sidebar - we are both pretty much screaming at this point and why it went to screaming w/ her is beyond me. I basically started yelling because she wouldn't shut her mouth and when she raised her voice while talking non-stop, I did the same because she wasn't going to do what she always does to me.... because this time, it was about our child.... this time I wasn't going to be polite)

I proceed to tell her that I did nothing wrong in asking if her son was sick, and that I would never stop asking because if it's not her son then it's my other SIL's child that's sick, and that both of their children are always sick (which is the truth) and I didn't want my baby to get sick. Since she continued to say whatever she was saying and not allowing me to talk, I started saying this sentence over and over again, until she got so mad that she told me that she never wanted to see me again and that's when I yelled, "that is fine w/ me".... and at this point, she hung up the phone.

At this point, I tell hubby that I want to leave. I have not been able to stand this wannabe princess/demonic thing since the very beginning but have held my tongue for the sake of the family and for my husband, but since he was fine w/ my telling her what I thought.... well.... I can't tell you the weight it took off of my shoulders. I don't care if I ever see her again. For two years now she's been doing this "I'm like your sister" crap w/ me... all the while I say ok and let her think I believe it. But see... I've never trusted her and she would never be like a sister to me. I always knew she was saying things.... but only until recently did I hear what was being said by the gossip of her housemaid to my housemaid.... they're both Sri Lankan and they talk about everyone and everything. (and w/ the things I know now.... there are some around here that need to be very careful about what they're doing because these housemaids and yard guys know every little bitty secret that's out there!!)

Once we're home, the hubby gets a call from his mom. I knew it wouldn't be long until someone called, but I figured it would be my BIL if the truth be known. Hubby said that she asked if I was okay and he laughed a little and said that I was fine. They talked a little about what took place and then hung up. Hubby saw BIL yesterday and he said nothing. I wonder what that means.

You know, in the States, it is commonplace to ask about the welfare of someone else's child when it has a direct impact on your child. My sister has events cancelled all the time, outings w/ friends rescheduled because of a child being sick. My niece is sent home from school if she has a runny nose.... being sick or having your child get sick from someone else isn't what parents want..... why is it so different here? Many don't seem to take care if their child is ill. They send them off to school to infect all the other kids and they're taken out to the malls and whatnot, when they should be home in bed. I just don't understand it... but I know this.... I will continue to ask if these kids are sick and I don't give a damn if it pisses them off. I have a right to protect my baby.

Yeah, I know there'll be a time when he gets sick, and when he starts school he'll probably get sick a lot.... I know this. But for now... I have a right not to want him around kids, even if they're related, that are sick.

This argument has done a couple of really good things. One, I don't have to pretend to like the demonic thing any more and two, everyone knows now that I'm not playing around any more, and I guess they can look at me as the rude American... because now... I will say what I think. So be it..... I guess I'm rude and an American... Lord help us.

Is it just me?

Or are there other ppl out there that think it strange that some MP from Muharraq thinks that shops should take down window mannequins because they're dressed too provocatively. And not only that, but video/dvd shops should take down posters that are too sexy ... the ones showing the female breasts. Are there shops in Muharraq showing such? I know our video store doesn't have such hanging.... hmmm... what's going on in Muharraq! ;)

Gosh... it wasn't but .... what, a year or so ago that this debate was taking place and here it comes UP again. I guess this MP just can't let the mannequin issue die.

Are there ppl out there that are turned on by store mannequins? Is there some sort of fetish for these things that I didn't know about? This guy says that ppl have complained about the way mannequins are dressed... saying it's against Islam because the shirts of these mannequins are see through and you can see their breasts.

Ok... there's that word breast again.

First off.... it's a MANNEQUIN.... not a person. Not a real female... guy, and I can't think of one time that I've ever seen guys standing around gawking at the mannequin and being turned on. So.... are there females out there jealous of mannequins or something? Why would women get mad over see through tops on these things? And what women are going to their MPs complaining about such?

Life is too short ppl. Get a grip. If the time has come where men and women are being turned on and having sexual fantasies about mannequins.... well.... I'm at a loss for words.

I wouldn't doubt that the next time I'm in the Muharraq area that I'll not see one mannequin w/ provocative clothing on..... how dare they sell such clothes and allow men to see mannequin breasts! maybe they should put bras on these gals... you think?

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Naief had crying, screaming fits today. Most of the day matter of fact. I'm dead tired and having insomnia issues and I'm assuming he can sense something in me.

It seemed that nothing I did today soothed him and it makes me feel totally helpless. It honestly felt like he was mad at me or decided not to like me or something. I would try to hold and comfort him and he'd get soooo mad and cry even harder.

I don't know if it's the fact that we had to change his formula this morning. We ran out of the NAN and when Hashim went to get some this morn., they were out.... so we had to switch to S26 again and he hates it. Yeah, he drinks it but fights it for at least 5 mins.

Usually he's all talkative w/ me.... gurgling about this and that but today.... he would have none of it. We gave him a bath tonight and he screamed during that... but after giving him a nice lotion massage he seemed to calm down and actually smiled at me.

He's sleeping now and I've taken two panadol night tablets in hopes that I'll get some rest before he wakes up around 3:30 or so. So far... I'm still wide awake. Maybe getting this stuff off my mind will help and I'll be able to fall asleep w/ him.

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Oh yeah, one more issue. Our housemaid goes to church on Fridays. Well, two Friday's ago or Sat. morning while cooking, she asked me about what she called "blue movies". I know what these are but was a bit shocked that she brought this issue up w/ me. Well, come to find out, some woman, a Sri Lankan girl, has come up to her a few times outside of their church and asked if she wanted to buy sexual movies of 9 yr old girls!!!!

As soon as she told me this, I got livid. I told her that I wanted the telephone number of this girl, and that I would be turning that number over to the police. Well.... for one reason or another, she hasn't given me the number. She told me that she doesn't know this girl, and I told her to casually ask her for her telephone number - to act interested or something. If she gets it, I will call the police and report this.

This stuff makes me sick and to think that ppl are buying such... yeah, I know there are those out there w/ this sick kind of mind.... but I had hoped it would be different here. But it's not.... altho everyone wants to pretend that it doesn't happen here.

Mentioning our housemaid... well, she's starting to speak pretty good English and we can carry on a conversation pretty much now.... and you wouldn't believe all the gossip and stuff this girl knows. She gets it from her husband and he gets it straight from the horses mouth most times. unbelievable stuff... i will say that.

the killing spree

who hasn't heard of the Virginia Tech shootings on the 16th? do you find yourself wondering, like me, what could cause someone to go on such a shooting rampage? was he crazy? mentally ill? some say he was... but when things like this happen, i find myself wondering about the individual... what caused that person to snap on that day?

cho had been planning this spree for months.... maybe even years. many are saying that he had a hit list back in high school... but would you say that that's a sign that ppl should look for when watching for other killers to emerge in the future? does a hit list make you a killer?

why would he have a hit list? was it because he was picked on? some ppl can be really cruel to others. some say that ppl picked on him because of his accent. saying that he murmured .... so what did cho do? he stopped talking. many at Virginia Tech assumed that he didn't speak fluent english and that's why he was so quiet.

i wonder when thinking about all of it... wondering if he had already gone over the edge at this point and was he past the point of no return even before starting at Virginia Tech. had the teasing and such been taken so far while in high school that it had made him sorta crazy? crazy in a sense that he hated these ppl or ppl like them for doing this to him.

and what about girls. from what ppl are saying, he stalked them... or some. two girls had turned him into police for doing such. his first victim was a girl that some say he had been having a relationship w/ while others are saying that it just isn't true. will anyone ever really know? the girl apparently had a boyfriend or had just broken up w/ her long time boyfriend. soooooo.... why did he kill her first, i wonder? she wasn't in his bldg. he walked to her bldg. and went to the 4th floor, where she was in her room and that's where he killed her.

tonight on this Fox News' special, they are saying that the two had a shouting match first, then a guy from down the hall came to her room to see what was going on and that's when the shooting occurred. he killed both of them...

he then left and waited for two hours before starting his 2nd killing spree. but why wait? had he anticipated what would happen? did he record his last message at this time? he mailed his manifesto and videos to NBC right before starting the 2nd spree....

his sister graduated from Princeton... an Ivy League school in the States.... his family moved to the U.S. when he was 8 yrs old. they have a dry cleaning business and have done everything possible to provide for their children - sending them to the best schools and such. when cho started at Virginia Tech, they had high hopes for him..... ppl are saying. can you imagine his family and how his mom and dad must feel? i wonder if they knew he had been in a mental hospital. the dr. that saw him at the hospital stated that cho seemed normal.

to be honest, when i think about this and try to analyze it... i find myself going to when he came to the States. i think about his years in junior high and high school. how mean kids can be... some teachers can also be rude and thoughtless when dealing w/ a student. i can remember this kid from my 4th grade class that used to get into hair pulling fights w/ our teacher. they'd get into knock down, drag out fights... and i'm not kidding you. i remember the kids name... i'll never forget it. i later found out that this kid had been abused, both physically and mentally, by his mother. she used to lock him in closets for long periods of time. this boy was really mean and i wonder what happened to him. it was a different time then... kids didn't bring guns to school and shoot ppl. sadly, he's probably abusing his own kids... if the truth be known.

so .... thinking about all of this makes me wonder. have you ever been picked on in school? been bullied, called names, had ppl pick fights w/ you for no reason other than being different?

they say that ppl should have known that cho was on the edge because of his writings. his creative writing teacher was very concerned about his mental state and even told the higher ups about him. this is why he had to go into the mental hospital - to be evaluated and to get counseling. i wonder if the dr. that evaluated him, now blames himself for not seeing the rage inside of this guy and calling it differently... wondering if it would have made a difference. it could have made it harder for him to get guns... that's one thing... altho he bought two of them off of eBay... and i wonder if they run checks before purchases of such on eBay....

i will say this.... there are many famous ppl/directors/writers out there that write such blood and gore on a monthly, if not more often, basis and make lots of money because of it. look at the movie, Pulp Fiction. what about Saw, Saw II, Saw III and others.... all of these films are filled w/ all of the same type of things that cho wrote about. killing. and about ppl who feel nothing for their victims.

these types of movies are mainstream America.... isn't America known for these types of movies? ppl get off on watching such. so... in looking at this guys' writing - cho.... was the writing a real indication of mental illness? i don't believe so. does it show that he was a murderer? he wrote about killing his teacher and other ppl.... turned these into his creative writing teacher... his fellow students were afraid of him and afraid to criticize or critique any of his work for fear that it would send him over the edge. but why? because the papers were filled w/ the blood and gore of someone that could have possibly turned his rage into such movies as other directors have done..... or so i think.... if he had been encouraged instead of criticized long ago..... or maybe not. maybe he was too far gone by this point.

what would you say finally drove him to viciously kill so many teachers and students?

school is tough... junior high and high school can be some of the roughest years for kids. if you don't have the right name, you're made fun of. if you look different, talk different, dress different or if you aren't rich enough or even too rich.... you can be bullied, teased or made fun of. some will do anything to make it a living hell for others... not caring and feeling an ounce of regret after their evil deed is done...

the guys who killed those kids at columbine were bullied.... for years prior, i believe.

does one ever forget what ppl say or how they treat you? i don't think so. i can remember being in the 7th and 8th grades and experiencing this. just the other day i was compiling some stuff to take to the embassy for Naief's passport and as i was looking thru my yearbooks, i was reminded of so many things. i have a yearbook from, i think, the 4th grade, that has "x's" over some ppl's faces.... what does that say about me?

my accent was made fun of when i moved to texas from indiana. they made fun of me for talking fast. they would say, "yankee, go home" and then mock me. even in junior high i was bullied by a few girls...

these aren't fond memories.

does this mean i'm sane in that it didn't send me over the edge? or is it because i'm a girl that it wasn't the same. is it different for guys? does it affect that male gender differently? to be honest, i had a hit list when i was young. it wasn't on paper but i had a list of ppl that i truly disliked in my head... i think it was when i was in the 3rd or 4th grade - i can remember back to my room but not my age... i wanted my teddy bear to come to life and do some serious damage to a few ppl. that were mean to me. not that i wanted teddy to get an automatic rifle and blow chunks outta ppl.... no... i just wanted teddy to hurt them in some form or fashion. maybe rip them to shreds w/ his claws or something... i can't recall.... - needless to say, i had and still have an active imagination...

maybe it started out that way for cho.... and for some reason it went in a very bad direction or was it that he was mentally ill from the very get go - from birth. would anything have mattered in his case? could someone have made a positive difference in his life?

what do you think?

My deepest sympathy

i got a Warden Message from the American Embassy just a little while ago about the Bahraini security guard that was shot in the head last week at BJs. He died today.

They're warning Americans of possible gatherings in various areas of Bahrain and for foreigners to be careful and such.

I didn't know him but for some reason it makes me really sad. I worked at the same place as the brother of this man's wife and Hashim used to work in the same department w/ the brother of the wife.... and I feel sorry for him. He said his sister collapsed upon hearing the news... I can only imagine the pain. They were only married for 3 mths. So much has been lost and I'm sure it'll take a long time to recover from such pain.

They suspected an American of shooting this guy. There were rumors that the security guard stopped some Americans from flirting w/ some girl outside the place. It makes me wonder... who carries guns w/ silencers?! Are the Navy guys allowed to leave w/ guns? Or could it be another guy like last time... a BDF officer?? I just know it sounds intentional.

I don't know and I wonder if they'll ever find out who did it. I hope they do. By some miracle, I hope they catch the person who did this horrible crime. Almost seems like they knew they were going to kill someone that night.... why carry a gun w/ a silencer! Who does this? Except murderers.

May God bless this family and the wife of this man. May He take her pain and give her a reason to smile again w/ God speed. And may this man, Abbas Shakhoori, rest in peace. My heart goes out to his family and hers.

cute news

for all of you interested in baby news... thought i'd tell ya the latest. first, Naief is getting so big. he got his first injections on the 5th, which made him cry soooo hard, but i felt so good because when i picked him up to soothe him, he quieted down rather quickly. he's a sensitive little soul and pouted a bit, but it wasn't too long and he was happy. the night was hard because the shot gave him a fever and the next day he cried a lot... but we gave him liquid drops and he was fine in no time. :) oh yeah, he weights 6 kilos!! 12 pounds! and he's 62 cms long!! he's at the top of his range... and i feel really proud that he's growing so nicely and is so healthy.

well... he doesn't cry a lot but when he gets fussy - like when he's fighting sleep and refuses to settle down and just let it overtake him - he cries and wiggles about a lot. so one day, i decided to try putting on some music and dancing around w/ him to see if he'd calm down. we have a huge variety of songs on the laptop, so i decided to play some Coldplay... and he LOVED it! he was screaming at one point and as soon as i put on Beautiful World, he stopped crying immediately and fell asleep. i must admit, this little boy has his momma's taste in music.

today i played some Gypsy Kings for him and he really seemed to enjoy the music. he just gazed off - seeming deep in thought and took his bottle w/out any problems. daddy also played some gregorian and he really enjoyed that as well. but, by far, his most favorite is alternative.... loving Coldplay w/ every play. :) and i happened to hear a bit of Somewhere Over the Rainbow today and sang along... he smiled and ooed and awwed w/ it... i think he's going to be a singer!

my best news by far for the day though is that he laughed out loud for the first time!! we were in the car going to the grocery store. he was in his car seat and i was sitting next to him talking away. well, i looked at him and he was staring at what seemed to be my hair. so i asked him... "do you like mommy's hair?" "do you think it's pretty or do you think it's ugly?" hashim laughed and said "pretty ugly mommy"... so i made a face and stuck out my tongue to Naief and moved my face towards him and when i did, he laughed out loud, then we all laughed. so... i guess he thought mom's hair was "pretty ugly!"

it touched my heart like you wouldn't believe. can't tell ya how it feels to see your baby laugh for the first time. he smiles all the time and it's sooooo cute. he's so expressive w/ his eyebrows and makes these little side of the mouth smiles... reminds me of Elvis! ;) and i love Elvis songs still... so i just think it's adorable!!

anyway... my days are filled w/ baby stuff. i entertain him a lot of the day and when i cook, he swings in his swing in the kitchen and usually falls asleep, which is nice. he loves to sleep on me and i let him.... and has started to really enjoy walking around w/ me looking at everything possible. he's not one for laying on the bed and doing nothing. makes me wonder how he'll be when he starts to get older. i know i'm a bit hyper and his daddy is too... so i can only imagine how baby will be!! :)

i'm doing good. still tired and not getting a good night's sleep. he still wakes up every two hours most nights and when morning comes, i'm usually just getting to sleep. so... needless to say i have big bags under my eyes that are oooohhhh so lovely! i had two wonderful nights where he only woke up once... but that didn't last long. he sleeps a lot during the day but i'm not a day sleeper... altho sometimes in the afternoons i can't help but to take a quick nap. this past weekend was good cuz hashim watched the baby and i slept for a good 4 hrs in the baby's room. i so much needed it but when i got up, i was more tired than when i went to bed. i long for the day when he sleeps thru the night!! i know it'll be months... and i so look forward to that day.

i hope all of you are doing good. i know i haven't been reading blogs .... and i hope to get back to reading some at night... since internet connection is back. i hope all of you are good.

baby is awake... and time for feeding.