A Picnic in the Desert

The weekend in Saudi Arabia is Thursday/Friday. This weekend we went with a group of expats for a picnic in the desert. A Saudi man who owns falcons hosted the event. A large group of westerners meeting in the desert with a group of local Saudi citizens is frowned upon, so this was a great treat.



Upon arrival, we meet our guide and his staff and had the opportunity to learn about how the birds are trained and cared for. We had light refreshments and Arabic coffee and tea around the fire. Afterwards, the birds flew and we got to see them in action while they hunt.



While we were eating our picnic, over the hill behind us a group of camels came to see what was happening. Now that is something you don't see everyday.


We also met another great family from the U.S. and will be getting together soon. These trips are a wonderful way to meet new people here.

@$#%! Friday - Fact or Fiction

Blue Balls - Fact or Fiction ?

I have heard both sides.
Some guys insist these do exists and some say it is just a way guys get girls to have sex.

Any opinions??

Wordless Wednesday - Movie Review

I love scary movies.

I recently watched "The Devil" and it was great. The whole movie is a group of people stuck in an elevator.

For those from Toronto you may notice that the outside scenes look familiar, I think it is the corner of Bay/Adelaide, First Canadian Place.

I recommend it...

Wordless Wednesday - Motherhood Rocks!

For the past 2 days I have been dealing with a sick child. I am sure some day I will look back on being puked over and think it was funny. It is a good excuse to just lay on the couch and watch television!

Even tho this "Motherhood Tour" was in 2009 it stands the test of time.

The Art of Cleaning - Men vs Women

When dating, on a woman's first visit to a man's home she checks out his cleaning habits. I did this with my hubby. I was impressed that his place was so clean. Altho after dating awhile and upon closer inspection I realized it was an illusion. He was a fake - he only cleaned where you could immediately see. For instance, corners and around furniture would be dust bunnies because he never moved it while vacuuming; counters also had dust because the items sitting on them were never moved. Clutter was stuffed into a closet. The bathroom - the downstairs was reasonably tidy probably because he never used it but once the relationship moved forward and I went to the upstairs master bath well...I am sure you can imagine. Still we all think we can fix these habits with a man.

Fast forward many years...

I was away with the kids for 3 weeks. I figured he would tidy while I was gone. Upon first look it seems he did. The kitchen looked clean, floors vacuumed, pretty good. Of course he also made a point of saying how much cleaning he did, very proud of himself. However, upon closer inspection it didn't look like a duster had wiped any of the furniture since I had left. That is a lot of dust when you live in the desert. Before I had left I lost the little girls soother string. While bending down to pick up a toy there it was under the playpen, guess nothing was moved while cleaning those floors. I checked the floor cleaner bottle and the level had not changed since I left, guess the floors were not mopped.

Am I being to critical, I am a little anal about cleaning? Should I just accept he did his version of cleaning? Needless to say I have kept my mouth shut.

I have put together a few rules that I may post on the fridge before I go away again. The alcohol is not be available while we are in Saudi but will give him an idea of what to do.

Step 1: Crack a beer and put on some loud music.

There’s no way around it, the next 60 – 90 minutes won’t be fun. Might as well enjoy a decent beer and listen to your favorite album while you’re at it. Loud and fast-tempo music will help keep the boredom away. Alcohol will make the experience more tolerable.

Step 2: Put all the clutter away.

No sense in cleaning around the clutter. Your place will still look like a pit if you do.

Step 3: Dust using a Swiffer Duster

What a revolution the Swiffer is. The feather duster just pushes dust around. The Swiffer uses static electricity and an almost infinite amount of soft dust grabbing fibers to clean. Use it on everything from wood to electronics. Don’t doubt it. It works. Pick things up and dust under them. Don’t dust around.

Step 3.5: Crack another beer.

This ain’t over yet.

Step 4: Vacuum. Everything!

Vacuum everything. Use the bristle brush on counter-tops that you stand and eat over (there will be crumbs). Use the long corner attachment to run along the outer edge of any tiled floors. Move furniture. Lastly, take that bristle brush and move onto the bathroom.

Step 5: The Bathroom

Who knows why men avoid cleaning their bathrooms. Too bad it’s a deal breaker for most women if your bathroom is disgusting. Here’s a plan to making your bathroom woman friendly:

* Vacuum anything that’s not wet with the bristle brush.

* Wipe down mirror and counters.

* Scrub sink and tub.

* Scrub toilet bowl(don't forget around the rim and the seat).



Done. Finish the beer. Consider a third.

Quick Hair Fix

Now that is something we could all use - a quick hair fix...

I have heard alot about "dry shampoo" and thought about trying it. This week when I was in Sephora (yes we have it here in Saudi) I saw it so I bought a can. If you have never heard of it - this "shampoo" is a spray that cleans hair without water while removing grease and odors. It is ideal for busy women wishing to have clean hair without having to wash it. My hair is extremely thick and takes along time to blow dry and straighten so it is nice to spray this on and get an extra day or two.

Direction: Shake can vigorously, spraying the powder from the root to the tip of the hair strand. After a few minutes, remove the product using a dry towel then brush.

Snowy Holiday

We have returned from our holiday in Ireland.

My Dad lives there and I go every year but it has probably been about 10 years since I went over for Christmas. What a year I picked. The news said it was the coldest December in 125 years. I noticed when I was in London's Heathrow Airport waiting for my connection flight that a lot of flights were delayed or canceled. Mine was only delayed an hour. Lucky because the next day the airport closed. When we arrived in Ireland it wasn't snowing but about an hour later after we had collected our luggage and going to the car it was snowing. It continued overnight and all the next day. News reports said it was the most snow since the early 60's. I don't drive there (cannot drive a standard car which most cars are there). I usually don't need it. My Dad lives in a small seaside town with a village that has everything I need, only a 5 min walk. Shops, cafes, parks... However, getting thru the snow with my stroller wasn't going to work. As you can expect a country not use to this weather, plowing streets and sidewalks does not happen. My Dad would drop us off each morning and I would call when I wanted to come back. Unfortunately the temps which were about -18 degrees were not good for the kids to play outside. The weather changed after Christmas, about 2-5 degrees, still low for there but much more bearable.

I don't know what I am going to do when it is time for us to return to Canada and have this type of weather for months every year. I am sooo not a winter person. By the time it takes me to get the kids ready with jackets, boots, hats, mitts and myself I am exhausted and don't feel like going anywhere.

All in all a good time "home for the holidays" I love spending time with my Dad and he enjoys seeing the kids (even if he does complain about the noise and mess).