Thank You !

I wish to thanks to Khadijateri for all her help in acquiring medicine for Mohamed when it seemed like a expensively daunting and impossible task . For her tireless efforts on Moe's behalf . 

Also a special thanks to the teams of Libyan doctors she consulted. A particular thanks to Rhonda Ahmed for the call beyond duty in making sure we received the medicines. Thank you all for you help and thoughtful kindness .

A Home In The Woods

Woke up to find it nice and cool . It rained yesterday early evening , yeah ! Hopefully it will rain some more . It looks like it will , it is still cloudy . Love the rain . It made me think of home , in the fall . Home being the USA in this case .

I found this painting . It is named "Home In The Woods" and it is by painter Michael S. Parkes . It reminded me of  when I was a teenager growing up , we had land in the piney woods of east Texas . Several others in our family had land in the same place . It was a favorite place of ours to go . We cleared the land by hand of the underbrush and small trees . Hard work , but good work .We would camp there sometimes in the summer with my sister and her children . Going for long walks to gather firewood to cook with on a camp fire. Swimming in the community pool, or the small lake near by . My sisters land backed up to a national forest , or maybe it was a state forest , don't remember which right now, but anyway ,we would some times see deer, bear , and once even a cougar . So cool .A real paradise .

I want to wish a dear friend a very Happy Birthday today . Happy Birthday Khadijateri !!! I know you are so excited you're finally 15 years old today ! Love you !! Hoping your day is special and your new year magical!!!

Going Mobile

Last night I went out with Khadijateri and her girls to do some Ramadan shopping . We stayed in the car and the girls got out to do their shopping while KT and I visited sitting in the car . It was a ideal shopping trip for me . BUT .... the real fun started BEFORE we left to go shopping , KT handed me a gift bag and told me to open it . I did ,inside I found a Ramadan/Eid/early birthday present ....... a very "pretty in pink" mobile phone that can do everything , including the Hokey Pokey ! OMG ! OMG ! OMG !

I KNOW I always said I would NEVER have a mobile phone BUT what can you do when one just falls into your lap, so to speak ? I HAD to accept it , huh ?I mean it would have been terrible rude not to have taken the phone , don't you think ?  Who refuses a present ? What to do ?What to do? I took the phone ! 

I have been busy every since going crazy trying to learn how to use it . LOL ! I ended up accidentally calling KT at around 6a.m. this morning when I pressed " this button" to see what it would do .Then I didn't know how to end the call , so I just closed to phone entirely , lol .I was horrified I might have awakened her or her husband , whom I am sure would not be all that understanding at 6a.m. to have been woken up by a "dumb blonde" phone call!

Thank you Khadijateri so much for the phone .Once again you have enriched my life by giving me another wonderful present .Call me the next time you and the girls want to go car shopping . I can't wait ! OTE

What A Party !

 WOW !

That was some party huh ??? LOL ! I can't believe it is already the 10th of Jan. The last thing I remember is getting ready for New Years Eve . 

No , ok , for real ...... I was sick ... AGAIN ! I thought that was all behind me last year but food poisoning had another thought or two instead . Well , I survived and am back .

After living through that HELL , I was so excited to get back to the computer to see what I have missed  while lying in bed this past week .BUT ... I couldn't get the thing to open . The reboot menu continued to open every single time I tried to open the computer . Now for many of you this wouldn't be a problem , correct ? But for some one like me that is totally ignorant of computer speak , this was a crisis of major proportions .I was so intimidated by it all.

I was so determined to get on the computer that I took matters into my own hands and tried to fix it myself .Completely terrorized, shaking( really),I read down the menu of possible existing disasters awaiting me if I stupidly clicked on the wrong thing . You never know , like .. click here to lose all your pictures ... FOREVER! Or maybe ... click here to erase all existing files.Or .... you are such an idiot that you deserve to have your entire hard drive wiped clean, hahahahaha ( my computer might decide to channeling Evil Hal from 2001 Space Odyssey )! I am a genuine scaredy cat and things like this make me decidedly nervous ! I clicked . 

A miracle happened . The computer opened . I felt like I had been on the roller coaster ride of my life . My heart was pounding. I was breathless the way you are when the roller coaster ride is over and pulling back to the starting place . My knees were clacking together,but ,by golly I did it! The thing was working !

That was all well and good UNTIL... I tried to open the Internet. It wouldn't open .Ok , I remained calm .... sorta .I didn't know why it wouldn't open and couldn't figure that out either .I gave up and called MS. FIX IT , Khadijateri . I threw myself upon her tender mercies and begged. She came today and told me I needed a new battery . Now go figure a computer would need a battery ! God Help Me !

On top of that , I couldn't believe that we have had temperatures of the mid 70's to 80's F. the last few weeks . It is snowing ALL OVER  North America and Europe. It is after all, winter in the northern hemisphere and it is expected to be at LEAST COOL , if not freezing ! 

No rain, no snow( Just wishful dreaming on my part I know ) just miserable , relentless warm sunshine day after day . Do you believe it was actually colder in Havana, Cuba than here in Tripoli the other day? Havana , not Savannah! Miami was colder than here! Cairo was colder than here . Now what is that about ?Until last night , he he he ! We had a cold ( ok , we are talking Tripoli , Libya here , not Europe ) snap . It is windy and cold tonight and I am loving it . Pretending it might snow , well what the hell , right ? LOL ! SO FAR..... no snow .I have my fingers crossed though . I will keep you posted on that snow ,lol! Gotta go and find my snow suit . Ciao !

A Mini Trip To The USA

I had a ball yesterday !!!! Khadijateri came and got me and we went to the new Ace Hardware store. OMG! I know this sounds odd for a woman to be this EXCITED over a hardware store but it wasn't JUST a HARDWARE STORE . It was a mini trip to America, for me .

I saw things that I had forgotten all about completely. Saw new things that weren't around 20 years ago when we moved back to Libya .We saw NEW and IMPROVED things ,like purple masking tape . Who would have thunk it ??? And CLEAR duct tape??? A plastic / rubber mallet that has sand in the head ? AND over 8 different lawn mowers ! OMG , in Libya! A leaf/ grass blower that has a attached bag that will also suck up the debris , WOW ! Paint brushes you would never find here in Libya until now? A ladder that is almost 3 stories high !Be still my beating heart ! Can use that to finally get to those cob webs way up high in the corners of the ceiling huh ? ! We went down one isle that had cleaning products  that I hadn't seen before . I also saw come products that I hadn't seen since I was a small child . I thought thay had stop manyfacturing them , lol.

We oood and awed over  every single thing , well I did , lol . Khadijateri had a twinkle in her eye too that was full of plans for the future .While we were there we noticed that we were being followed not just by store staff but also by other customers . We realized it was because we KNEW what almost everything was and it's uses, so they were listening to LEARN  their functions .We also ran into one of Khadijsteri's former studernts . It was so lovely to see  how much he held her in hi esteme . It gave him instant status , because he knew her.

All in all , we were in the store for over 2 hours examining everything . I had a ball ! I went home and told Moe we were going on a field trip soon to the store and dream of projects that neither one of us will ever do , but have so much fun all the same . He was all ready to go that instant ! LOL ! The man has a tool fedish and there are tools to drool over ! Tool chests , tool belts that are crying out for a new home with Moe . Oh , he will LOVE this store .

Ok , I know there will be those of you that will be thinking , there are hardware stores already in Libya why not go to them . Well , yes there are . Some very nice ones as a matter of fact .But what makes this one different for me is that I am able to find what I need or want with out all the confusion that I experence in the other stores . It was so fun to see familar things that are not found here in Libya .

So a very big thank you to Khadijateri for a fantastic trip home to America , with out all the hassle of the plane ticket , the airport , and the long , long flight ! The only thing missing on this trip was my family ! And Moe will not need to fill out tons of red tape/ paper for a visia to go on a mini trip to America either . What a fun time we had !Wish you could have been there with us .

I Am So Happy !

How ya doing these days? I am doing absolutely fantabulous! The other day as I was sitting with Moe killing time until I had to go in the kitchen to cook dinner ,it dawned on me ," hey I am happy. For no reason ,just pure Dee happy ."

I started to examine why I was so happy. I realized it was because for the rest of the world was marching to my drummer and my rhythm for a change. I love to stay awake all night and sleep all day. That is the way I was made. I live like this most of the time but I feel guilty and many, including Moe ,try make me feel guilty. They say I am wasting away the day. That makes me wake up early and grouchy. 

But Ramadan, here in Libya, well.... it's a whole new ballgame babycakes! It becomes my kind of world! Those of us that can , sleep during the day, and yes I know that's not the way you are supposed to fast; but it works for me. Then I get up to do a little house work, wake up some more( no coffee remember?), start cooking dinner. By the time we have eaten, I am good to go for the rest of the night.

Take the other night for example, we had dinner, watched our favorite Ramadan show on TV, THEN went out to do the errands. It was GREAT! No one was nasty tempered. Everyone was smiling. All the shops were open. We picked up our laundry at 1:30 a.m. Now that's the way to live as far as I am concerned.

Tonight I was a dinner guest of Om Taziri and her daughter, Taziri . Moe went to his brother's for dinner. That worked out great for him since all his family went there too after dinner to visit. They had a lovely family evening together. Meanwhile,at OmTaziri's house, we had a fantabulous dinner ... THAT I DIDN'T HAVE TO COOK .

We watched a little TV, then got ready to visit Khadijateri in her new home. It is just to DIE FOR!!! Hope she post some pictures of it soon on her blog for you to see how nice it is now that she and Mustafa have finished it! MASHALLAH!!!!!!! 

While at her home I met fellow blogger Heba. What a wonderful surprise that was for me! And guy's ... she is really cute and she is single too ! Oh, and did I mention smart? Anyway, we had a ball tonight.It would have never happened if not for Ramadan. 

Also, more importantly, the true reason for my happiness and peace of mind these days, other than the world being on my time; I read the Quran everyday or watch it on TV when I don't read it, or I do both. I just stopped worrying about everything . I am putting my faith in Allah to do what He thinks is best for Moe, our family, our friends ,and me. This is what Islam is about,blind trust in Allah,submitting to His will .It works. I am at peace .I wish you peace in your life and wellness .Blessings , OTE

Capital "P" & More !

In my previous post , Spot a Lair Quiz , I did pretty well . I owe it all to raising kids , I think , lol ! I helped raise my sisters nine children . I did tons of babysitting when I was a teenager too . Then I married and had my own children . I could almost always tell when they were lying as little children because they would get this funny expression around their eyes and mouth , like Bill Cosby does when he is trying to pull a fast one on one of his TV sitcom shows . I can't describe it, but you know he is lying when you see that LOOK ! And so where my kids , lol ! To this day I can still see that look on their faces and I just have to laugh at them because I KNOW what's up ! LOL !

Today I went to " Beauty Street " as Khadijateri calls it . It is the whole sale district for beauty products all on one street !!! Every womans dream come true , AND all at a discount !!!!! I mean what more could a woman want ? I went for hair color . I am thinking of having Shelia throw some red high lights in the next time I go see her . So I needed some of that , then I saw this wonderful lipstick I couldn't pass up . Somewhere along the line of shops I bought a Chinese fan to use during weddings when they get hot and stuffy . I saw some rather exotic electric blue glittery eye line that I barely passed up . And my friend that went with me bought some promised soothing spa like bubble bath that is supposed to transport you to some place other than where you where at the time of the bath ! I am waiting to see how that went for her . Maybe she went to some place MORE exotic than Libya ?

All my friends are going to see Sheila , or have already been to see her. They are all looking MARVELOUS DARLINK ! I am trying to work out a schedule around Ramadan . If I go too early then I have to go twice and if I leave it too late then I end up looking ... well ... AWFUL !!!! Oh help , I am a damsel in distress !!! What to do ? LOL !

They are paving the street out in front of the Condo now . They have raised the road bed , put a rock foundation down , packed that real good , and now are laying the asphalt . Looks like this winter back strokes are out . I think we can sell the ARK too . Had Moe building one on the balcony this past year JUST in CASE we have the usual flooded street when the rains come in the winter . In the past you needed a boat just to get in and out because the road flooded so badly . Now , we have a real paved road ! Oh , HALLELUJAH and Happy Days ! This winter I will confidently drive over to my friend and neighbor knowing that somewhere under all that water is a paved road, not mud , waiting to suck me down to the depths of the underworld ! More PROGRESS WITH A CAPITAL "P" !!!!

A Quiz For You

Here is a quiz that Khadijateri sent to me . I think you'll be surprised at who you will find compatible , politically speaking . I sure did , and how ! I need to go rethink a few things , lol ! Here is a different one I found in The Houston Post . It is a little more involved , but equally reveling .

"You might find this interesting - answer 10 questions at http://www.votechoo ser.com and find out which presidential candidate is most similar to you!"