Calorie Counting Counts!!

I just got off my treadmill and I feel SICK! I walked for 30 minutes and rode my stationary bike for about 10 minutes. This is the first time I have exercised in about 3 weeks even though I previously blogged I was going to exercise every day! What can I say, life always intervenes. But today I decided to buckle down and really exercise...so from 5pm until 6pm I WILL be exercising...everyday....no matter what!

Now, I did not say I would be dieting because I cannot starve myself, but I think counting calories go a long way in anyone's fitness regimen. Take lunch for example, we ordered Burger King...so let's see what my total calorie count for today's lunch was:

Whopper: 670 calories

Lg fries: 450 calories

Lg. Coca-Cola: 255 calories

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Total: 1375 calories

Yikes! That is a LOT for one meal!! I am only supposed to eat 1700 calories per day according to a fitness website based on my height/weight if I want to lose weight!

No one counts calories in Kuwait, but they should. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women and diabetes is so rampant here.

I remember seeing Dr. Oz on Oprah once and he said that you can still eat fast food but everything has to do with portion. He said that the size of a kid's happy meal is the exact size that an adult should be eating. Not the gargantuan burgers that they have on the adult menu.

So from now on I will be ordering from the kids menu whether it is McDonald's or where ever and limiting fast food to only Thursday or Friday.

Thursday Three

Answer these questions:

1. What is your favorite place to eat (Kuwait or anywhere) ?
2. Have you ever left a RUDE voicemail to someone?
3. Who's your favorite cartoon character?




Me:
1. Marina Thai - Sharq Market
2. NO!
3. Winnie the Pooh

Answer in COMMENTS area!

My Alma Mater - Waynesburg College

I am in a sentimental mood today. I had a dream about my college last night. Actually, it is a recurring dream where I go to check the mail and I cannot remember the combination. So, I start freaking out because I know there has to be a lot of mail in the box since I graduated in 1995. And the dream always ends with me searching for a way to open the box. Hmmmmmmm....I should have this dream interpreted...maybe I will find out something about myself I never KNEW! Lol!

Anyway, my Alma Mater is Waynesburg College in Wayensburg, PA. The 4-years I spent there were the BEST in my life. It was the first time I was completely on my own. And it is the place where I first began thinking about religion, etc. I use to visit a different church almost every Sunday. I was born Catholic but I did not agree with many of the concepts. After exploring several denominations (Lutheran, Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentacostal (sp?) ) I discovered that it was not Catholicism I was disillusioned with but rather Christianity as a whole. And so began my journey to Islam.
I remember when I started having questions about Islam I asked a local priest a few things. Not only did he not answer my question but he looked like he was ready to slap me! Ugh!
I think everyone has the right to worship as they see fit. My whole family is Christian and I have never nor would I ever judge their beliefs. But I routinely am told ,by various family members, that my children and I are doomed to hello, etc for being Muslim. It makes me angry but of course the images of extermists on TV has gone a long way in forming their opinions.
Yikes..........I was just blogging about my college...hmmmm...got a little off course...

Anyway, to see more of my college:

www.waynesburg.edu

I am starving!!

I am starving!! I already raided my kitchen and the cupboards are BARE! I only found some Al-Marai milk that expires TODAY and a couple of shortbread cookies..Ugh! I would give my right-arm if there was a Denny's in this country! Denny's is my all-time favorite place to eat in the USA and they serve breaskfast ALL day!! We visited the USA in 2002 and I ate Denny's every chance I got! Ahhhhh...the good ol' days!

Breakfast in Kuwait SUCKS! I remember the very first breakfast I ate on my very first morning here in Kuwait back in 1996. My husband woke up and said he was going to run out a nd buy breakfast for me. I was starving and could not wait. I had visions of buttery pancakes and omlettes w/ hash browns in my head! Not so, he came home with BEANS! Oh my gosh...who in the heck eats beans for breakfast?? Where was the dripping butter and sugary syrup? He brought beans and oily bread (chapati).

Anyway, I have grown accustom to beans & bread for breakfast BUT I much prefer Denny's and pray someone opens one here SOON!!

Oh and I have tried breakfast at McDonald's and it is good...but who can get up and out the door before 11am?????????Not me, unless I have a doctor's appointment!!

Brain Drain & Offer !!

I am in the full throes of 'brain drain' without a single thought floating around in my brain. I finished all 3 articles which total 6,000 words in 5 days!! I swear I am seeing the '%' symbol each time I close my eyes!! So, I may or may not post today depending on if I come out of this funk.

BUT.......I decided to offer that cute little signature (for e-mail or blogs) at the top. I make signatures or siggies in my free time! So, only the first 5 people who leave a comment get that tag!!

All you have to do is type in the name you want on the tag in the comment area. Once all the siggies are made I will upload a link to another website so that everyone can 'pick-up' by of course right-clicking on the image and saving to your hard drive.

Stay tuned for more siggy offers in the future!!

My Fave: Before & After pictures

Don't you just love before & after pictures?? Whether it is from an obese person becoming skinny or an unattractive person getting a plastic surgery makeover...I love the before & after shots.

The one on top is from my favorite show "The Biggest Loser". I have ony seen the first 2 seasons on MBC 4, so I am guessing the pic is from the winner of Season 3. I hope they air it soon. The BL show is a great incentive for me to exercise. I won't be happy until I lose at least 15kgs.!

Smoke Detectors...

The local paper reported the death of 3 children the other day due to a fire in their home. The suspected cause was that an A/C left on overnight caught on fire. Who doesn't leave their A/C on all night in this boiling weather? The cause of death was not due to the flames but rather due to smoke inhalation. So, I can assume the whole family was asleep and inhaled the toxic plumes.

In the US, all rental properties are legally required to have smoke detectors. Not so in 'slum lord' Kuwait.

Regardless, everyone reading this blog should go out and buy a smoke detector today! I doubt they are expensive. But my problem is that I have no idea where to buy one. I am guessing that ACE Hardware (Ace in the place for the handy hardware man!! -couldn't resist adding the jingle!) in Shuwaikh might have one. I am literally glued to my computer until I finsh my articles for the publishing co. in Bahrain. So, I hope to get a smoke detector this Friday.

Last Summer, a horrific thing happened in my building. My son and I were watching a funny kids movie and were laughing so loud that I barely heard someone banging on my door. My daughter was actually in the bathtub and was stark naked (which is ok given she was only 5 at the time!). Anyway, I opened the door to find 2 teenage girls (my neighbors from the 4th floor) screaming at me to get out of the building because an apartment on the 5th floor was on fire. Their A/C had caught on fire. Gosh, I still recall the panic like it happened yesterday. I somehow managed to grab clothes for my daughter and scream for my son to grab my baby (who was only 1 year old at the time). The minute he grabbed her the electric went out. I could not see to find my shoes. I begged the neighbor's son to help me...I remember just saying....please help me. He grabbed my key from my hand, locked the door and we all raced down the pitch black stairwell. The whole street was covered with fire trucks and onlookers. There was also a lot of debris on the ground and there I was with no shoes on. Thankfully the fire department got everything under control fast and we were able to re-enter the building about 30 minutes later.

Recalling this incident and feeling the anxiety in my heart as I type these words, I will defintely be buying a smoke detector, fire extinguisher, and a couple of flashlights this summer. Even if I never use them I would rather be safe than sorry.

Something to worry about..

Over the past month I have been reading so much in the daily papers about Kuwait's preparedness in case a war develops between the US and Iran with this tiny country smack dab in the middle of it all. Let's see...I read that Kuwait is installing sensors all around its' borders to detect nuclear radiation. And then I read that the government was ensuring that the food supply and water supply was adequate in case of a war. And most recently I read that the government has ordered 60 million iodine tablets that will be delivered within two weeks. Apparently, iodine immunizes a person from nuclear radiation. I have NEVER heard that but I pray it is true because I think nuclear radiation entering Kuwait is my greatest fear.

So, I guess it is not 'if' the US will attack Iran but 'when'.

From my perspective, Bush wants to annihilate as many Muslims as he can before he leaves office. Both India and Israel have nukes but the US never demands that they disarm. And no I do not support nuclear weapons at all. But it just seems that once again Muslims are portrayed as being trigger-happy and uncontrollable. But THAT is a whole other debate.

I really am in no mood to have to prepare for a war. We did that when the US invaded Iraq in 2003. We stayed in Kuwait. We sealed our windows in plastic and stocked up on food/water. I will never forget the day of the deadline for Saddam to step down or face an attack. I sent my husband to get candles and batteries in the early afternoon. He went to the Jemia and people were fighting over the candles. I remember looking out my window and seeing people running into their homes with bags of groceries and armloads of bread. Good grief! May Allah save Kuwait!

U scream, I scream- we all scream for ice SPOONS?

Ok, I admit it, I collect ice cube trays! Silly hobby I know but I have just about every single strangely shaped ice cube tray I can find. Most of them come from IKEA...I have heart, star, puzzle piece, seashell, etc shaped ice cube trays. I thought I had them all until I saw this nifty one online that freezes water into the shape a life-sized spoon! Super!

http://www.prankplace.com/fp_icespoon.htm

Now I can see how these could be useful...

I saw these online...Funslides Carpet Skates..apparently you just strap them over your shoes and you can skate around on CARPET! At $15.99 a pair I could defnitely use these to chase after my kids!

http://www.x-tremegeek.com/templates/searchdetail.asp?productID=14371&siteID=zgmC70XXLTQ-2ze0z923pFGNLxWAZz1DSQ

When Graphic Artists Get Bored...

They come up with something like this:

http://www.glumbert.com/media/graphicartists

Back to the drawing board!!

Perseverance totally pays off!! I got the writing job back yesterday!! I contacted the Editor after he had already told me sorry but the job was given to someone else. So, I basically just asked him to take a look at the one article that I had completed and then asked to co-share the job with the other writer. The editor finally replied, loved the 1st article and gave the remaining 2 massive articles back to me to complete IMMEDIATELY! The other writer had completed the 2 smaller articles and was relieved of their duties which I really feel bad about but the job was mine in the first place and the only reason I lost it was due to a technical glitch!
So, anyway I completed a basic overview of banking in Bahrain in my first article and am now working on an article about Islamic banks in the kingdom.

The Last Legion

We stayed up until 2:30am last night watching The Last Legion. It was a pretty good movie but I totally hated Aiswariya Rai's performance. Ugh! I could not understand anything she said and she was really overacting. I think she needs to stick to Bollywood movies which she totally rules in!

Anger Management Please............

I will be so thankful when this month ends...seriously, May has completely been a screwed up month for me. The lastest thing to happen actually occured this morning. I was hired to write 5 articles about Bahrain for a publishing house based there. The deadline was set for only 5 days and the word count for all the articles was set at 6,000. But anyway, it was an opportunity that I could not pass up. The Editor was online at the same time I was and asked me to confirm a commitment to the project. I did immediately. So, yesterday and today I have gotten up at 6 am to research a country I know absolutely nothing about. I finally completed the first article and went to my e-mail account to send it in. And there was an e-mail from the Editor saying that they did not receive my previous e-mail saying that I had accepted the job and gave it to another writer! Grrrrrrrrrrrr............I am really peeved!! Anyway, I do not know what happened to that e-mail but I just wasted a whole lot of time on an article that came out amazing! If I cannot get it published I will upload it here in the next week or so.

'Cocktails in Kuwait'

I can't believe it! I had yet another article rejected! My articles are rarely rejected! I am totally batting zero this month. I think perhaps the content may have given the MOI a coronary?? I did provide a tasty recipe for an aftershave cocktail in my article..........Ooooooooooops! Any-hoo read and see for yourself. I am developing an inferiority complex!!!

---------------------------------------------

‘Cocktails’ in Kuwait


When I was a college student I really got a first hand education on the lengths people will go to not only to consume alcohol but to hide it from others as well. The college I attended boasted in its brochure that it was a ‘dry’ campus, which meant that there was a zero tolerance policy for alcohol on the campus and for drunken students returning back to the dorm. And they really enforced this policy. I knew a couple of infamous drunks on campus that seemed to ‘magically’ disappear. I later found out that they were quietly asked to leave the college or face a permanent mark on their record. They opted for leaving. As for those left behind, they found ways to beat the ‘dry’ campus policy by hiding their alcohol. I remember a student who use to go home every weekend to buy a couple bottles of alcohol and then she would smuggle it into the dorm under piles of her clean laundry. Then to evade detection she hid it in the ceiling, which was comprised of Styrofoam panels. Another student was a little more blatant. She would mix up a jug of her favorite powdered-drink mix and then pour a bottle of her favorite alcohol in it. She would keep it right in her mini-fridge and once even drank it in front of the Resident Director!

I never really thought about how people who want to drink alcohol in Kuwait do it. I just assumed that they didn’t given that alcohol is not readily available except of course on the ‘black market’. However, two incidents that I have heard about recently have shown me that some people in Kuwait are finding a way to have their alcohol and drink it too!

An online friend in Kuwait relayed the first incident to me. She always goes to a certain garden in Kuwait every weekend. And each time she goes she sees a couple of elderly men sitting at a card table playing cards. They have little mugs of Arabic tea and each time she goes she notices that they have an artificial floral centerpiece in the middle of the table. This is strange because why would anyone use a centerpiece to play cards in the garden? She just assumed maybe one of the wives had done it to make it look nice and did not think much of it again until this past weekend. While walking past the gentleman she saw one of them insert his hand into the middle of the bouquet and pull out a flask. He then topped off his Arabic tea and his friend’s too!

The next incident was also witnessed by another acquaintance of mine. And it is very disturbing. This time the setting was a local ‘bakala’. My friend had gone to pick up a few things she was missing at home in order to prepare lunch for her family. As she was bent down inspecting some vegetables a man came in and hurriedly went to the cooler. The only reason she noticed him was because his gait was a little off and he was really rushing about. He grabbed two small boxes of orange juice, 2 big glass bottles of lemonade, and then 2 bottles of aftershave. This guy was clearly out of it and immediately set to work in front of both my friend and the astonished ‘bakala’ clerk. He adeptly opened up both lemonades and dumped the contents into a nearby wastebasket. He then proceeded to mix and measure the aftershave and the orange juice equally into both bottles. The guy then grabbed both bottle of his special brew and stumbled out of the store. This case is the most alarming. A quick search on the Internet revealed the dangerous chemicals used to make after-shave and their fatal effects on the human body (when ingested). The most harmful chemicals include:

Ethyl Acetone – a narcotic that damages the liver and kidneys.
Benzyl Acetate – a carcinogen linked to Pancreatic cancer.
Limonene – a carcinogen that acts as an irritant.
Linalool – a narcotic that causes respiratory disturbances, which can lead to death.
A-Terpineol – an irritant that, when aspired into the lungs, can cause pneumonia and even death.

Depending on how often this guy whips up this deadly concoction you can rest assured he is living on borrowed time and for what?

So, what’s the solution? Should alcohol be legalized in Kuwait? I say a resounding “N0”! The main reason being, for me personally as a Muslim, is that first and foremost Islam forbids the consumption of alcohol and Kuwait is a Muslim country. Whether you are Muslim or not, I think everyone should try to abide by the set of laws for the country you reside in. Second, as the daughter of an alcoholic I have seen first hand the effects of alcoholism. My father, whom I barely knew due to the fact my parents divorced when I was an infant, drank himself to death. He died at the age of 57 due to cirrhosis of the liver. The main cause of cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver, is prolonged consumption of alcohol over the course of several years.

The Kuwaiti government needs to implement an educational program to educate the public about the effects of alcohol on the human body rather than pretend the consumption of alcohol does not exist in Kuwait. People are drinking in this country and, regardless of whether it is whiskey that was bought on the ‘black market’ or aftershave purchased locally, the problem will only get worse until the public is well-informed about the negative effects of alcohol.

Friday Night at BR !

Had a little drama this past week, my better half and I weren't talking to each other. We had a silly argument and ignored each other for about a week. It is SO draining and is really taxing on the kids although we don't fight in front of them they can tell if we are not communicating.

Anyway, I decided to let peace reign and made the first move at reconciliation. So, now we are on speaking terms! Too bad I waited until 10pm to reconcile. Friday was shot. But we were starving so we made a mad dash to the Gulf Road KFC, which is the best KFC in Kuwait. The food is fresh and piping hot. The only thing that messed up our meal was this Arab guy in a disdasha. Apparently has was angered over something being wrong with his service so he was SCREAMING at the manager! Ugh! He kept saying, 'Wallaha...blah, blah, blah, Wallaha, blah, blah, blah' Can you tell I don't know Arabic?? Anyway, that 'scene' lasted for about 15 minutes. By then we had finished eating and raced to Baskin Robbins before they closed. Now this BR is also my favorite in all of Kuwait. They have the BEST choices. Last night I got a big scoop of a new caramel crunch flavor and another scoop of Love Potion #31 which is white chocolate ice cream with a rasberry ribbon, chocolate chips, and mini heart chocolates filled with rasberry cream. Yum!! I now need to walk on the treadmill for like an hour to burn all the calories I consumed last night!! Good grief!

Now THAT is a Strong Bottle!

This is a silly but informative post! My 2 year old daughter goes through bottles like they are water. She gets angry for whatever reason and will throw her bottle against the closest thing that is near. And the result is floors and walls covered with either milk or sticky juice.

A few weeks ago I bought a stock of bottles from Centrepoint for like 1 KD each. So, last night she was drinking milk out of one of the new bottles. We were all sitting on the blacony eating ice cream and talking about the day, etc. So, she got angry for whatever reason and threw it down from our 2nd floor balcony!! The bottle smacked the top of an A/C on the way down and hit the ground hard. I could not detect any leaking milk so I sent my son down to retrieve it. It was in perfect condition with only a slight dent on the underside!

Super Slammin' Hair!

I have always had issues with the shampoos available in Kuwait. Just go to any 'Jemia' and you will find an international range of shampoos from GCC countries, England, US, etc. Some I have tried made my hair look dull and disgusting. A couple I have tried actually made clumps of my hair fall out! So, for the past few years I have been sticking to Herbal Essence and it's pretty good! But I ran out of shampoo yesterday and I had no choice but to send my son to buy shampoo from the 'Bakala'. He bought me a big bottle of Silvikrin, which I have tried before, but the scent was a new one...."Cactus Extracts". Anyway, I took a long overdue bath (normally I only have time for a quick shower) and used the new shampoo. And I gotta tell you this is KILLER shampoo! My hair looks awesome today....I think it's the first day in Kuwait that I have NOT had a bad hair day! So, go out and buy some Silvikrin Cactus Extract shampoo TODAY and let me know what you think!!

Online Shopping in Kuwait!

I recently interviewed several online businesses in Kuwait and wrote an article about the availability of online shopping from companies based in Kuwait. I thought it was a great article but apparently the 'Marketing Department' of the publication I write for thought it was too "Ad-based" which means the sites featured in my article do not have ad accounts with the publication so why should they get free advertising?

Ugh!! I feel SO humiliated! I drove these business owners half-crazy I am sure ensuring I got the facts etc.

Anyway, I am publishing my article here. These sites are really amazing, please click through each one and see what they have to offer!

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'Cyber Shopping in Kuwait'

As anyone who has tried to order merchandise from online ‘cyber stores’ knows it can be a harrowing experience. It can be a total waste of time in that you surf for a couple of hours tracking down that gorgeous shirt or that must have DVD only to find out that they don’t ship to Kuwait. Or else you find someone who does ship to Kuwait and when your package arrives it is either not what you expected or damaged. No more. Just because you want to buy something online does not mean that you have to cross into another country’s cyber ‘border’ to get it. There are plenty of digital pioneers right here in Kuwait and they are armed with the most cutting edge and interactive online stores around. Are you ready to take shopping in Kuwait to a higher level? Get out your charge card, or even your Knet card, and get ready to do some delectable damage at some of these cyber stores based in Kuwait:

Click N Buy – It takes a team of 9 people to keep up with the orders at Kuwait’s online IT store ‘Click N Buy’ (www.clicknbuy.com.kw). According to Manager Rajesh Chander Singh, “Having an online business is easier in terms of running, but it requires a lot of work in the backend.” Click N Buy is almost exclusively an IT company. They sell different brands of desktop computers, laptops, printers, scanners, iPods and accessories. They have additional items that are not IT based which include contact lenses, mobile phones and water purifier systems. “We have been open for a year and are still a new company,” offers Singh, “we sell exclusively to people living in Kuwait and average about 10,000 hits a month.” In an attempt to keep customers interested Click N Buy plans to offer several more items in the future such as watches, perfumes and handbags. They also plan to extend their ‘cyber-dom’ to include other GCC States. In addition to the cyber store they are taking on a new venture which is a website that will help users create their own sleek website in 10 minutes flat! So, keep an eye out for www.w3monster.com.
Click N Buy accepts major credit cards as well as Knet. And they boast the lowest prices for IT products and services anywhere in Kuwait. Delivery is free for orders with a minimum balance of 10KD. And you can expect to receive your purchase within 24 hours of ordering! They also accept trade-ins for old laptops and offer IT rentals. And as if it could get any better there is even a discussion forum for customers!

Q8 Flowers- Whether you forgot your wife’s birthday or need a quick fix to smooth over an argument with a friend, turn no further than Q8 Flowers to save the day! Q8 Flowers (www.Q8Flowers.com) is Kuwait’s first and only online flower delivery service. The geniuses behind this ‘budding’ business are Khaled Al-Rshaid Al-Bader and Abdullah Faisal Al-Khuzam. “We started our business and opened our shop back in August 2006, and then we started our online operations in October 2006,” explains Khaled. Both partners have relied heavily on their educational backgrounds in the launching of their united business venture. Khaled is a Business Administration graduate from the University of Toledo (USA) while Abdullah graduated from Kuwait University with a degree in Finance.
Q8 Flowers offers a wide and beautiful array of flower arrangements in addition to balloons and greeting cards. In the 8 months since they have opened their cyber store they have already received 20,000 hits. “We are growing day by day, hour by hour and minute by minute,” says Khaled, “until now we have not even started our advertising campaign.” Despite this, however, word-of-mouth has already put Q8 Flowers on the map! They have already received orders from customers in Kuwait, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Ireland and Canada.
Both Khaled and Abdullah have great plans for Q8 Flowers. “ Our future plans include adding a range of gourmet foods and chocolates,” says Khaled,” and we hope to also help customers send flowers overseas.”
After selecting the bouquet, customers have the option of choosing from a variety of cards or balloons to make the ‘delivery’ all the more special. Q8Flowers accepts major credit cards as well as Knet. There is no charge for delivery. And they offer same day delivery for orders placed before 7pm local time.
With a staff of 8 to maintain the website and fill the orders, you can order a bouquet of Q8 flowers online in less than 4 minutes flat. If you happen to find yourself in pinch any time soon, browse the Q8 Flowers website and order some flowers for your loved one today!

Noutique General Trading Company- If exquisite handcrafted and elaborate caftans or tunics are what you are after look no further than Noutique General Trading Company (www.noutique.com). Operating from Kuwait City, Noutique is an exclusive boutique for women and children. They offer a wide range of unique fashions as well as other items. “Our signature style is the embellished and embroidered caftans, tunics, ponchos, outerwear and staff uniforms,” says owner Mrs. Al-Sabah. In the eight months since she opened shop online, Noutique has averaged 5,000 hits per month.
The majority of customers are from Kuwait and many of them love the clothes so much that they have requested that Mrs. Al-Sabah open a physical store. “Having an online business is easy,” says Mrs. Al-Sabah, “we don’t want to promise them anything but we are considering it.”
A quick registration is required to view the items for sale but you surely will not be displeased with what is on offer. All orders are processed within 24 hours and delivery rates depend on the size of your order.


So when it is too hot to cruise over to ‘The Avenues’ or you look like a greasy mess because of water shortages in your area, plop yourself down in front of your computer and shop online from the comfort of your home. And support local businesses to boot!

Talk about thieves!

I have always wanted to send my kids to the British School of Kuwait's (BSK) Summer Program. I assumed it would last the entire summer and be at least affordable. I just got off the phone with the operator at BSK and was stunned to learn that the program only lasts for 21 days and it costs 130KD per child!! So, it would cost me 260KD for my two oldest to attend for only 21 days!! I might consider paying the fee if the camp lasted the whole summer. This is really ridiculous!

Summer IS officially HERE!!

Today is a GOOD day!! I slept until 9:30am which is late considering that I must wake up at 6 am during the school year! My kids are asleep and I am finally able to blog.

I have loads of plans to keep my kids entertained this summer. Last night my daughter already began to complain that she was bored! Good grief! I quickly made some PlayDough for everyone and they were appeased.

Here's the recipe:

1 cup of flour
1 Tbl. Salt
6 drops of food coloring

Add water and knead until the stickiness goes away. Add more flour if necessary. Cover with plastic and store in refrigerator when not in use.

I am simultaneously blogging and scouring the net for fun summer activities. Got anything to share???

Woohoo exams are over!!

Exams are finally over!! Now only we have to wait to get the results (ie report cards). It really was done to the wire there and that is why I was offline.

I am still in exam-mode. I can't relax or even sleep. And I have a burning migraine headache. Hopefully, I will be back to normal in a couple days and will start posting regularly.

?? Question of the Day ??

Do you believe in aliens?

(me: YES!)

Pepsi can elephant!

Another use for my empty Pepsi cans! I can make a Pepsi can elephant like some creative ,or perhaps crazy ,people in Thailand did!!

It's a Jell-O Morning!!!

I barely slept a wink last night. I was up worrying about the exams my kids are taking right this moment! I really hope they do well. I woke both my son and daughter up about 2 hours before school to prepare.

I tried going back to sleep but could not and since I plan to restart my diet/exercise plan I decided to make some low-fat snacks to get me through the early evening hours when I usually snack on milky tea and cake! Enter Jell-O. Every diet plan I have ever seen endorses Jell-O as a lowfat high protein snack. I could not stomach it for years because the gelatine it contains is made out of boiled animal blood and bones! Don't believe me?? Look up 'gelatine' in the dictionary and you will see what I mean!

Anyway, I have no choice. I am determined to shed the weight I have gained since I came to Kuwait and I am determined to be down to my ideal size by the end of summer.

I whipped up two-layered Jell-O bowls this morning. I made the first layer which is cherry and cooled it for a couple hours. Then I made mango flavor and poured it on top!

And the brand I used is actually Royal not Jell-O because Royal is halal or permissale for Muslims in that it does not contain pork products.

Yum...my whole apartment smells like mangoes!!

Pepsi Can Hair Roller!

Ok.........here's an idea.......I can curl my hair with the empty cans!

All Tanked Up!!

Well, we are in the home stretch now. Exams start tomorrow and this is going to be one long week! It has actually been a very long two weeks already since we started studying. I have drank so much Pepsi that it is not even funny! I think I am developing a 'Pepsi Belly'.

So many people in Kuwait have diabetes and I am a believer that it is because so many people drink Pepsi here. They drink it like it is water. Normally, I only drink it on the weekends. The rest of the time we drink either Tang or Kool-Aid. But the past couple of weeks I have been craving Pepsi. And as a result I have felt a total change in myself. I feel so tired and bloated. No energy at all. And I can actually feel pain in my kidneys. Ugh! So, I am going to go cold turkey with the Pepsi as of today! But I have sooooooooooooo many leftover Pepsi cans! What to do with them??

In my home state of Connecticut they have machines at the grocery store for recycling cans and bottles. Each can is worth a dime. You can make a nice wad of cash recycling cans. Too bad they don't have that service in Kuwait...land of "No recycling ..let the Earth rot!"

Ugh!

Some Scary Fog Last Night!

Well, it was not really fog but rather dust in the air. But that is the worst I had ever seen it get in Kuwait. We went to the Gulf Road Burger King at aroung 10 pm for dinner last night. We got in our car to come home at exactly 12:30am. And as we progressed home the dusty fog just rolled in. It was soooo eerrie! It reminded me of John Carpenter's movie "The Fog" where all these evil spirits and the living dead attack a town for the night!! My brother use to terrify me all the time when we were kids. Anytime it would get foggy he would remind me that there were probably the living dead sitting out on our porch!

So, that is all I could think about last night. It was really scary on the highway. We could not even see the road signs and the street lights turned the fog into this freaky orange!!

The sandstorms are a huge negative about Kuwait. They are smelly and the sand seeps in through every crack and crevice. However, I did read in the local paper where a doctor in Kuwait said that the dusty conditions we are experiencing are a blessing in disguise because the sand and heat will kill any remaining bird flu.

So, the fog/dust remains today. I ended up covering my balcony door with a big bed sheet and stuffed the space under the door with wet rags last night and thankfully that has kept a lot of the sand out.

I am seriously waiting for the men in the little white coats to come and take me away! Ugh! My kids have exams starting on Saturday. My son is a lot more responsible than he use to be. So, he can cram a lot of knowledge in a short space of time. However, my little girl is only 6 and she learns at a slower pace. She is an excellent student but mixes letters up, etc. so I am majorly worried about how she will do.

There is such a major stigma attached to kids who do not do well on their exams here in Kuwait. I have a sister-in-law who calls to barg all the time because her son got the 3rd of 4th position in the class. My son always brings home an A but that is not good enough in Kuwait. Although it is good enough for me.

In the USA, an A student is considered to be exceptional but in Kuwait they are considered to be 'average'. The head teacher actually told me that my son is average even though he is an A student!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, I am off to school in about 10 minutes. I need to talk to my daughter's teacher. She cannot read all the questions so I want to make sure the teacher will help her read any questions that she cannot. Ugh! Like, a teacher should know that right?? But you cannot exactly call the teachers at my kid's schools 'teachers'...they are glorified housewives with minimal English language skills!!!

Juiced up!

I have been unable to post for the past 2 days due to electrical problems in my apartment and with blogger (would not let me add an image until today). Anyway, the 'juice' is back on and I am back to blogging!

The past 2 days have been excruciatingly hard. The switchbox downstairs keeps switching only my apartment's electric off. And 'Haris' is visiting his homeland and the replacement haris is never around. Ugh!

I am not looking forward to summer when we are supposed to have major power cuts.

Oh and hey, how about the rain and thunder yesterday and overnight? Very cool! I love the rain! It is supposed so rain today too...so I a eagerly anticipating it!

Meet Azumi! A PAWS Cat!!

This is one of the cats available for adoption from PAWS in Kuwait. I drool over the photos of the PAWS pets in the newspaper every single day. The last pet I had was a black cat named Chloe and that was about 10 years ago. I gave her to my sister before I came to Kuwait.

So right now I am negotiating with my husband to adopt a cat ASAP! I already called PAWS and they said the cat I am interested is in Wafra. I have never been to Wafra and have no idea where it is. Ugh!

So has anyone ever adopted from PAWS???

Would you do this to your kid??

I found this tissue box kit online. I think it is scary looking. Would you ever embaress your child like this? Ugh.

www.urbanjunkie.co.uk/product.php/485/0/

??PayPal - Kuwait???

All the blogs are abuzz with the news that Kuwait (and Saudi Arabia) are now on the PayPal list. I was so excited I could barely sleep last night. Visions of shopping and finally being able to receive payments (from Editors) were definitely dancing in this girl's head! So, I immediately signed up for an account and started fooling around with the buttons. I clicked on "Withdraw Funds" and it said that this option is not available for Kuwait. Huh?? So, apparently you can only "ADD" funds but you cannot "Withdraw". This sucks! I hate PayPal!

Slapped Over a TISSUE!

Last night I took my daughter to the bathroom and had a really awful encounter. When we entered the stench was overcoming. I went to grab tissues for my daughter to sit on (I am a germ freak) and the rolls were empty. So, I noticed a box of tissues sitting at the far end of the sink. I went to grab a couple and the psycho "bathroom" lady jumped up and started yelling at me in Arabic. Apparently, she OWNED the tissue box! Good Grief! So, I made a motion to give her back the tissues and she smacked my hand! I was beyond angry but tried to keep my cool. After all, I was alone with her in the bathroom and my 6 year old daughter was with me.
Anyway, the lessons I learned are:
A. Don't steal tissues
B. Learn a couple "choice" words in Arabic!

Sick at 'The Avenues"

This was the last Friday we can go out for a couple of weeks. My kids have exams starting next week. So, we finally went to 'The Avenues'. I have to say it is really spectacular. The range of stores and the grandeur of it allows you to shop in peace without feeling crammed up against other shoppers. However, if you are scared of heights like me then The Avenues may not be the right place for you!

I made the mistake of looking up at the high and very reflective ceiling. From that point on I became so dizzy. Plus, trying to chase after my toddler who was trying to touch the "water walls" littered around the place made it so much worse.

I could not get out of there fast enough. Although, I will go again but I will steady my nerves first!

We sought refuge at IKEA which is another awesome place! The food at the retaurant is delicious. We ordered just about everything that they had...spaghettig, meatballs & fries, chinese noodles, chinese beef and rice, and a big slice of apple pie! Yum!

After that we swung by Dunkin Donuts and grabbed a dozen donuts and then took the kids over to the grassy areas beside 'Hard Rock'. The 2 oldest rode around on their scooter bikes whihc we always keep in the back of our SUV. And the little one kept searching out babies her age to follow. It was fun. There was a nice breeze and we all munched on the donuts!

Kuwait's Ebay

Hmmmmmmmmm...this looks interesting! I am very curious to see what people are selling. I might even sell some stuff myself! Check it out!

www.q8auction.biz

Changing the Weekend???

It took me some getting used to when I first came here and discovered the weekend is on Thursday and Friday. But I have fallen in love with these days as the weekend. Thursday is my one day off..no cooking and no cleaning!!
But a recent report in the paper says Kuwait is considering changing the weekend to Friday and Saturday! Say it ain't so! Ugh!

First Term exams........on the way!

Only in Kuwait would they start a new school year before summer vacation! My kids started their new school year in April and now they have first term exams in about 2 weeks. It's a nightmare. My son missed 4 days due to a pulled muscle in his leg. I have been beggin his teachers to give him the missed classwork but for some reason they will not. BUt they will complain when he fails the quizzes. Ugh! How can he take a quiz if he does not have the questions or answers from the classwork????? So. looks like I am off to school on Staurday! Ugh!!

This T-Shirt is for sale in a store in Seattle, WA..USA. No wonder there are so many school and office shootings especially when crimes with guns are glorified. Ugh!

Recycled!

Now that's what I called recycled!! Take a loser look..this is actually an old typewriter that has been modified into a really cool waffle iron! Yum! I want one!

Global SisterGOODS !

You can order this beautiful porcupine quill necklace online for about $40. And all the while support poor women from all over the World. This site has beautiful jewelry, handbags and clothes for kids. And it is all HAND-MADE and super cheap! Check it out:
http://www.globalsistergoods.com

Unshakeable Sadness...

I feel really sad today. First, I read a tragic story in the newpaper this morning about an Iraqi girl who was stoned to death for eloping with a Muslim man and converting to Islam. There is a video of the attack on the web but it's not something I would ever want to see. May the girl achieve Heaven and may God forgive all her sins.

Second, an American friend of mine in the US is also a convert to Islam, Her husband is an Egyptian Muslim. Anyway, a few months ago he was driving home from work. He lost control of his car and slammed into another driver. This car burst into flames and the driver died. So, they put him on trial for vehicular manslaughter and sentenced him to 10 years in prison! Unbelievable! They also put him in a jail 200 miles away from his wife and community. They took this father of two away from his family and put him in a maximum security prision with real murderers and rapists. He is already getting abused by prisioners because he prays the Islamic prayer in his cell. This is just SO sad!

Meanwhile, the US pop star Brandy killed a woman in a car crash last December (2006)that she admits was her fault and she has not even been charged!!

UGH!

Breaking News....Auntie Anne's Coming to Kuwait!

My absolute favorite mall snack is a glazin' raisin soft pretzel from Auntie Anne's! I have not tasted one is several years. I love them so much that I was just checking the Auntie Anne's website to see about franchise information. Turns out someone in Kuwait beat me to the punch. Kuwait holds exclusive franchise rights. So, looks like Aunty Anne's is coming to Kuwait! I BET they will open it at The Avenues Mall which won't be complete until 2010 and has LOADS of room!

Check this out:

For International Opportunities:
The following countries are under exclusive license agreements, and are not available for licensing:
Bahrain
Kuwait
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Egypt
Lebanon
Singapore
United Kingdom
Hong Kong
Malaysia
South Korea
Venezuela
Indonesia
Philippines
Taiwan
Jordan
Qatar
Thailand

KFC---The TransFat KING!

All U.S. KFC's have shifted to soybean oil instead of the artery clogging oil they used previously which was filled with transfat. I wonder if the Kuwait KFC's will follow suit or just let us all clog up while eating that 'finger licken' good' chicken????? Hmmmmmmm...I smell chicken!

Read on:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit brought by a doctor who accused KFC of not telling customers that it used trans fats to fry its chicken.
In an occasionally sarcastic opinion, U.S. District Judge James Robertson said Dr. Arthur Hoyte could not show that he was harmed by KFC's use of the artery-clogging fats.
That was enough to doom the lawsuit, but Robertson also noted other flaws in the case.
"While it might be appropriate for this court to find, as a matter of law, that the consumption of fat -- including trans fat -- is indeed within the reasonable expectations of the consumers of fried chicken and french fries prepared in fast food kitchens, it is not necessary for me to reach that question," Robertson wrote.
And in response to Hoyte's claim that customers have a growing understanding of the dangers of trans fats, Robertson wrote: "If consumers are increasingly aware of trans fat, where do they expect to find it if not in fast food restaurants?"
Nonetheless, customers won't find trans fats in KFC's chicken anymore, according to the restaurant chain.
KFC's parent company, Kentucky-based Yum Brands Inc., announced Monday that all 5,500 of its U.S. restaurants have stopped frying chicken in artery-clogging trans fat.
The company had said in October that it was switching to a new soybean oil believed to be less likely to cause heart disease. The lawsuit was filed last year, before the change.

The insanity has already started! I woke up this morning and there is no water! No water to use the bathroom, wash my face, or make a cup of tea! This country really frustrates me. Kuwait is the richest country in the World but they cannot cope with supplying water to the populous? Ugh!
My lack of water this morning has made me remember a scene I saw last Friday as we were driving through Salwa. We passed a Kuwaiti home with a big patch of dead, again dead, flowers. They were shriveled up and brown. There was no saving them. Yet there was a housemaid standing over them watering them with a hose. The water was just gushing out and being soaked up by the Earth. I really think the water conservation campaign should extend to the housemaids as well. I mean, they could care less about conserving water. Their only concern is getting paid thier meager salary on time. Rightly so! But the wanton waste of water has to stop. We live in the freakin' desert. I would think that people would understand how precious water is to us especially! Ugh!

And more housework for me!

Alright, I admit, it is a slow day when I start blogging about dirty dishes!! But I have to say I am just fed up with cleaning! I have 8 deadlines pending and here I spent at least 2 hours washing the kitchen. The reason being, since I have a dishwasher, is that the light in my kitchen blew up. So, my husband tried to fix it and irrevocably broke it. I ended up lighting about 6 tea candles so that I could wash the dishes! How romantic!

Offline All Day! Zzzzzzzzzzzz..!

I was offline almost all day until now. Too tired to breathe! Ugh! The reason being I stayed up until about 3am watching the movie 'Frequency'. I never had heard of it before but my husband brought it home last night. It is really awesome. Check it out!

The Pic From Oprah...

This is the Oprah show I was talking about in my earlier post. The Omentum Dr. Oz is holding is from an obese cadaver while the one Oprah is holding is from a healthy cadaver. Hey who knew I could spell cadaver properly! lol!

Anyway, let's all commit to get moooooovin' to shrink the omentum which actually is life-threatening when it is enlarged because it clings to internal organs.

Would You Make or Eat this???????????

Nope that's not spaghetti! It's actually ice-cream! I think this is cool!

Check it out: http://www.dessertindisguise.com/

The Expat Women

www.expatwomen.com

A friend of mine just sent me a link to the Expat Women website. I never knew such a site existed! Anyway, they are looking for expat women to write and submit their story. If it is published you could win $100 !!

Here's more:

ExpatWomen.com was created by two friends, Andrea Martins and Jill Lengré. Their dream of connecting Expatriate Women worldwide was a result of their combined 20 years of experience living overseas. ExpatWomen.com's mission is to help you succeed overseas by providing you with a first-stop website to share stories, network globally, develop personally and find the best resources. Our vision is to become the #1 website for Expatriate Women worldwide. But we need your help... please visit often, join in on our communities, sign up to our newsletter, send us your ideas and feedback, help us find useful website links, and please tell as many Expat Women and organisations as possible. Thank you in advance for your tremendous support and our very best wishes for your life overseas!
http://www.expatwomen.com/submit_story1.php