Our day to day life living in Egypt

Greece for a month or so maybe??!!

2011-03-07T19:56:00.006+02:00

We are staying about an hour outside Athens Greece and I am extremely happy to be here. I will be trying to post everyday that we are here I really want to share this adventure.

So the plane ride over really was bad. No other way of putting it. We flew that same flight before and it bad that time as well. Note to self never ever book that flight again.

We arrived in Athens on Sunday and with very little rest on the plane I was exhausted. Grabbed a cab from the airport could barely stay awake for the 1 1/2 to the island we are staying on. The rooms weren't ready but the resort is beautiful. Once the rooms are ready I go straight to sleep, slept so hard I thought it was the next day when I woke up, but it was still Sunday. That night the resort was having a car~ni~val party so we attended it. I thought it was a cross between Mardi Gras and Halloween. Children were dressed in costumes and so were a few adults. It was really a neat experience glad we went.

Now everyone know I am not a cold weather gal, and I knew before we got here that it is still winter time in Europe. So I was a little prepared. It snowed for 2 days which was fine because jet lag all I did was sleep.

Thursday is the first day I feel good, which if you know me then you know that is really good probably a record for me getting over jet lag. Whoo Hoo!!!

I woke up about 4:00am and after James went to work, went to the gym for 2 hours man that was great. I feel good today. Hope it last. lol

Our suite is nice, and I am going to love not cooking for the whole time we are here. The food is great too. We went to the small town close to the resort and bought fresh fruit. The resort cleared out the mini bar so that we could use it for our food. We have a sea view and mountain view room it is beautiful.

Gotta love Europe like Egypt you can go into a pharmacy and by prescriptions over the counter. I was running low on one and they have the brand name here. yay!!

Our plan is to spend every weekend we are here sit seeing. I cant wait to post our adventure hope you enjoy!!

Goodbye 2010 Hello 2011

2011-01-22T15:32:00.003+02:00

Well here I am almost the end of January 2011 and just catching up my blog. Once again I hope to keep up better this year, we will see how that goes.

I have to say 2010 was a wonderful year! We traveled a lot and I enjoyed every minute of it. I am not sure 2011 will be as exciting travel wise but I am sure we will be going to some great places.

We ended 2010 in Aruba! What a wonderful week that was. I love anywhere the temperature is 80 degrees or above and it was there. Sun, sand and water is all I need in life. What made this trip so special is that we went as a family, the 4 of us. I keep saying that there will come a time that our sons won't be able to travel everywhere we go, so each time we do and they can I thank GOD. We started 2011 in Texas with friends and family and I have to say that was wonderful. What a great way to start the new year.

We are into our 3rd year in Cairo and while the "new" has worn off and we are settled in, it is still really cool to say I live in Egypt. Some people we know have been here for years and I am saying I won't be one of them for sure but I am enjoying this opportunity.

I have to adjust to this life and there are parts that are more difficult than others, but I would say that I continue to find the positive about all that is Egypt.

Like I said earlier I hope to be more consistent with blogging, but make no promises. I don't think I will see my sons as often as I did in 2010, but instead of being depressed about that I just look forward to when I will.

Race for the Cure-Egypt

2010-10-24T09:08:00.002+02:00

Me and some friends participated in Egypt's Race for the Cure on Saturday October 23, 2010. The race took place at the Giza pyramids. I have participated in the Race at home (Texas) and I can say that this was defiantly a different experience. Not saying bad just very different from the way we do it in the states. I did learn this is only the second Race in Egypt's history so there are lots of room for improvement as Egyptians become more involved with breast cancer research and cure. I was surprised at the people I talked to who I thought would be involved that for whatever reasons were not. I thought that the pyramids would be a perfect place for the Race but after participating not so much. They still allowed cars, buses and camels to use the road walker/runner used. Imagine participating in your town and them not closes the roads. The only other choice was to walk in the sand, if you have been to the pyramids you know how uneven rocky that can be!
Over all was a really good day, talked with some ladies from Alexandria while walking up to the start line. They had participated last year.
If we are in Egypt next year I hope to participate again. I have to say that it was nice to see so many young people involved! Way to go Egypt!

Home visit September

2010-10-13T10:01:00.003+02:00

So here a few pictures from this quick trip home:

My baby is 21! James and I thought this was an important milestone that we just could not miss. His birthday gift? A new truck (pictures to follow as soon as he finds one he wants)
While home we split our time between Waco and Denton. A few trips and visit to friends and family in between.
So here a few pictures from this quick trip home:

Shannon's Visit

2010-08-29T08:05:00.011+02:00

The Beach

2010-08-14T08:31:00.003+02:00

Just some pictures from our balcony

2010-07-31T08:39:00.008+03:00

Funny story!

2010-07-30T22:14:00.002+03:00

Today after taking our dog (Jac Pott) for his morning stroll around Ma'adi we were just in front of our building and guess who we met?? A wild dog I have not seen for a year or so. We used to see her everyday while out walking but then she just disappeared. I have wondered what happened to her and her "brother" a male puppy about her same age. Today out of the corner of my eye I see the locals trying to run off a wild dog, but I keep walking. Then right before we walk into our building she (the wild dog) comes bouncing up like we are long lost friends! Of course this scatters the locals who do well to tolerate our dog, let a lone an Egyptian wild dog. Jac Pot is of course as glad to see her as I am! She bounces around jumping from my dog to me with everyone standing looking at us! I have missed her she looked great, can't wait til we see her again! I can't believe she remember us and where we lived! I wish I had my camera ready! Sorry maybe next time!

Red Sea our Hurghada weekend getaway

2010-07-24T11:47:00.005+03:00

This past week James and I went to Hurghada Egypt. We stayed at the Marriott Beach Resort.
The video is of the Red Sea 270 k outside Cairo.

What we did on our summer 2010 vacation

2010-07-07T13:32:00.019+03:00

So I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of Romania, there are so many pictures I picked just a few to share.

Next stop America! I hope you will check back to see pictures and story of our home leave. My youngest son and I left Egypt 2 days after arriving there from Romania headed to America and our home state of Texas.

I love that in most every town we went through there was a horse drawn wagon going through town!

The country side and Painted churches are a must see if you have the chance to travel Romania. Be sure and have your camera handy!

Some of the things I observed while traveling Romania is how social the people are. Walking down the street or standing at a gate or fence. In groups playing games each place we visited were either German settlers, Hungarian settlers or Romanian settlers. Gypsies tended to live outside of town in their own colonies or family groups.

In May we started our vacation by going to Romania, I have added a few pictures. Our youngest son picked this country because of the Dracula's Castle, which was great (not at all like you'd expect) but I was surprised how much fun the whole trip was. We had a personal guid Daniel drive us for 8 days and it was amazing. I would recommend Daniel to anyone who is wanting a personal tour guide or who is going with a group. While it was just the 4 of us Daniel is more than capable of guiding a group of people. The trip was perfect! We had great weather, stayed in a different town every night, the food was delicious and the places we visited beautiful. I can't wait to put my photo album together from this trip. If anyone wants an email to get in touch with Daniel just message me and I will get the information to you.
My most favorite parts of the trip while it all was good, the Merry Cemetery was better than I expected and then staying with a local family at their home, cooking us a traditional dinner and breakfast, and the children dancing traditional dances was really good! What a great family for opening their home to us!

3 years in Cairo

2010-07-01T19:58:00.003+03:00

Just a sample: The Noles family at the Hard Rock Cafe in Biloxi Mississippi

I have been really lazy about posting to my blog. So as I begin this 3rd year in Cairo I will try to post at least once a month. I would love to do more if time permits but my goal is 1 post a month.

I am not sure how much longer we will be here so I want to really enjoy the time that's left.

In a few days I will post a blog called "What I did on my summer vacation" and while I hope that I have a few more trips before summers over, I have had 2 amazing trips already and want to share some pictures and some words about both trips and the mini trips we took on our home leave

Egyptian Cleric Bans Facebook

2010-02-05T09:03:00.001+02:00

gyptian Cleric Bans Facebook

Written by Rachelle Kliger
Published Thursday, February 04, 2010

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Cleric says the social networking site is causing a rise in divorce and moral corruption

An Egyptian cleric has issued a religious decree banning the use of Facebook, on the grounds that it encourages adultery.

Sheikh Abd Al-Hamid Al-Atrash, former head of the fatwa council at the influential Al-Azhar Institution, based his ruling on a sociological study linking the use of Facebook and other forms of new media with moral corruption.

He called the site a destructive tool that helps form “forbidden relations.”

“When one side in a relationship is working hard, if the other side has lots of free time and hasn’t got much of a conscience, they form illegitimate relationships,” the cleric said.

Heba Morayef, a researcher with Human Rights Watch said Facebook is used extensively in Egypt, both for social networking and for political purposes.

“It’s a relatively conservative society,” Morayef told The Media Line. “For a lot of people, meeting people online is a way to date. What’s interesting about it is that it’s heavily used by activists to organize demonstrations and share information.”

Your average young Egyptian who wants to learn about politics will go onto Facebook,” she added. “I think the security services still view this activism as something that is dangerous.”

Nevertheless, Morayef does not believe that this fatwa was sanctioned by the government as a way to silence opposition activists.

“For the most part, the government will only issue fatwas through the mufti who is closely aligned with government policy, to the extent that he will issue things that are criticized by the rest of the religious institutions,” she said. “I don’t think the government uses other low-level sheikhs because they are keen to monopolize the religious authorities in Al-Azhar.”

Kareem El-Behirey, an Egyptian blogger, said the ban was part of a government tactic to employ religious people against channels of communication such as Facebook.

“[The Sheikh] says that Facebook isn’t good because it pits the woman against her husband,” he told The Media Line. “But I think this is an attempt to stop people from using Facebook, blogs and certain websites. I think you can’t stop them and it’s a good way for activists to be heard on the streets so I don’t think they will stop using Facebook.”

El-Behirey said he did not think there was any basis to the claim that Facebook encourages cheating in marriages.

“I think that if a woman wants to cheat on her husband, she won’t do it through Facebook,” he said. “They know very well that the Facebook management has copies of all the accounts, even after they’re deleted.”

“If a man and a woman want to engage in a relationship they won’t just use Facebook or chat,” El-Behirey added. “They can meet in the street or at work or any other place. I believe that the only way to stop people from cheating on each other is if the couple has a good relationship and love each other.”

“The sheikh should look at the real reasons that people cheat on each other,” he argued. “The government has made people poor, the man can no longer provide for his family so he and his wife have to work long hours. This makes things difficult for their relationship.”

A fatwa is an opinion and is not binding, unless the government makes it law. They can be issued by anyone who is seen to have sufficient Islamic scholarly training for the task, usually a Muslim with high standing in his community.

Morayef said that the adoption rate of the fatwa depended on his influence and the size of the his following.

A study carried out by the National Center for Social and Criminological Research said that one in every five divorces in Egypt is caused by extra-marital affairs through the Internet.

The report on which Al-Atrash partly based his ruling, found that if one partner feels their life is boring or monotonous, Facebook helps them find someone else, outside the legitimate framework.

“One must not go into this website,” he said. “Moral corruption has spread among young men and women and it’s used to destroy homes and break down families, which could herald the end of Arab and Islamic societies.”

“This website and other means of communication such as satellite television are a double-edged sword,” Al-Atrash continued. “They can be used for preaching about Allah and strengthening bonds of affection that Islam encourages, but it can also be used for forbidden love and illegitimate relationships.”

While some clerics have voiced similar objections to those of Al-Atrash, other opinion makers are more skeptical.

Muhammad Shukr, a journalist with the opposition paper Al-Wafd said claims that Facebook allowed more space for couples to cheat on each other was “illogical”.

He said he was active in several positive activities on these sites and added that anyone seeking a forbidden relationship can do it easily without Facebook.

“Facebook first and foremost serves social networking and supports opposition activists,” he told the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi. “Making an Islamic ruling to forbid it only serves dictatorial regimes.”


Copyright © 2010 The Media Line. All Rights Reserved. Have comments? Email editor@themedialine.org.

Cyprus 4 City of Pathos

2010-01-28T08:40:00.015+02:00

Cyprus 3

2010-01-27T08:30:00.022+02:00

Cyprus 2

2010-01-26T07:37:00.015+02:00

Cyprus

2010-01-24T10:38:00.002+02:00

We stayed in Larnaka at the Palm Beach Hotel. The rooms are small and the beds very uncomfortable but we had a great view of the Mediterranean Sea. The weather was rainy and cool all but one day. The last day we were there was beautiful. The pictures in the previous post are from our first day of tours. There are 3 more days of tours and pictures coming. James and I both feeling a little under the weather did not do any other site seeing other than the tours.

I was very impressed with the island and there is plenty to do and see. If we go back again I would probably stay in Pathos (last tour of the week pictures coming) although staying at a B & B in the mountains would be my recommendation for anyone who is going to visit. Larnaka was nice but very touristy and we really had a great time even in the not so great weather just walking around the quaint mountain villages. The island is known for its 344 days of sun a year so anytime is a good time to go Dec, Jan and Feb are considered the winter month.

More pictures to come and I will write more about Cyprus. Also will be adding pictures to facebook at some point!

Cyprus

2010-01-24T08:18:00.008+02:00

Memphis

2010-01-02T09:33:00.003+02:00

Rain in Ma'adi

2009-12-07T16:01:00.002+02:00

First Real rain storm I've seen in a year and 4 months

2009-11-22T08:26:00.005+02:00

While my BFF Shannon was here from the states we drove to Saint Katherine's Monastery and on our way back the clouds started building. Now we have seen this before in Ma'adi where the clouds will build then nothing. This time the heaven's opened and it rained. We were almost to the Suez Canal tunnel. We sure enjoyed watching those windshield wipers work fast!!

EL CHICO @ City Stars now open!!

2009-11-13T06:53:00.002+02:00

I received my new Egypt Today Magazine and there was an ad saying the new EL Chico restaurant in the City Stars Mall was now open so several of us on our Team went over Thurs to try in out. OMG it was so good! So if you like EL Chico in the states go try it. It's only been open for 10 days!! Brand spanking new.
Sorry no pictures to go along with this post wished I had though cause it was great!

Visitors from home (Texas)

2009-11-06T12:54:00.007+02:00

My best friend Shannon came to Egypt again this year for her vacation and we have had the best time. We did things that we didn't get to do last year and did things at a more leisurely pace. It was a great two weeks although it flew by of course.
So this year we went on the Coptic Church Tour, went to Saint Katherine's to see the monastery and drove ourselves so that we could stop at the Moses' wells, we went to an Ecological museum, went to the Step pyramids, went to the Khan and walking on Road 9 of course, we ate at the Hard Rock Hotel down town Cairo, drove by the Giza pyramids, shopped for papyrus paper, went to Fueago's to eat dinner and best of all had lots of girl talk time!!!

Can't wait to get copies of Shannon's pictures!!

Girls trip to Taba

2009-10-11T14:53:00.006+02:00

A few of us went to Taba this past week and stayed at the Marriott Beach Resort. It was beautiful and we had a really good time. Can't wait to go back with James and go to Jordon.

The Monastery of Saint Catherine (Katherine) & Moses's Mountain

2009-08-02T12:22:00.010+03:00

This past weekend instead of going to Taba we went to St. Catherine's. On the way we stopped to see wells in the desert where we were told Mose stopped for a while. There were 2 wells that I seen. There are desert people selling jewelry and such. We stayed at Morganland Resort. It is a very nice (clean) place with a beautiful pool. We did not get in the pool because we did not bring our suits. So if your going and staying there take your swim suites. Our room was good, 3 single beds, tv, refrigirator, table and chairs. We told the front reception that we wanted to hike Mose's Mountain so they would wake us up at 1:00 am (yuk). So they did and we drove our own car to the Monastery and there you hire a local to excort you up the mountain. You have a choice to walk or go by camel. We decided to ride camels (they don't take you to the top). When we did have to walk it was tough. 750 steps, plus a little ways walking and the air is thin and it was cold. Now keep in mind that 70 is cold to me I had a jacket, and was still cold. I am guessing we made it to the last resting place before the top about 5am or so and we laid down to rest until right before the sun came up. At that time we made our way to the top and watched the sun rise. I have to say the sunrise is beautiful. I also have to say it's a good thing we did the climb at night cause if I could have seen I probably would not have done it. Remember we rode camels up but going down we decided that we would walk. It is easier going down, but still a workout. The rocks a slippery so wear shoes that won't slip. There were a lot of people up there, and still going up when we started down. Our guide was in sandels and leaving us behind. Although when we got to the last resting place before the top we all laid down to rest and he went to sleep and did not wake up until we started down the mountain. Going down the mountain we only seen him a couple of times! He was ready to go home and go to sleep. There were other guides helping people make it up the mountain. There were a small group having church as the sun came up on the mountain.
After the climb down we were asking about going into the Monastery and our guide told us it was closed, it was not but it is open from 11-12 only. Not sure I would do it again, but very glad we did it.

Lakes in the desert

2009-07-25T09:56:00.006+03:00

While we are taking pictures and looking at the falls our escorts were having tea. Trying to find where the falls begin we found the source coming up out of the ground. Not sure if its piped in from somewhere or just comes from under ground either way it was kinda neat to see. The people were friendly not pushy at all, excited to see Americans and we enjoyed watching them at the falls. I know my story does not do the day justice. It was a lot of fun. We did not see the Whale bones from the map it looks like they are 34km from where we were. Another day maybe.......The escorts led us back to the check point and wave to us and we were off to eat at the Hard Rock in Cairo. By this time its late afternoon. While eating there we see that there is a Hard Rock in Hourgada

After the camel sale we decided to go to the lake that our team members had found the week before. There were suppose to be waterfalls out there somewhere and we thought we would go have a look see. So our adventure begins. We had been out to the lake before, James and the boys had when they went to ride 4 wheelers at Arabian nights.
A little ways past Arabian nights is a check point and we were stopped and asked where we were from. When we told them America we were told to pull up and wait. Another man comes up and says we will need to follow the military police they will escort us to the lake. We get to the first Lake with turns out to be Lake Qarun. The lake we had all seen before. We did not stop but keep driving. We are following our escort not really sure where it was going to take us but what the heck we did not have a thing to do today.
We drive forever it seems then we see another lake Upper Lake and not too much further we see the third lake Lower Lake. This is in the Wadi El-Rayan Protected area. By this time we had figured they were leading us to the water falls. Okay really hoping!
We were even given a map of the area that contained a guide. Fayoum, Gateway to the western desert, Egypt Home of the Valley of the Whales World Heritage Site.
The first Lake we came to was bigger than Benbrook Lake in Benbrook Texas (for those who are from DFW area) The next two lakes are smaller but still pretty impressive in the middle of the desert.
We arrive a the lower lake and begin looking for the waterfalls, we did not wonder around too long before we had locals enjoying the falls wanting us to take their pictures and showing us where the falls are.

Camel sale

2009-07-25T07:50:00.004+03:00

You know it's going to be a great day when you don't know where your going exactly! I have been wanting to go to a camel sale since I got to Egypt. Having gone to cattle sale's as a child with my grandfather and just being naturally curious to see how things are done here. Friday one of our team members took us to a camel sale that he had gone to the Friday before. I was not going to buy a camel just wanted to go and see it. I had no expectations so I was not disappointed. After driving what seemed like forever (about an hour) in the middle of I have no idea where I was we started passing vehicles with camels in the bed. No not cattle trailers, I have not seem a trailer one in Egypt. They put any animals in the back of pick ups. No need to go to the expense of a trailer. You have to be on the look out for running camel cause they are hundreds of camel being sold. We asked how much a camel was going for, not sure if this is right but we think 100 LE about 20.00 us. We took lots of pictures, probably won't go back, glad I got to see one. Most unusual thing that happened is that an older Egyptian women came up behind me a started touching my hair and talking to me in Arabic. This used to happen when we first got here so I did not think it was someone being mean, just kinda odd. Then a man asked me to take a picture with his child who clearly not so sure about all that. Not sure who thought it was more weird me or the child, but after the picture he looked up an smiled. What a sweet little boy.

La Hacienda Ras Sudr Egypt

2009-07-17T17:07:00.005+03:00

The water and beach are absolutely beautiful. The water was at low tide when we first got on the beach around lunch time Thursday but within a couple of hours the water was back "up" again. The water was warm, no jelly fish, and there were plenty of sea shells even sand dollars. The sand dollars don't look like the ones we have found in Florida these are thicker. There were only a few people when we first arrived but by evening there were a lot more people but not crowded by any means.

The resort itself was nice. Our room was small, had a queen size bed, t.v., mini frig. It did not have soap, or shampoo, or a hair dryer. We took our own soap.

When you go to a resort in Egypt it either has more than you'd ever need on a weekend with anything a phone call away, or it does not even have the basics you expect at a resort. Take what you will use that way your covered. We even take toilet paper cause you just never know here. lol
On the way there I was thinking okay we will probably be the only foreigners there and they will stare. At first we were the only ones there, and they stared, then later some younger people showed up and there looked to be some other foreigners, but they still stared.

Most every hotel or resort we have stayed at in Egypt the food is always presented as a buffet. Everyone that knows me knows that I just don't like buffet style dinning. I still do not like buffet dining. When we had dinner while in line at the buffet a man cut in front of me and James, the chef quickly told him (I only understood by his gesturing) to go to the end of the line. I was really impressed, and thanked him. Egyptians do not eat what Americans eat for breakfast. To me it looks like everything that was left over from the nights be fore's buffet. I do not know this to be the case it just appears to be the same food.

The cost for this resort was 395LE. Then they wanted us to pay an extra 100 LE because they said we needed another bed. We politely refused to pay anything extra and refused another bed. In Egypt it is my understanding if you are not married you can not get a hotel to reserve a room for you and anyone of the opposite sex. It is also my experience that the standard room for a married couple is two full or twin beds, which they offer to push together when we complain about wanting a queen size bed.

This was a very nice place with a beautiful beach that was not too crowded and not too far away. It is 208 km from Cairo. It was quiet but not "frilly". We did ask for a bucket of ice and they brought a glass, so we then asked for a bucket. They brought a bucket with just the glass of ice in it and said they were out of ice. Did I mention how beautiful the beach was! lol

One year in Egypt

2009-07-08T09:03:00.003+03:00

Yesterday we took a felucca ride on the Nile with some of our team members. One of them is returning home for good and it just so happen to fall on our year anniversary in Egypt. It was a beautiful, relaxing evening. We should do that more often. I had been wanting to take a felucca ride for a couple of weeks and so had a few others. In the next few months others of our team will be returning home.

Movies in Cairo

2009-07-04T13:50:00.002+03:00

On Kiefer's last day in Cairo we went to the movies, ate at Chili's and bowled one game. The movie we watched is the new Transformer movie. I had no idea about the Egypt scences in the movie, and how close Petra is to the pyramids (it's not that close). The movie theater that we went to in a 3 story (no elevator) building where Chili's in on the ground floor as is the bowling alley. The theater is on the 3rd floor. We had heard stories of halfway through the movie they turn it off for intermission. They did. Also movie goers clap when the movie begins and when it ends. We also had to tell them which seats we would be sitting in when we purchased the tickets. We were escorted to our seat. The seats that were behind us they said were sold but no one sat in them the whole movie, not sure what thats about. Chili's is just like at home except no bacon. Bowling was fun have not done that in a while (okay a long long while) it was fun, hot if the air conditioner was on it didn't work very well. Its 100 everyday here just like at home.
Kief made it home safe and sound. The new part opened up at the airport and our expeditors are not allowed in that part so I was a little concerned about Kief navigating through but aparently he made it just fine. I have not talked with him in depth just that he made home.
Today James I went to City Stars Mall to eat at Macaroni Grill. The food there is just like at home, except no bacon and no wine, beer etc. City Stars is a beautiful mall but very expensive. They have lots of stores that we have in America but the prices are just unbelieveable. I don't know how they stay in business. We always go around lunch time so maybe they do all their business at night.
James was off today for the 4th. Our week is Sat-Wed are weekend Thurs & Fri. We wanted to go to La Hacienda but Eastwinds was full. Eastwind is the kennel we use for Jac Pott our dog. We are still trying to get a list of the days off so that we can plan trips when we have a 3 day weekend.

Weekend Trips

2009-06-30T10:46:00.004+03:00

James and I have decided that with the children at home in the states we would go out of "town" at least once every month. Just to see this new world of ours. The trouble is every time I go somewhere turns out to be a great place that I want to return to. I think I have figured out away to see new places and visit the ones we like. My solution is go somewhere 2 times a month, one new place and one we want to visit again. I mean most places we visit are very affordable so why not. There are a few places that we want to go that will be a little more expensive and will only get to do one trip that month. I think I am getting used to this new life. I have been reading other blogs from people here to get ideas on places we have not heard about.
This is where we went this past weekend. I know that anyone here knows the journey to the place is sometimes as exciting getting to the place itself. I take a lot of pictures of people going on holiday because just when you think they can't pack a van any higher--they do! Have a look..........

Laredo Tex Mex

2009-06-19T09:59:00.004+03:00

This restaurant is in the La Meridian hotel right across from the pyramids. The guacamole and salsa with chips was okay, the salsa is sweet and the chips were a little stale. Maybe not stale as they cooled they got a little tough. Please remember I am not a food critic just thought I would share our experience. The nachos were good, The chicken chimichanga's were good. The cheese quesa's were ok. We won't be eating there again because not close enough to Tex Mex that we are use to.

chips

While out driving today.........

2009-06-12T20:11:00.002+03:00

Sharm el Sheikh

2009-05-23T20:45:00.005+03:00

This was our first trip to Sharm and the first trip that we drove ourselves to Sharm and home. The only time we could not find our way was in Sharm looking for the Hard Rock Cafe' we got so many different directions that it is a wonder we ever found it but we did and had a good time.

We stayed at the Ritz Carlton Resort and we snorkeled for the first time. The hotel was nice but no sandy beach to play on.

Jac Pott stayed at Eastwinds kennel and appears to have had a good time.

Gone to Sharm be back soon..............

2009-05-22T12:18:00.003+03:00

This is our first trip to Sharm El Sheik and I am so excited. I have heard wonderful things about it and I can not wait to share my pictures when we get back.

Still missing those kids of mine

2009-05-08T12:14:00.002+03:00

I know this has nothing to do with anything about Egypt. I am still missing those kids of mine and I can't wait for them to come visit! Counting down the days that's for sure.

We are planning a trip so there will be pictures soon of something we have not visited before so that will be a lot of fun but until then it's just me missing my kids!

I have adjusted to life with out them, but I have to be perfectly honest and say I enjoyed being with and seeing my sons every day.

Have I said I MISS MY KIDS! lol

My youngest is back in the states getting ready for college and catching up with friends. My oldest is finishing up his freshman year at college and looking forward to the summer (what little summer there is). My kids are great we are very blessed can't ask for anything more!

Trying to figure out my new role.....

2009-04-27T19:12:00.002+03:00

So here it is my baby (all 6' of him) is going home (Texas) this week and I have to say I am a little lost. Don't get me wrong I am very excited for him as he begins this next phase of his life, but I just had not planned on what I would be doing at this point. As strange as that sounds I just did not plan on what I would want to be doing and even if I had I am sure in would not have been here in Egypt. Maybe I did and that explains why I am so lost. I miss the family I worked for and the work that I did for them but I am happy not to be working at this point its nice to not to have to work right now.

I have not made a secret about being post menopausal, and while I looking back can see that the changes started well over a year ago I feel I have just in the last few months gotten it some what under control.

Which brings me back to that my children are grown and I am at 42 trying to find what my path will be. I am in Egypt and for the first time since my babies were toddlers I am not working. Wow no wonder I am so taken aback by this.

I guess it's just a time for reflection and find where my path will lead me. Have I said how very blessed I have been.

Time Change

2009-04-24T09:28:00.000+03:00

We are now 8 hours ahead of Texas time.

My dog

2009-04-18T11:35:00.003+02:00

The other day we took our dog to the Wadi Degla Protected area and I learned a few things I did not know about him.
First of all he is afraid of heights! Just like his owner and no it's not James. The second thing I learned was that when he is finished playing he will get back in the car and he will not get back out. We stopped while driving back to the entrance because I spotted sea shells (yes in the desert) and James and I got out of the car and went out of eye sight of our car we left the doors opened and continued to call him trying to coax him out with not luck.
I have also learned that if we go for a long walk around town Jac Pott would prefer to take the elevator instead of walking the steps up four flights of stairs (come on really if I can take the stairs he can) Maybe he has jet lag too.
I don't know what to say about all the cats that we come across during our walk. The funniest thing that has happened while walking is that we came across a puppy sleeping and Jac Pott didn't pay it any mind and the puppy once it hears us jumps up yelping like we hit it (of course we didn't) and runs then once we are a good way down the road starts barking like it finally found its nerve. Jac Pott still is not paying any attention to all of this. For the most part our walks are very uneventful thank goodness. We get asked alot if Jac Pott is a wolf he is not he is a pure bred border collie. While he has never hearded he has the instinct to do so since both parents were working championship sheep and cow hearders.
He has learned the sound of the elevators and knows when someone is in them. We had him groomed the other day and instead od using clippers like they do at home they did it by scissors and it looks really very good.

Wadi Degla Protected Area

2009-04-16T15:05:00.005+02:00

We went back to the "desert" again and here are a few pictures from our day out:

Jac Pott in the desert

2009-04-13T07:49:00.001+02:00

Amsterdam

2009-04-13T07:15:00.003+02:00

These are the pictures of Amsterdam when James came back from his home leave.

Great to be home

2009-04-11T20:34:00.000+02:00

I am back in Egypt Finally!

Weather in Texas

2009-03-27T16:54:00.002+02:00

The great thing about weather in Texas if you don't like it wait a minute and it will change. The only weather I like is middle of the summer when its very hot around 100 and dry. That's why I wanted to move to Egypt I thought desert hot dry no humidity perfect for me. Turns out in 2008 it was hotter in Texas than in Egypt go figure.
I love thunderstorms and I have missed the rumble of thunder in Egypt. I don't mind the rain if it's in the summer but I hate it when it's 80 one day and by the afternoon it's 30. You laugh everyone from Texas knows it can sleet in the am and be 80 by sunset.
The other day a front came through and brought some weird clouds with the cooler temps. They did say on the news what kind of clouds they were but I can't remember (sorry).

About my trip home so far. The first week I was here it rained, not a little rain alot of rain. Turns out there has been a drought here so of course we have to catch up on rainfall the first week I was home. It's was okay though my car has been giving me trouble since I got here and its keep me pretty close to home. I am getting it fixed as we speak. Thank you Donald!

We (James flew in the second week I was here) have gotten our border collie certified and cleared to fly and he has his ticket and will be flying home with James earlier than me. James forgot to ask for a ticket that can be changed so I will be here a couple of weeks longer than James and Jac Pott. We have movers coming next week and have been trying to spend time with friends and family close to home because of car issues. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I can get to seeing everyone a little farther away. My sister lives in East Texas and I did not get to visit with her before we left last July so I will for sure be in East Texas some of the time.

So I am pretty sure that I have covered the same things in the last couple of blogs. Not really anything new to talk about. I am really looking forward to being back in Egypt and getting back to day to day life there.

Team Work

2009-03-19T17:56:00.002+02:00

James is flying in to help me get things taken care of because I have not been able to get one thing accomplished since I have been in Texas.

This has been such a frustrating trip and I hate not being able to get things done on my own. You know I am an independent women after all! James says he has never known me to ask for help and need help doing anything in 20 plus years of marriage!

Sometimes we have to ask for help and although I am not comfortable asking for help I am a firm believer that we all at one time or another needs help.

Still don't have my dog certified to fly over to Egypt, don't have the final word from LM of how they want to fly him or if they will even pay for-although they did agree to it in July when we came over.

My truck still is not working right, still have have not visited with my sister and her grand daughters, still have to pack up rest of the house and have movers pick up stuff and store it.

Finally seeing the sun here in Texas

2009-03-16T20:27:00.003+02:00

Okay so just in time the sun has come out. I am happy to report that there will be no body. If you know me you know what that means! lol

I have enjoyed being home although I feel like I am running in circles not gotten too much accomplished yet because I am waiting for the powers that be to give us the information on shipping our dog and storing the rest of our belongings while we are in Egypt.

I still have family and friends I've not seen as of yet, but we or I will before we leave the country. James has been working hard to take care of as much as he can so that I have time for visiting.

I have talked more on my cell phone this past week than I have the last 6 months. It's kinda nice just going whenever I want but I do love my life in Egypt is so nice and stress free (thank you James for taking me to a 3rd world country) who would have guessed I would love it. So I can't wait to get back.

I have not taken one single picture while I have been home because I forgot to grab the camera. So I will post pictures when James brings the camera.

In Texas :(

2009-03-12T02:12:00.003+02:00

I really miss Egypt! It's cold and rainy here in Texas. The good weather was last week. I am working on getting Jac Pot (my border collie) ready to travel to Egypt. We got the second year (hooray) contract so that's what is making this trip great. I have seem my son, seen my bff that came to Egypt and my niece and my bff Angela took me to get a rental car. Each visit has been short too short but hopefully one more day of non stop phone calls and I can get to some serious visiting. I have not eaten at one resturant or fast food places-trying to loose a few pounds. Praying for great news on Thursday. Need to go out of town to spend sometime with my sister and go see the ocean. I need to get my hair done, my nails done, my expedition fixed, my house packed, my dog certified to travel, whew I am tired.

Jet lagg is not back coming back home! I did very well for traveling by myself for the first time. I miss my husband we never do well when we are apart. We can't sleep, I can't eat and we are on the phone alot. I miss my husband.

Going Home

2009-03-08T14:52:00.000+02:00

I hope to be back in Egypt soon.

We are all fine

2009-02-23T07:23:00.001+02:00

We were not at the Khan this weekend.

We are all fine

2009-02-23T07:23:00.000+02:00

We were not at the Khan this weekend.

Random Stuff

2009-02-21T08:43:00.002+02:00

Here are some pictures that I have been meaning to add just have not taken the time to do it.
Kief's birthday cake. Every year for as long as I can remember he has wanted a marble cake. At home I could find a bakery that makes them but here I figured I would do it all from scratch. I love making desserts. I did alright for not cooking for years!!!! Yes the icing was homemade a well.
The belly dancers are from the Nile river boat cruise we went on while Chris was here. The toddler was just precious and stole the show. If you remember the same thing happen on the last dinner boat cruise we went on. I think it makes it better myself.

Shopping in Egypt

2009-02-20T17:04:00.004+02:00

James went running around with one of our guards (on his day off) and another guy from our team and this is what they found.
Now I am sure that it looks quite different from what we would see at home-depending on where you go. It was nice to go and see something not previously seen by us except from driving down the highway.
We are very fond of our guards and are grateful that they offer to take us and show us around town. look at the furniture and the rugs they are beautiful. I love seeing all the people.

My baby is 18! Where in the world did the time go.......

2009-02-09T09:14:00.005+02:00

In a few days (when I am typing this) my baby will be 18. On one of my networking sites I have a friend who's daughter just celebrated her 5th birthday and every post she ways talking about how she was crying. I understand where she is coming from.

I remember thinking when my boys who are 17 months apart (and no I did not plan that) were little that they would never get big. It seemed like they were going to be toddlers forever! Having never been around infants or toddlers growing up I was always nervous always second guessing my parenting skills or lack there of. Honest to God if it had not been for Angela (my BFF sister) and Oprah and of course God I would not have made it. That is not an exaggeration. James was a wonderful father and had a niece and a whole bunch of nephews and cousins that he adored and who adored him and so he was quite skilled in the changing diapers, dressing, and playing with little ones. I on the other hand was raised by my granny who was old school lots of work and little play so believe it or not sitting in the floor playing was harder than housework and running the house. I remember thinking that they know I am not sure of myself and they can sense it. I could not wait for them to get bigger and I looked forward to the teenage years!

God blessed me with to very handsome, well behaved young men. Nothing that we have ever faced was very serious. I had it very easy and I am so thankful. I have great, caring, respectful, considerate, kids as I say in spite of our parenting. I am not bashing my self or my husband. I just saying we did'nt screw them up too bad! They turned out pretty good.

What I didn't count on is how very fast it seems to have gone. One moment I was in slow motion and the next it flew by. I know there was life living in those years that flew by man did it go fast. I tell everyone I know who asked (and some that don't) enjoy ever little moment even the bad days because in a heart beat it's gone-just memories. One minute your in a hurry and your little ones are hanging on to your leg and your trying to get loose so you can get on with your chore and in the next split second I would give anything to have that baby hanging on to my leg slowing me down because this time I would sqaut down and give a big hug as long as he need. Have I said I can not wait until I have grand Kids!!! Just a heads up they are going to be rotten!

Every birthday of my children I in a quite moment get their baby photo albums out and look through them and this year and for my oldest last birthday I won't do that because not thinking I had all the albums stored instead of bringing them and I really really miss that.

In case your wondering I am not sad. I am so excited for my baby being 18. I am excited to see the next 18 years to see all that he does and sees in his life. I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the past, thank God for the present, and dream of the future. To thank Angela as I do every time a birthday comes around for helping me through with all those phone calls! I love you:) and to tell anyone with small children grandchildren enjoy every single minute it goes by so very fast.

Don't forget to take that moment to get to their level and hug them til they let you go. One day you will miss that!!

Happy Birthday Kief
I love you

Count your Blessings

2009-02-08T14:53:00.002+02:00

Count Your Blessings
Author Unknown

Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Count on God instead of yourself.

Father God, lift the heavy burdens off my heart and let me see this new day as You do. Give me strength to stand against the discouragement that weighs me down and help me defeat Satan's lies with praise to You for Your blessings. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Consumer's Beware

2009-02-07T08:28:00.003+02:00

We have all seen them around north Texas. A business that you can use so that you don't have to go into the United States Post Office. First let me say I have nothing against the USPS. I just did not want to stand in line when there were so many things on my list to do and if I could pay a little extra and have someone else do it for me then I was willing to do that.

Before we came to Egypt I started using one of these services that was on my way to and from work and was not out of the way if I was not going to work. I think I am a fairly intelligent person and THOUGHT I understood how these business work. I have to also add that some of them do offer great services that protect both the consumer and the owner/employee. There are however some that do not. I used this business for at least 6 months before we left the country. The owner is the person that I dealt with each and every time and I felt like I knew him to an extent of course. I know he used to be an engineer at Lockheed. What I did not know then was that he was the owner not that it made much of a difference. I thought he was very nice and pleasant each and every time I used his business. So here starts the reason for this blog.

In September of 2008 we ordered Kief (my son) a new laptop from Dell. Had it built specifically for gaming and school since as you all know he is home schooled. The only reason that I mention Dell by name is that they will not ship to an APO and that is what kind of address that we have in Egypt. So we had the laptop shipped to our house and when it arrived had our oldest son drive from UNT to our house as soon as his classes were over for the day. Chris went home picked up the laptop and per my instructions took it to one of these postal service business. Now here comes the important part.

I was told that everything is shipped first class (USPS) and insured for the value of the item $ 1,000 + in this case. There were actually 2 boxes. In the original shipped boxes from Dell. One small box contained the mouse, the other clearly marked Dell was the laptop.

In about 10 days we got the mouse. So we call the to locate the laptop (USPS) they say give it more time because from the paperwork we provided from the postal service it shows to be sent parcel and what that means is that when they have a flat full then they will ship it. What????

Needless to say there were many calls to my son and to this postal service. My sons response was I took it in there handed it to the guy and he filled out the paper work. The mouse was sent first class insured and the laptop (clearly marked) was sent according to the paper work parcel uninsured. So we have our son mail the paperwork to us so that we can look it over. Sure enough that's what was marked on the paperwork. We call the postal service and inquiry why the paperwork that he filled out was done that way. His response was that he filled it out incorrectly and that it was his mistake. The laptop still has not surfaced and we are into December.

Here is a side note and after I tell you this if you see my husband he will tell you that this is a correct character assessment of him. God love him and I do to. He trust and takes everyone at their word. No questions asked. Believe you me he has been taken advantaged of more times and by people who would shock you because he is very easy going and laid back and yes so very trusting. If you know him you know this is true. Me on the other hand not so much. Very few people have I ever meet that I trust. It takes me forever to let someone in close to me because it has been my experience that people are generally takers and not altogether honest most of the time-but that's a different blog- by the way I love that about James always have even when it cost us a lot. Would never want him to be like me. Believe you me during this time I spent a lot of time praying about me not having faith in people.

All the while I am getting angrier because at this point after the new year that someone clearly is being dishonest about something because not only could the postal service not locate the package, the US Embassy/APO was trying to track the package and the local USPS in Texas was looking for it.

The US Embassy instructed us file a claim through the originating USPS office. After doing that we were told that you can't file a claim on an item that does and has never was in the system. What?????
I am sure your all coming to the same conclusion then we must contact that postal service that we used and so we did. Now remember that each time we contacted him we were told by him that we needed to contact the USPS.

The last time we contacted him it was apparent that he felt he had no responsibility for proving that the laptop was in fact taken to the USPS, but he did direct us to contact the postmaster at the local USPS.

James call the postmaster at the local USPS and speaks with her and explains the whole sorted story and this is what she says to James.

You are paying that service to physically walk whatever item you are mailing to the counter of the USPS. It has been the USPS experience with this particular mailing service that they choose to let the USPS carrier pick up from their business instead of walking it up to the counter. What's the difference you ask? Well I will tell you. The difference is that per the mailing service business' own insurance company "His insured states that HE gave the laptop to the USPS carrier and they (the insurance company for the business) stands behind their insured and sorry that we lost our laptop". How do you like those apples. So in a nutshell let me recap. If you take anything into this business hand it over because you think they are responsible for it until it reaches the USPS and there will be documentation to protect you and the mailing service. That is not the case. It's his word against you and if you think the consumer is always right think again.

So the postmaster says that she will be happy to speak to the insurance agent of this business so we give her the information. A day later the mailing service owner/employee calls and says that the insurance agent that we spoke with will be calling us the next day to settle this matter.

The insurance company for the mailing service called and very matter of fact said that "It is in our insureds best interest to settle this claim and while they will not except liability they are offering to cover the amount we paid for the laptop because it was brand new". My first response was thank you God for them doing the right thing. My second response is that I have to talk about it because I want everyone to know that this could happen to them.

So here is my warning:

Please don't assume that you the consumer are protected. There are a number of these postal service that operate in a manner that protects both the owner and consumer. Even the USPS postmaster said that there are some in that town. The mailing service that I had been using had several complaints about it and there is another customer looking for their package. I did check the BBB and there were no complaints filed with them. We can not file a complaint because we accepted compensation for the laptop.

The other thing I want to tell you about is that while they did pay us the exact amount of the laptop they did not reimburse us for the shipping fee that we paid the postal service company to ship the laptop. So we paid over $20.00 for them to do whatever they did with the laptop.

Here is the other thing I want to share with you. Had we had any tracking software on the laptop they would have been able to track it ONCE it's booted up. Dell has put a flag on the laptop so that if someone calls in and gives the serial number/smart tag Dell will notify the authorities that it is a lost/stolen laptop. I am sure that you can figure out how to get around that as I did during the conversation with Dell. Also having tracking software is not a a guarantee that you will recover you laptop.

I am not anti mailing service now. Have you stood in line at your local USPS? There are some that are in north Texas that are horrible way under staffed for the amount of traffic. Just ask questions, find out the procedures.

A laptop at any amount is a lot of money to us, but just as important I don't want to do business with someone who doesn't care if I am unprotected. Your local USPS can give you a list of mailing service that operate in a way that you are protected. And one final thought. Had the laptop be scanned into the USPS center they would have covered it after 45 days of the original mailing date.

Feeling better already......

2009-02-04T12:49:00.003+02:00

What a difference a day makes! Feeling better today not 100% just yet but feel better. So today to celebrate feeling better I went to the salon and had a facial! OMG it was great. I am going to put the name and address of the salon I use so that if anyone is looking for one please try it. There are a number of salon's in our area and I have heard great things about a lot of them. I was very lucky that someone who had been here for several years took me with here to her salon and I have been going thee ever since.

Beautique Road 198 Bldg 20 B Ground Floor Degla Maadi

I have my acrylic nails and pedicure's done there and massages done. Today was the first time I have had a facial and now I will be doing that every month! The prices are very good and the service is great.

I went to the doctor for a check up today after my facial and there were three of us ladies that know each other that were there getting treatment! Something is going around. James went yesterday because i just couldn't walk over to the clinic to get medications for me to start taking. Anyway I am on the road to recovery and hope to have my energy up by the time I met with my trainer.

The weather has been great it's beautiful here today.

Sick again.....

2009-02-03T13:07:00.004+02:00

Okay I had like just a few days where I was feeling great then wouldnt ya know I caught something! Yuk. So when I get to feeling better I will finish putting the Coptic Church pictures on my blog. The day I was uploading them to blogger the internet was acting up and I gave up after the 4th attempt. So Hopefully when I am feeling better I will get back to sharing our day to day life.

Coptic Church Tour

2009-01-27T08:57:00.009+02:00

In December I took a tour to see the Coptic Churches in Cairo. Here are a few of the pictures. I enjoyed this tour. The tour guide that we had was the same tour guide that took us to the Pyramids with Christopher.

Prayers for my best friend and her family.....

2009-01-17T08:30:00.003+02:00

My best friend Angela more like a sister to me lost her brother Darrell this week. Please say a prayer for her and her family. This is the second brother that she has lost and I know that they are just struggling with the grief of losing two so close together.

Darrell a very kind heart and a beautiful spirit. I am so glad that we got to see him when we attended Paige's dance program right before we came to Egypt. I had not seen Darrell in years and yet it seemed that he had always been around like we all just belonged there just like any other day! I swear he had not changed at all. I could go on and on about stories about Darrell but want I want to say most is that each and every time I seen him no matter how long it had been he had a hug and always something nice to say. Angela is of course close to all her brothers and sister but her and Darrell were really close and I know that her heart is breaking. I know we always think we have more time with our loved ones but the truth is we just don't know so I hope anyone who reads this takes the time to tell family and friends that they love them. Don't just assume you can do it another day!

I love you Angela and I wish I was there with you. I love you for saying we can be half a world away and comfort each other! I KNOW that Darrell is in a better place! Thank God for that.

Missing that kid of mine!

2009-01-15T11:46:00.002+02:00

Have not blogged in a while because my oldest has been here in Egypt with us. He is on his way back to the states. He had a great time and we had a great time showing all the great stuff we love about Egypt.

Today I am already missing him. So in a day or two I will share some pictures and get back to day to day life.

Making plans to go home................

2009-01-05T19:29:00.002+02:00

We have been told that the contract for the second year has not been done and it at this point does not look like they are going to get it done. So as it stands right now we will be going home in July! It makes me sad but I know that if we are suppose to be here the contract will be worked out. There is a plan and I am okay with however it works out.

This has been the most amazing experience and we have learned so much in the short time we have lived here. Egypt was not one of those places that I had a desire to see sometime in my life, but I have to say that it has been amazing everyday here and I love living here!

I just don't have the words to describe what this experience has been like for me. What a wonderful people Egyptian's are. All I can say is this has truly been a blessing.

You can bet that if the contract gets worked out I will be putting that information on my blog.

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T08:20:00.001+02:00

We wish everyone a safe, healthy, prosperous 2009.

To take a home visit or not to take a home visit that IS the question?

2008-12-30T07:14:00.003+02:00

So here is my problem I think I need to go home to check on things and I don't want to go. Oh don't get me wrong I really miss my family and friends but I just love life here in Egypt. So whats the debate you ask well I have a neice who is going through some stuff and she is very important to us and I don't want her to feel like she is alone. Then there is my beloved border collie that I have missed terribly since we left him at home. I have a niece looking after my place and my dog but I just have this feeling I need to be home and I have been trying to push it aside for about a month now.

First I was going to wait until summer so that we could go to another niece's wedding (which we plan to attend regardless if we go home early or not. See if I go now I don't want to stay six months til the wedding so I would go back not such a big deal at all except I don't want to miss anything here!

I asked James what we do and of course his answer is lets wait until we hear about the 2nd year. Which makes perfect sense but I still have this feeling I need to go home.

My son who is here returns home in January so I think I will wait and let him arrive home and see if that settles me. I would really love to fly with him home just so we could visit for 12 uninterrupted hours!

If the conflict to the east gets worse we may get a home leave regardless. While I feel very safe here and just had warnings of places to avoid I do realize that we are very close to it and though not scared by any means want to be cautious.

Okay well that's it I feel better I have had my struggle for today!

I still need to finish adding all the Italy pictures! We have spent a small fortune on getting pictures developed. I am trying to put them right away into albums so that I don't have the huge box like I have at home!

We are having the time of our lives.

Riding 4 wheelers in the desert!

2008-12-29T19:34:00.006+02:00

Thanks Aunt Margie for the homemade candy! It is delicious!

On the way home we seen so many farmers with their sheep heading home for the day as well. It still cracks me up to see Camels being rode down a crowded street and flocks of sheep going down the rode.

It was a beautiful day you could see the pyramids very clearly. Out in the desert it was so quite and clear I swear you could see forever!

We went to this place called Arabian Nights to ride 4 wheelers in the desert and had a blast! Can't wait to go back and stay all day!

a break from Italy pictures!

2008-12-28T08:08:00.004+02:00

We didn't buy as many presents as we normally do at home but the few that we had we put alot of thought into them and really tried to buy something that was really special. That was a huge success. The real difference was that at 12:01 we opened presents, the boys had wanted to do that for a couple of years and it was so fun! I think we might keep that new tradition! So you ask what did you do Christmas morning? Well we went to the Citadel and went to the Khan! What a perfect day for us it was alot of fun! You know how I love the Khan. Everytime I go I learn something new! Then we came home and cooked Christmas dinner! James and I make a great cooking team, I love that he is right there helping all the way through cooking-even when we are at home he does this! Here is a picture of our Christmas day trips.

Citadel

Our first Christmas in Egypt was one of the best Christmas' we have had! Long before Christmas I was stressing over if if would be a good Christmas and I got a great peice of advice from a fellow blogger. That advice was do something different and we did. We have always had a live tree and so we bought a Cedar tree that is in the pot from our local plant place. Of course it's not 6 feet tall and it did not have strong branches to hold the heavy ornaments, but we did find a net of Christmas lights that fit perfectly and found small ornaments that did not bend the little branches. It is a beautiful tree and the very very best part was it's a great plant we get to keep enjoying! Once when I was growing up in Texas we had a tree in a pot and I loved that tree! We used to cut down our tree every year and that was alot of fun. So here is a picture of our tree this year.

Pictures of Italy 5

2008-12-27T11:57:00.009+02:00

Us at the Pyramids

2008-12-26T18:44:00.001+02:00

We had the best time at the pyramids! We seen stuff we had not seen before! We rode camels from the high point to the Spinx. I got a bunch of really fun pictures. It was a very long day but it was worth it and we loved it!

Pictures of Italy 4

2008-12-25T18:29:00.006+02:00

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-25T00:01:00.000+02:00

It's Christmas here in Egypt! Hooray!

Merry Christmas everyone

Pictures of Italy 3

2008-12-24T10:45:00.007+02:00

Dust Storm in Maadi

2008-12-24T10:31:00.004+02:00

This was yesterday 12/22/2008. It was cold and windy and then about lunch time the dust started blowing.

Today it's just beautiful outside! The sun is shinning.

Pictures of Italy 2

2008-12-23T22:20:00.004+02:00