If You Can't Find It...

...they will make it!!! Yup, they say you can find anything you need in Doha, it is sometimes just a challenge to locate it! So Michael and I went out to the Auto Souqs (markets) looking for a cover for my Jeep. Being that it has a hard top, I cannot just throw it on if it starts to rain or there is a sandstorm, both of which we have seen quite a bit! We went into shop after shop, with no luck. Finally one of the shop owners recommended that we try an upholstery shop. Just happens that we had parked 'Qatari Style' (aka on the sidewalk) right in front of an upholstery shop. We told the shop owner what we were looking for and he in very broken English said he could finish it by tomorrow. Of course Michael and I are thinking, how much with this cost! lol So the shop owner goes out to the Jeep and takes many measurements, of course, writes nothing down, goes inside and says it will cost 250 Riyals (QR) and it will be ready by tomorrow. Michael and I laugh because this is a whole cover for the Jeep for $68.75! Of course, you are supposed to bargain for a better price, which we are not good at, and the shop owner says he already gave us a 50 QR discount, it was originally 300 QR! lol So of course we think this is quite a deal and we know that we can take it back at any time for repairs if needed. Jeep sells a cover for over $200! What a deal!

Macey wanted you to see her new pillow, also purchased at a Souq!

She loves her pillow very much!

I'm Working!

Well, there are only so many games of cards to play and so many stores to shop at! So the last couple of weeks I have been substitute teaching at the American School of Doha. It is a wonderful school where the class size is small and the students are actually given quite a bit of freedom (and they are learning!)! I have met some wonderful teachers and interesting students. My biggest challenge at this point is getting up and ready each morning and waiting for a call. The other challenge, which I have adjusted to with each move, is learning "international names". I must say there is quite a challenge and I just apologize like crazy as I read the roster! While a great number of students are from the US, it is a very diverse campus.

I am pretty sure I will be spending quite a bit of time there! (There may be a maid in our future yet!)

Our Blog & YouTube! (Fixed)

Thanks to my Techno Niece, Jessica, I think I fixed the problem with YouTube!!! Enjoy!

I have figured out how to embed video using YouTube. Any posted videos should play directly from our blog. Just to test it out, I used some video from when we were at the dunes a month ago. Nothing too fancy just videoing some guys showing off in the dunes! Hope it works and that you enjoy this short show!

Please accept my advanced apologies for not so great filming, I was also testing out my camera's video capabilities.

Sand EVERYWHERE!

Well we have now experienced a sand/dust storm! I left the house yesterday to do some shopping. Of course I am taking advantage of every cool day that I can by having the top off of my Jeep. I went out to do some shopping, is was a lovely sunny day. After being out for about an hour, the wind started picking up and it was suddenly foggy/hazy. This was the onset of a dust storm. It is not at all what I imagined. There was not sand pelting me in the face...I guess it is more like very fine dust. This didn't stop me! I just kept on driving and shopping (Using the Swiffer at each stop light! ;-)) I just know the people driving around me were probably laughing and who could blame them! Eventually I made it home and have not gone out in the Jeep since. Michael reported that I should get the vacuum ready! The sand/dust just gets into everything (both car and house). No sense in cleaning yet, but my tools are ready!

(The picture on the right was in the paper from yesterday with the following description: QATAR resembled the red landscape of Mars yesterday with severe dusty and cloudy conditions prevailing, especially in the afternoon. The weather office attributed the phenomenon to the excessive influence of south-easterly winds blowing from the northern areas of Saudi Arabia.)

An Evening at the Spa

A few days ago, I finally took advantage of an evening at the spa. Michael had a business dinner at the Marriott Hotel and wanted me to drive him and pick him up. So of course being the caring wife that I am, I did what I knew was best, I called The Spa at the Marriott and booked a few hours worth of services! So when Michael got home from work, I was already in the car waiting! Being the supportive husband that Michael is, he agreed that a spa evening would be great! Needless to say, he was waiting on me after his dinner!

The Marriott Spa was wonderful! I had my nails done and a facial (that was all they had open with such little notice). In addition, I had the opportunity to sit in the meditation room and sip tea while I read! Now for those of you who know me well, I did bring a camera, but even I didn't want to scare the ladies by asking them to snap a picture! (I will next time though!)

Marriott Spa

In shaa'alaah-We Have Internet!

Today is a wonderful day! WE HAVE INTERNET!!! First of all, we waited a month to have a phone line installed and then another month for Internet. They have rescheduled our Internet installation 5 times (this means that I could only vacuum at night in fear that I wouldn't hear the phone ring and they would reschedule us yet again)! This has been the most frustrating inconvenience so far. There is only one company who installs phone, Internet and satellite, so you cannot just go out and use another company...UGH! So we have learned the true meeting of "patience and waiting."

Arabic Lesson #1: In Shaa'alaah in Arabic translates to "God Willing" and in English translates to "There is no way in H-E-Double Hockey Sticks that it will happen today!" This is truly a phrase commonly used here and the English translation is truly accurate.

We are finally looking forward to communicating with each of you on a regular basis.

We Got One!

We picked up our Jeep Wrangler-Sahara (hard top) on Thursday! YEAH!!! There are only 3 2007 Saharas in Qatar and we have one of them! This is my car but for some reason I have to keep reminding Michael! This is much bigger than my other Jeep and I was a bit intimidated at first. I wanted another Wrangler because I wanted to be able to just zip around as the driving conditions are challenging. However, this model is a little longer, wider and much higher! WOW!!! We were out driving today and had many cars (even Qatari!!!) giving us thumbs up because the car ROCKS!!!