Random thoughts about my life right now

* Holy Mackeral, it is DRY here in the kingdom. I feel like a shriveled mummy unless I constantly consume water. I've woken up with dehydration headaches a few times, so I've taken to drinking a couple of bottles of water before bed. Yes, I have to get up a few times in the night to go to the bathroom (but I'm kind of used to that--hello (!) I have five kids, so I'm not exactly a stranger to uninterrupted sleep nor am I a stranger to frequent night potty breaks) but I'll take that any day over the headaches.

*Woke up yesterday to the aftermath of a night sandstorm. There was sand EVERYWHERE. The sky was all hazy and the air was gritty. The kids didn't play outside until the afternoon because the air was bad.

*I only have a few boxes left to finish unpacking. My kids' rooms need organizing but I am saving that until I go to Ikea to get some plastic sorting bins.

*I'm chilling in my pjs today because I can and when I finish this post, I am going to work on my scrapbooks. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
* Yesterday at our "social gathering" I heard a guy speak about Lehi's route through the desert and posited its location in Saudi Arabia. It was cool to see pictures of wadis and real streams in the desert. I would like to visit those places (not sure if I buy the guy's theory) but am not willing to possibly be thrown in jail to do so. Some of the sites are ancient sites and claim to have some Mosaic ties and so are protected. So if you try to go to a possible Mount Sinai site, you have to go through guards and walls to do it. NOT WILLING TO LANGUISH IN A SAUDI JAIL FOR AN ALLEGED BIBLICAL SITE!!!!!!!!!!!!

*I made my yummy chocolate cake yesterday and it was awesome. It was a fabulous way to end my fast. http://tiffanynofrillscookingblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/homemade-chocolate-cake.html

*Crunchy oat cluster cereal with dark chocolate shavings is delicious and a much better way to a get a chocolate fix than say American chocolate crap cereal.

*I suffer from a food fixation. You can tell a lot about a culture by the food it eats. For example, Swedish food doesn't have a lot of spices in it. Spices are only meant to really bring out the genuine flavor of the potato or fish or whatever. Kind of like the Swedes themselves. They like quality and the genuine article.

* Bubba J is a Terrible Two-year old tyrant.

* I hope Bubba J's head survives our tile floor. The score in Bubba J vs the Tile Floor: Bubba J: 0 Tile Floor: 4 Sadly, my little guy looks like he has been thumped one two many times when in reality, every single bruise and bump comes from some nasty spills.

* B and I went out to dinner on Wednesday (which is like Friday) where I had an incredible Morrocan dish. Chicken couscous with cinnamon, onions and raisins. It was SO rich but so delicious.
*We finally bought a water cooler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm thrilled to have fresh, cold, safe water to drink. We've been buying large jugs of water and then storing them in the fridge. Nothing beats the convenience of a water cooler on the counter. And if you ask why we have a water cooler on our counter, may I remind you that I have a two-year old toddler tyrant?

* Riyadh has an interesting blend of shops and restaurants that look like dives and then these really sophisticated skyscrapers with interesting designs.

*I have yet to eat any falafel. That is just wrong, my friends.

* My kids were FINALLY accepted into school. Now we just have to hurry up IBM to pay tuition and then they can go back to school.

* Finally, there are those little moments that make me glad to be a mom. Watching my five children get into a light sabre battle was one of those little moments.