stuff

i just got in from working on my tan :) when i realized that i haven't posted a blog in a good couple of days! apologies for that however, nothing too exciting has been happening at this end!

we are one step closer in getting our own place!! we have received the lease agreement finally in hopes of moving in this friday! please cross your fingers for us this time. the other part of the good news is that i think we are planning on hiring a moving company to relocate our 'stuff' for us. hooray, as the last 3 times that mike and i have moved within the uk we did it ourselves (ourselves being only the 2 of us!!) and put it this way we both hate talking about it!!

as i am writing this i am sucking on some polo mints. funny story about these mints. mike and i were grocery shopping at ffc the other day. the bill came to 293.50 QR. usually they round the amount up to the next dollar because as i mentioned in a previous blog, they have a limited amount of coins (dihrams) in circulation here. the cashier asked mike if he had 50 dihrams. of course, we didnt so the cashier gave mike the appropriate notes in change and a pack of polo mints instead of the 50 dihrams change!! funny, eh? i had read that they often give candy out in place of coins for change but never have we experienced it until now!! i wonder how that would fly in london or toronto!?

we had another sandstorm friday night - the 3rd one since we have been here. mike and i were on our way home from spending the day at the four seasons when it hit. sandstorms are quite similiar to snowstorms in a way. the driving conditions are very poor as the sand creates a 'haze' which makes it hard to see 2-3 cars in front of you and the strong winds make it difficult to keep control of the vehicle. even after the storm you sometimes have to brush the sand off your car just like you would with snow - so the similiarities are there!! furthermore, inhaling the sand is also something that should be avoided. our quick walk from the across the street into the villa left us coughy and our throats feeling very dry. even the day after the storm, you should lay low until the sand does the same as it takes a while for the sand to settle. mike gets frustrated when i tell him he shouldn't be running outside after a sandstorm has passed!!

must go as i have a date with oprah!! yes, that's right we get oprah here every afternoon along with dr. phil. i am not a big fan of the doctor but i LOVE oprah and have missed watching her for the last 3 years! of course, the episodes are old(er) but i will take what i can get! speaking of television, there are about 4-5 english speaking channels plus a handful of english news channels (bbc, al jazeera, etc). the t.v. shows are slim pickins' especially during the day with some episodes only to be repeated again in the evening. they do have a good movie station here though, MBC Action, but apparently the same movies are played over and over again (we just haven't been here that long yet) and many are censored big time!! all of the english speaking programs have arabic subtitles - not a big deal but they often have them splattered across the middle of the screen which as a result obstructs the picture!!! PLUS, even though the programs are in english most of the adverts are in arabic! alittle strange or inconsistent if you ask me but not much we can do about it! besides, we don't tend to watch that much t.v. which explains why i have read 5 books since we have moved here! i was however, estatic when one of the girls here told me that she has season 4 of grey's anatomy downloaded (well, as many as she can due to the writer's strike)! that occupied an afternoon and that was trying to make them last!! ohhhh mcdreamy :)

i sign off by wishing everyone in ontario a happy 1st annual family day!!!
(dad - i think that makes canada ahead of the uk for stat/bank holidays!!)