Land of the Free...I'm Home.

I apologize to those of you who may have thought I fell off the face of the Earth....but so much has happened in the last few months...
To begin:
It wasn't supposed to happen this way...but in my heart I truly believe everything happens for a reason...so, here I am, back in the States...home.  Well...sort of...
I guess the trigger was pulled when my mom's visa to Saudi didn't come through as planned...I knew better than to get my hopes up...but well, that's sort of a pitfall of mine.  We had everything booked...flights, trips, planned events..it was going to be wonderful.  But, there she sat...bags packed and no where to go.  Yeah, well....enough right??
So, after talks with the hubby and thinking about family and all the other many things going on we decided...its time to go home, for good.  My darling husband would stay and finish out his work in Saudi, but the girls and I would head for the land of the free.  It was quick...and I didn't get time to say goodbye to most of my friends in Saudi...for which I'm sorry, but well, things just happen a certain way sometimes and you just have to go with the flow. 
With a happy heart, I called my grandmother (a still young 89 yr old) and told her the good news...if she'd have us, the girls and I would love to stay with her for awhile.  I always regretted how short our time was together the last time I was there, so this time I wanted to stick around awhile.  The girls were so excited to see their GG (great-grandma).  Took us three planes to make it back to the States plus 5 suitcases, two car seats, three humans and three carry-ons.  That was fun.  Not. 
But we made it and spent 6 wonderful weeks in Ohio. 

the girls and their GG

 

 My mom came to visit there instead (no visa required) for four weeks and four generations had an absolute blast together.  Spring was in full bloom and I realized I'd never lived anywhere that had a spring like this...the colors were just incredible!  We got to spend time with family, attended my cousins graduation from Ohio State University where the President of the USA gave the commencement speech, and the girls even got to go to gymnastics twice a week!  (which the loved so much!)  We were all together for Mother's Day as well...which was a first in a very long time.  So, yep...I was totally stoked to be back in the States...

 

 

 

Ohio State U graduation

 

mother's day...3 generations...love

 

Now, I sit here in Texas.  I'm staying with my in-laws for a total of 5 weeks.  For the first two...we were blessed that Daddy was able to come and visit.  The girls were missing him so much.  So we had the whole family together for two weeks...and just this past Thursday he headed back.  Countdown begins with 56 days left till we are whole again.  So far, we've had a great time here in Texas...the girls got to hang out with their cousins and visit the American Girl Doll store (where Sara stated to her aunt "this is the best day ever!!")  we've visited friends, took the girls to a wild animal park where a zebra attempted to take the bag of food from my baby's lap!  Girls are signed up for gymnastics again here, and they are swimming almost everyday in Opa and Oma's pool.  (hubby's parents)  It's really nice to have family to spend time with.  :)

 

 

 

cousins and dolls

Since I'm an early planner, I had already booked part of my summer trips back in December.  Therefore, in three weeks, the girls and I will be heading for Italy.  It will be a great month long trip followed by meeting up with Daddy in Prague. 
It's been such a whirlwind...
Would I change anything?  No, I'd do it all over again...I would just try to be better prepared for the ups and downs of living in a place like Saudi.  I made some amazing friends, the girls had wonderful experiences, and we got to partake in many fantastic trips.  I must say, coming back to the States was almost culture shock in reverse.  I started jogging a bit in Ohio and I would just smile and think of how wonderful it was to be outside, without the abaya..doing what I want.  And then getting to drive!!!  And coming and going as I pleased!  Not to forget just how awesome it was to go shopping at Target!!  lol  I had to hold myself back at the grocery store and not buy every single thing I saw.  I reminded myself that the items would be there the next day...and the day after.  After not setting foot in the states for over 9 months, it was pretty surreal.  Now I'm getting back into the groove of things, but I still find myself in awe of the wonderfulness of living in a place with such freedom.  If nothing else, Saudi has taught me to really appreciate what you have in life and have a little more patience with the people and things around you... 
But!!  This isn't the end...we still have many more trips planned and other events...I plan to continue to help those thinking of making the move to Saudi in any way I can.  And I'm going to keep blogging about our life and travels...so one day, I can publish it all into a book for my daughters to keep forever. 
I'm still behind on travel posts and the hubby promised me some more posts about Saudi that we didn't get around to publishing yet. 
I'm so thankful and blessed for this life...much more to come...  :)

Out and About in Budapest...

To state again, I was pleasantly surprised by just how cool (not talking temp here, though cool is stating it mildly...cold) Budapest really was. One of the days we spent across the Chain Bridge on the Buda side.  We got to see the changing of the guard, wandered the streets, cautiously walked through underground tunnels which had creepy looking mannequins and Dracula's tomb (not really, but still spooky), had great food, a stunning small church where we were able to warm up for a bit, stopped at a cool looking bar and had warm drinks in the glow of the red lights, walked in the cold rain, and just flat out enjoyed the whole day! 
Another amazing day was spent checking out Hero's Square, ice skating and another incredible lunch.  This was the girls first time ever on ice.  (Matt's second, I believe)  The hardest part was that there were no barriers to hold on to as you skated around.  Thankfully, there was a little kid area (and beginner area) where the girls and Matt took some lessons.  The girls spent A LOT of time on their bums, but they really had a great time.  Mommy just spent time taking pix.  ;)  
One night we went to see a traditional Hungarian dance.  The girls loved the dancing part, but weren't really thrilled when it was just the orchestra performing.  Matt and I enjoyed the whole thing.
Near the end of our trip, we ventured out on the coldest day yet.  It was so cold (ok, I live in Saudi, so give me a break here) I had to put sunglasses on to protect my eyes from the cold air instead of the sun. We had Lily wrapped up like the kid from A Christmas Story.  ;)  We headed over the bridge and to a small island (mommy shivering all the way) where we found a park (and thankfully some mulled wine)...the girls had a blast, but when the mulled wine was gone, it was time to head back!  
We ate at three fantastic sushi restaurants including the famous Nobu.  I don't think I can ever get enough sushi.
It seemed that no matter where we went in the city, we found beautiful places to visit and incredible restaurants to eat.  We'd go back again for sure!

on the Buda side...we chose to walk up...and some pix from the tunnels

cool coffee shop

underground and a beautiful church

        walking in the rain...a great restaurant and you can get a gas mask if you need one!

so much fun!

Hungarian dancing and sushi!  And some incredible open face sandwiches from a local deli

Hero's Square, the museum, and another killer food joint

freezing our butt's off in the park!!  :)

Budapest at Christmas & New Year's

After spending last Christmas here in Saudi, I knew there was no way I was going to stay again.  Don't get me wrong...it was a nice Christmas.  We had a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner with our good friends.  But, seriously, this is Saudi...they don't do Christmas here!  So this year I wanted Christmas up front and in my face.  

We initally wanted to go to Prague or Vienna, but with sticker prices coming in at $250-$300 per night for rentals we had to rethink our plans.  A friend mentioned Budapest.  I said, where??  Isn't that like Eastern Europe??  My hubby on the other hand went bonkers.  So, I started my research and was I ever surprised.  Not only is it a beautiful city, but my god was it reasonable!!  We scored a beautiful two story apartment for 1000 Euro..for 2 weeks!  Including Christmas and New Year's.  Yeah, that pretty much sold me.  

I couldn't wait to get there.  The Christmas markets, decorations, snow (well, for a day).  It was all I wanted for Christmas.  On the advice of yet another friend, we booked a Christmas morning brunch at the Four Seasons.  It was incredible.  The food, the mimosas, the food, the mimosas.  

Speaking of food...there wasn't a single restaurant that we ate at that we didn't like.  From traditional Hungarian food to sushi.  Home runs every time.  We had an absolute blast.  

So, in this post I just wanted to focus on the Christmas stuff.  I'll post more about being out and about in Budapest.  The markets were flat out awesome.  I couldn't get over the booths that were preparing food.  And all the cute little handmade gifts.  The absolute best find were the rolls and rolls of Poppyseed rolls.  It didn't even occur to me that I would find them there.  Why is it such a big deal?  Well its a special treat that I only ever got at Christmas when we visited my grandparents in Ohio.  (which was maybe every other year...increasing to much longer stints away.)  Its not always easy to find the ingredients you need to make them, so it's not something we ever got very often.  These rolls scream Christmas to me and best of all, it made me feel connected to my family.  So, yeah...happy me.

We had a huge scare on Christmas Eve though.  It's tradition in our family to get dressed up and have a huge Christmas Eve dinner.  That day we were just wandering through the markets getting last minute stocking stuffers for Santa to put in the girls' stockings.  At 2:30p, they started to shut down.  And....cue panic.  Oh my god!  We don't have ANY food for dinner and most importantly wine!!!  Matt and I sot off in separate directions.  He hunted down wine and I went scrambling for food.  (some how we managed to keep the kids with us)  I wasn't the only one.  The large booth in the pictures below (with the yellow lighting) was still open and people were barking out orders.  I scored some killer looking pork and a couple of sauerkraut dishes.  But, hubby wasn't having any luck with wine...so I darted into a bar (dragging Lily) and asked the bartender if he would sell me a couple of bottles.  What a nice man, he did.  In about 20 minutes we managed to salvage Christmas Eve dinner.  It wasn't what I had hoped to make, but hell, I was just happy we had food!  

Christmas morning arrived and Santa had found us in Budapest.  The tree wasn't overloaded with gifts, but the girls were happy with what they received.  Then it was off to brunch.  Everything was really lovely.  We even got to Skype family and they watched the girls open some gifts.  Happy day.

For New Years, well, we could have hung out in the square and partied with all the people, but instead, we put the kids to bed early, watched sports bloopers on TV and totally missed the midnight mark.  Ah, but we had champagne.  Not a total loss.  :)

All in all, it will definitely be a memorable Christmas and New Years.     

Christmas Market

The Four Seasons Hotel and the one day of snow

Inside the Four Seasons

 Christmas Eve, Morning and my beloved poppyseed roll

Christmas Market

around town

Yanbu Flower Festival 2013

Its that time of year again.  The lovely flower festival was in Yanbu.  Just as beautiful as last year and we really had a great time.
I went first with my students as a class field trip along with the other second grade, first grade and third grade classes.  They had a blast (of course they'd have fun anywhere that wasn't in school, right?)  We went early in the morning and had the place to ourselves...for a bit.  Then a bunch of Saudi boys schools showed up, and well, we didn't stay much longer.  All the students got a flower to take home with them...talk about a bunch of grinning faces!  
Next, I went with my family.  We went in the early evening and stayed just long enough to see the lights come on.  I had promised the girls we would buy them something...little did I know it would be two more chickens!!  (we now have a grand total of 7)  These little dyed baby chicks just stole my heart.  I couldn't help it...just too cute!  
I really loved the huge flower festival sign they had out front this year.  Really cool looking.  We just had fun wandering around looking at all the booths.  We weren't hassled at all this year (though I did have a hat on)  Had a bite to eat, bought a couple of plants, and well, that was that.  Still I'm always glad when we attend these things.  Its fun to be out and part of the community.  :)

One of the other classes from the field trip

aerial shots courtesy of the landscape department of the Royal Commission

the girls with a mosaic photo of the King.

a mix of fresh flower and real flowers were used.  

not only were there baby chicks, but also ducks, rabbits, fish, birds, mice and hamsters!  

Our new additions....Rosie and Paddy  :)

The Upside to Saudi Life...in Yanbu

I've realized that most of the time I find myself bitchin' about living here...I mean, this is not an easy place to live.  But, after talking one night with the hubby, I realized that there really are some good things about living here.  And when I say here...I mean in our town, Yanbu.  I have no idea what it's like to live in Jeddah or Riyadh.  Also, I'm speaking mostly about us expats.  I'm sure the lives of some of the Saudi's here are much different than ours.  (When you see the huge sprawling mansions)  So, I'm talking more about the life that I (and my friends and co-workers) are living.
So, here's a little list of things that helps me focus on the good parts of living here:

Life here is very simple.  By that I mean, when compared to the constant battle for status quo (Keeping up with the Jones') found in most of the world life here is very simple.  No one cares what kind of car you drive, how big your house is, if you have the latest monster screen TV...it doesn't matter.  

our neighborhood...no battle of the best of the block here!  ;)

The same goes with clothes...nobody's kids are wearing the newest Juicy outfit.  The women aren't out showing off their $1200 purses.  (now, I know the Saudi ladies like their nice purses and shoes, but even then, its not like we feel we have to compete to be like them...)

we make our own style :)

There is also no competition between parents.  Parents aren't competing to see how many sports their kids play, how many instruments, how many languages...with other parents.  First off, most of the kids here already speak more than one language.  There aren't any sports, so no worries there.  Music isn't easy to come by either.  So, its nice not to feel like your kid is inadequate because they aren't doing 5 activities every night.  But, our girls do get to ride horses and that really makes me happy!!!

We get to spend a ton of time together as a family.  Since there is so very little to do here (see previous) we find things to do together.  We aren't rushing kids from one event to another.  We are having dinners as a family, talking about our day, watching movies together.  It's really nice.  And, its not something we ever got to do much of when the hubby was working 10-11 hour days in California.  (there were times he'd go two days without even seeing his kids awake)  So, yeah, its nice to be together.

Living here can force even the most reclusive person to seek out company.  You find people here and make strong bonds because its wonderful to have someone you can count on to understand how difficult life can be here.  Not only that...you get to meet an incredible variety of people from all over the world.  Which brings up the next one.

Our daughters have been exposed to some wonderful things.  They have met people from all over the world.  A variety that would be hard to find in most States.  Kids of all backgrounds and it is really shaping their character and the little ladies they are growing up to be.  They are learning to accept people no matter who they are, what they look like, where they are from.  We have friends (including their school friends) from Finland, Scotland, Lebanon, Poland, Greece, England, France, South Africa, Pakistan, India, Italy, the Philippines...and more.  All in one little town.   As of now, they are the minority here...only 6 blonde kids in the whole school.  Sara's best friend is from Italy and its just been the last few months that they have been able to speak English to each other! 

This place has taught me patience.  MUCH patience.  I was extremely short on that particular characteristic...and not that I'm Ms. Mellow now (by any means), but I've learned to let some of the little things go.  As mentioned before...the driving here is atrocious.  But, instead of cussing out some idiot for cutting us off (after they ran a red light and changed lanes with no blinker) I'm just thankful that he didn't hit us.  See! Positive thinking.  Glass half full and all that jazz. Getting pissed off at the person or kid who cut in front of me at the grocery store isn't going to do much good either.  Its not like they are going to move back.  Some things...you just learn to let go.  So, yeah, really thankful for that part....

we make our own lanes here... ;)

The Red Sea.  It's pretty bad ass.  Definitely good for rejuvenating yourself and almost (almost) forgetting you're in Saudi.  The snorkeling and diving is flat out awesome.  

Camel sightings...love when they just wander across the road.  We'd only seen camels in zoo's prior to life here...so there we go...another positive.

  
Of course, I have to point out the fact that living here has afforded us the ability to pay off debt, save money, and travel.  With no Starbucks, no movie theaters, a pretty weak list of restaurants to eat at, no amusement parks, etc...well, you tend to save some serious bucks!  The travel has been out of this world.  And, to say that we actually live in Saudi Arabia is pretty cool....its not like you can just come and visit!  Its a time in our lives we will never forget. 

There we go.  A list of things that have a positive spin on living in Yanbu..for me at least.  I will remind myself of these things when I start to feel angry or upset with life here. 

 If you have any more positive experiences or ideas about Saudi (in general or just Yanbu) feel free to post them in the comments.  I would love to hear from others and how they feel!  :) 

Vienna, Austria

Oh, man...this is one city that I have already planned a return trip to this summer.  Two days was no where near enough to see the sites...of course, our main reason for the quick side trip from Budapest was to see the Christmas markets.  AND, to see the Lipizzaner stallion show at the Spanish Riding school.  
We sure had a rough start on the way there though.  We bought our tickets and didn't realize till we were on the train that we had 3rd class seats.  Meaning, NO seats.  Matt had to stand for 2 hours while me and the girls sat on the floor.  It was awful.  Safe to say....the minute we got off the train we upgraded the return trip to first class!
Got to our hotel, they upgraded us to a nice roomy suite and set off to find dinner.  The weather was cold and there was a small layer of snow on the ground.  Ate at a fantastic Austrian restaurant that the hotel recommended and then sought out the Christmas markets.  I wanted to see everything all lit up!  We managed to make it to two different ones before the girls had enough.  Indulged in the local hot wine and just really enjoyed the sites.  It was so beautiful!  But, then the rain started, and it was cold...and wet.  We grabbed one of the horse carriages to take us back to the hotel.  It was fun and I wish the weather would have been a bit better for photos.
The next morning we needed to get to the horse show.  It was a Sunday...and not much was open.  Of course.  So, we ended up doing what most American tourists would do...we ate at McDonald's.  
Found our way to the arena and settled in.
Thank god we spent the money to get reserved seats.  Otherwise, it was just standing room.  80 minutes of the girls standing to watch horses.  Yeah, that would have been fun.
The girls enjoyed the show for the most part...I mean it's hard for them to grasp the concept of the degree of difficulty of the moves these horses were performing...but me?  Oh my, I was in second heaven.  The horses were gorgeous.  It was so wonderful.  The arena just took my breath away.  It was magical.
Afterwards we wandered around to another Christmas market.  Up some of the streets and just tried to take in the sites as much as we could before we had to catch our return train.
The train ride back was awesome.  Big comfy seats, wine, snacks...it was all good this time!
But, we really didn't get to see much of the city at all...and I've made it so we will return in August.  Can't wait to get back.  It's an amazingly beautiful city.  :) 

Spanish Riding School