Sunday, July 30, 2006

12 days...

Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy all! Yes I know its been a whole 12 days since I've been here, but I am happy to report all is well, thank God.

The job offers are rolling in finally! I have two interviews tomorrow and another on on Tuesday. I am very excited to go on my first set of interviews in another country, never done that before. We'll see how it goes, I'll be sure to give more details later.

All else is great. Warm summer weather, great humidity, clean Cairo air....what could be better?

IVF 2 ... we MAY try again in August we'll see. But I am planning to have my first mammogram sometime soon, and want to be sure all is okay in that department, God Willing it will be. (quick catch up- my Mom is a breat cancer survivor, yeah! Even though I am not 40 yet, I have to get checked because of her history...) So pray that all will be well for me.

Anyway just a quick update, I will try to be regular again here in blog land, talk to you soon! xoxoxo

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

You're American, its easy...

So everyone has told me "oh yeah, you'll get such a great job in Cairo, you're from the US, employers love that here, you'll be number one in a sea of Egyptian candidates..." blah, blah, blah.

True, its only been a week since I submitted my CV (resume) to four positions here in Cairo and one in Dubai, no news yet. Am i discouraged, yup. Should I be, nope. It's only been a week and this was my first group of submissions....we'll see. I just thought, what happened, I am American, why are you jumping to call or email me back???? (yeah right!)

My DH mentioned to me the other day " so we're going to do IVF 2 in August right?" I told him, God Willing we will. That was it. No further discussion. I guess I am not as excited as I was the first time...well I am deep down, but my head is sooooo busy emotionally, we have so many variables in our life now. Its been a year that we're living here and we just recently decided we have to do something, business wise. It seems DH will do business with a friend who has an established business already, so thats nice.

Me, not sure yet. I need to get out and feel productive I think. I used to always say, after working nearly everday for five years in our business in the States I'd love to stay home, but I am thinking I can't, not now. Been relaxing for a year now, its enough. Maybe IF there were kids in the picture, it'd be different. I hope that dilema presents itself to me one day.

On a ligher note, check this out.... So we go to a hospital yesterday to visit someone, had to pay to get in to visit! Can you believe that? I was like, you have got to be kidding! It is worth mentioning, that this particular hopital was not "top of the line" by any means, even more reason, NOT TO PAY, hello. Some things never cease to amaze me, nevertheless, its home, I enjoy it, but have to laugh alot, or else I'd go CRAZY!

A sense of humor, lots of single Egyptian pounds (cause EVERYONE wants some money) and LOADS of patience, prerequisites for residing in Egypt.

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Sorry...

So sorry haven't blogged in awhile. Been busy with many things. With the new house, looking for a job (yes I decided i want/need to work) and the time just flying by, its been busy. I will try to get back into posting though, really I will.

The cat still comes around at dinner time, its so cute. I call him Sherbert i think I wrote before...anyway last night, I was closing the door for the night, after I closed it, I saw Sherberts shadow and heard meow meow, too cute. Don't know why he likes us so much, he has a home?

So nothing too exciting to report. Will try to get back into the regularity of blogging again. Talk to you all soon and hope you are fine in your part of the world...

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

A midnight visitor

Last night I am watching a movie, around 12:45AM, I hear "meow, meow" look at my screen door and there it is...the infamous cat we all love. I have decided to call it Sherbert. My DH calls it Useless, thanks to a certain someone, hum, hum, Mr.O, thanks alot. So it meowed a little and went back to its favorite place in our garden under the bushes to sleep I guess, too cute.

Last night we went looking for flooring for our new kitchen ( our new house being built here to be ready in August they SAY, this is a whole 'nother story, might tell it sometime) Anyway, bought some. They're very large sized tiles, very cool, hard to explain, have like vine-like design ingraved into them, like a taupish-grayish color with some hints of brown again weird, cool but stylish I think they'll be nice.

Thinking about IVF2 again...we may go for round two in August. All my friends here are so optimistic, saying they heard a frozen cycle, compared to first fresh one works better. They know people who's second round here worked for them. They are doctors at heart, I know, God Bless em.

See, here in Egypt, people hold on to the hope of many wise tales. I mean I guess we all do to some extent, but here it seems mulitplied times a thousand. They hear such-and-such and put so much hope into it being true, me I am a bit more skeptical, but its cute hearing them say these things, and it does inspire a little bit of hope in me too, so its all good.

Friday, July 7, 2006

A wonder of the world and GREAT coffee

So Monday we had to take our car to the dealer to have its 10,000 kilo service, regular scheduled maintenance. As we were driving there, approx. an hour and a half from where we live, we casually looked out the window to our left and what do we see, oh just one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Pyramids at the Giza Plateau. Where else, can you drive to take your car to be serviced and see one of the Seven Wonders out your window?

I smiled to myself and it hit me, once again, that yes I live in Cairo and no the thought has not worn off yet, it has not become "regular" to me yet. I was in awe, took some photos and was like wow!




Its cool living in Cairo, really it is. It’s a metropolitan city and it’s very diverse, which I enjoy. You have many expats from all over the world living, working or going to school here.

But for me, Cairo used to be a place I vacationed, not lived. Well it’s been almost year of residing here and it still feels like a vacation- well sort of. Sure we have the daily task of shopping and securing things for our home and life, but we are still not working or running a business, which we hope do soon, so it is still like a vacation in a way I guess.

The coffee...ok. I finally had my first cup of REAL, strong, Starbucks like coffee here at a cafe named Cilantro. I ordered a latte, and it was amazing! The coffee I have had outside, has been instant- tasting, like Nescafe (which is SO popular here) but this was real brewed, good bean coffee! I was so siked! I told a friend of mine and she told me there is another chain called, Costa Coffee and it is amazingly good, using good italian beans, so I am on my way to them next. Funny, but you have to have your good coffee, the day wouldn't be complete without one. We have an espresso machine at home and make it daily, but you know when you're out, you want a good cup of coffee.....

Amazing...

If you have been following the comments from my post entitled "Some thoughts" you'll agree that this indeed is amazing.

So I am ready to go to bed, almost 2Am now, but I decide one last check of email. I open an email from a list I belong to, starts with the following:

"Ultimate good awaits those who persevere in doing good in this world. And (remember,) God's earth is spacious. Those who are patient in adversity will be given a reward without measure." - The Quran, 39:10

What a great way to get off to bed....amazing!

Thursday, July 6, 2006

Some thoughts

So the wonderful Fertile Soul leaves this comment on my blog, and it warrants a post of its own. She is always so insightful; I am so glad I found her blog. So she left the following:

Anyway, I was wondering, do you ever feel then, if it didn’t work out so far, why would an ivf change anything? I mean, if it wasn’t meant to happen, why would ivf make it so? If God didn’t grant it after all this trying and hoping and wanting and crying, why would ivf trump it?

I believe (me), not saying if you disagree you're wrong, but MY belief is that IVF alone will not be successful. Nothing can trump God , if it does, He made it do it so.

NOTHING is successful or unsuccessful unless God Wills it. So IVF too, will be successful IF it’s meant for any us to have a child.

Natural child birth, IVF, adoption and foster children, these are bounties from God if He Gives us children by any of these means. If we are meant to have children, which ever way we get them, then it is a gift from God, part of His Plan for us.

So for me, when IVF2 is successful, I will thank God for the blessing and know that I was supposed to give birth to twins (subliminal hope) by His Will… IVF.

I know that nothing happens without God's permission. I also know that God never gives us anything that we can not bear, as hard it seems sometimes. There is indeed a reason for everything, good and bad. And when it gets so bad, or seems hopeless, we have to remember there is wisdom in everything. We may not be able to see that wisdom at that moment, but in time it will sometimes appear. This has happen to me on numerous occasions, something tragic, or upsetting and then later down the line I see the significance and actual good I gained from it.

I am not preaching, I don't do that. Just sharing what I believe and not asking you to agree or disagree, just blogging some thoughts.....

So for me, I guess this could sum it up from portions of an article I read online ( what I wanted to say above but not as eloquent…):

Everything is from Him. Simple, yet so important and powerful. Everything is from God. When we attempt to understand our lives in this way, through the eyes of tawheed, (monotheism- the belief in one God) with God as the ultimate cause of everything, quite naturally we will seek understanding in our lives. We know God creates everything, we know God is the primary cause behind everything, and we know that God is the Most Merciful and the source of ultimate good. Thus, with everything that occurs in our lives, might we ask “what are we to learn, Lord, and how should we respond to that which You have willed?” From this vantage point, we will naturally yearn to know what God wants us to do, which in fact we already have the answer for: to know Him.

One of the important roles that hardship plays in life is to facilitate introspection, to help us look toward the inside and better understand our innermost selves and hearts. When we experience tragedy or calamity, often the first thing we do is go inside ourselves, seeking understanding and solace. It is an important soulful activity that must be done in order to fully realize our humanness...

Resilience is the unique ability to cope with hardship and trial. The prophets of God, however, were not examples of resilience. They did not merely cope with the arduous tasks and trials that they were given. They did not merely survive, they transformed. Transformation, not resilience, is what we need today. We need not only the ability, skills, and knowledge to cope with what is happening around and to us, but we must use our resources to improve ourselves as well as those around us for universal betterment. This is the true Prophetic example.

Can you think of a name?

Well it was still humid when I woke up this morning, I don't think its going away anytime soon. Oh well, I'll survive i'm sure... I'll just keep sweating profusely and taking numerous showers while doing so!

Anyway, being that capital "L" that you all know I am, I am going to start a contest...yes, yes a contest. You all remember that cat that frequents our garden so often, well its come back many times, almost daily and it only seems right to give it a name. I got the most emails on its photo and have been encouraged by a certain someone to do so, so M.M. this contest is for you!

Okay the list begins with:

1. Sherbert
2. William
3. Loser ( guess who?)
4. Gertrude

So add your own name by posting a comment, here is a photo again to see this new celebrity cat here in North Cairo ( my goodness, i have indeed went off the deep end this time)

Lazy...

Hey all, I have been lazy to update my blog these days, why? It is SO HUMID here! I hate it! I don't mind the heat, but this humidity is killing me. I will blog tomorrow though, just wanted to say hey! Oh, and Happy belated Independance Day to those of you in U.S.A. I used to love to watch the fireworks.....

Saturday, July 1, 2006

Been tagged?

Thanks Fertile Soul for taggin' me. Now here's a little info not sure you need to know or not....LOL....

Seven Things I'd Like to Do Before I Die:

1. Have a successful IVF cycle.
2. Be a chef in MY OWN restaurant.
3. Accumulate A TON of good deeds. I am trying hard at this daily, wish me luck.
4. Be ready to meet God.
5. Learn more languages.
6. Travel to Spain, Turkey, Seattle and the French Riviera.
7. Send my mother to Tahiti.

Seven Things I Can't Do:

1. I can’t do math.
2. I can’t get pregnant. (smile)
3. I can’t bake. (but boy can I cook- woo hoo)
4. I can’t drink plain milk.
5. I can’t drive a stick shift.
6. I can’t wake up with a smile (I’m tryin, really I am)
7. I can’t give up on IVF.

Seven Things That Attracted Me to My Partner:

1. That he is a true Believer in the One, True God.
2. His extreme respect for all.
3. That he was originally from a country far, far away... which we now live in, who woulda’ thought!
4. His sexy accent.
5. His amazing patience with me. (This was apparent immediately believe me.)
6. His caring, soothing smile.
7. His ability to connect with everyone, everyone that meets him LOVES him!

Seven Books That I Love :

1. The Quran
2. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
3. The Complete Middle East Cookbook
4. The Hadj
5. Life, Death and the Life After
6. Stories of the Prophets
7. A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam


Seven Movies I COULD Watch Over and Over:

1. Airplane (remember, I’m a L-O-S-E-R)
2. The Usual Suspects
3. All “Scary Movies”, the spin offs of horror movies that is
4. Casino
5. Breakfast at Tiffany’s
6. Kingdom of Heaven ( because of Orlando Bloom of course. I'm not a *real* fan, but liked him so much in THIS movie)
7. The Godfather Trilogy

Seven People I Want to Tag:

Sorry I won't be taggin' anyone. The ones I would, have probably already been tagged. ( I’m still a fairly new blogger).