Cherished Moments

If a couple of pics can adequately describe why I'm happy to be back in the States, then here they are:

Enjoying the sunshine with my son eating Pinkberry frozen yogurt: Sea Salt Chocolate with strawberry yogurt crispies, strawberry juice pearls, fruity pebbles and almond roca!!

The look on my son's face at the movie theater; priceless, since Saudi doesn't have movie theaters.

Spending family time at Disney World and being able to openly show affection in public!

December 2014 Update

I have had multiple people asking me to post an update to my job situation. So here it is: I did NOT get the job I had interviewed for recently:( I was very disappointed at first, but after taking some time to reflect, the truth is I really wasn't the most qualified person for the job, though I have no doubt that I would've learned my duties quickly and done the job well. 

However, I think it's actually for the best. Upcoming jobs include two I think I'm more well suited for and both include duties I think I'd prefer doing. Apparently there are even more options coming as well; though I'll have to wait and see what the offered salaries will be to determine if I can feasibly apply for those. In the meantime they'll keep me working on a temporary basis, so all is well at this time. Thanks to everyone who's encouraged and supported me through the job hunt, you know who you are:) 

In the meantime, we've had a beautiful Christmas at home in Texas with friends and family, good food and even better wine! Merry Christmas to you all and may you be blessed with health and happiness!:)

M-I-C...K-E-Y...

We just got back from the Happiest Place on Earth! What an amazing Disney World trip we had! We met up with family friends, (our goddaughter and her parents). She's a couple of months older than Kellan and they were adorable together, often holding hands and chattering excitedly about the rides. It was so nice for Kellan to be around someone his own age; their interaction was priceless!

As for Steven and I, it was awesome sharing our experiences freshly back in the States with such dynamic and fun friends. 

We laughed, joked, drank wine, ate good food and screamed loudly on rides. Truly one of the best vacations we've ever been on! We got back Friday evening, and we're finishing unpacking and reorganizing the house, getting settled in. Next week: going back to work for the first time in over a year!:)

Going Home! Officially!

We finally made it from Abha to Riyadh, not uneventfully however. Before we boarded our first flight we were told we had to go back to security as one of our checked bags had been flagged. Turns out they were antsy over Kellan's replica Pirates of the Caribbean gun from Disney World. 

Going through security here in Riyadh, the same bag was flagged, but this time we were ready for them. They laughed when I took it out and demonstrated it. One of my bags got flagged twice as well, all over a mini genie's lamp I had purchased in Turkey! I thought it was ironic that we were in Saudi Arabia and an item featured in the story Arabian Nights caused all the fuss!

It was an exhausting set of flights, the first: 1 1/2 hours to Riyadh, about 6 hours to Frankfurt, Germany, (a 5 hour layover) and finally a 10 hour flight into Houston. We were so happy to be back in the States, tired beyond belief but in good spirits. And then...Steven got flagged by Customs and pulled into a back room for an interview with Homeland Security. Kel and I waited and waited, and finally after close to an hour Steven emerged irritated, and even more tired. They wouldn't say why specifically he was flagged, but they asked several detailed questions about his work in Saudi. We finally went on our way, but slightly deflated from the experience.

We had 4 days to relax and acclimate at home and then on to 9 days in Walt Disney World, Florida!:)

On Our Way...Almost

9 Suitcases, 2 Backpacks, 1 Stroller, 1 Car seat, 1 Tote bag and a Partridge in a Pear Treeeeee!! Whew! We leave for the airport in a couple of hours for what will be the start to almost 25 hours of travelling back home to Houston for the holidays. 

The house has been cleaned, all the laundry done, closets and drawers  double and triple checked to make sure nothing has been left behind that shouldn't have been. The fridge has been cleaned out, beds made, computer shut down, A/C turned off.

Our traveling clothes were laid out, ready to be donned, online check-in completed, boarding passes printed out. Benadryl has been packed, snacks have been packed, my anti-anxiety pills (for flying) have been packed--all three packed where I can get to them quickly:)

In short, we are ready. Too bad we thought we were leaving yesterday and did the EXACT same things last night. Except when I went to check in online, I received an error message stating you have to be within 23 hours of travel--which we were not--because our flight wasn't leaving until TONITE!!

We were numb with shock. How had we messed that up? We'd lined up a ride to the airport, everything packed and in the hallway, and we were accidentally a DAY EARLY?!

Needless to say, we chalked it up to nerves and stress, laughed disbelievingly all night, and went to bed, ready to do it all again tonite, which we did. But the itinerary has been checked, we know we're good this time, and we're anxious to be off. We'll be in Houston Sunday afternoon. Wish us luck:)

We're Going to Disney World!!

It has certainly been a stressful couple of weeks, waiting for the verdicts on our job applications and trying to be flexible in light of ever-changing short term plans! Whew! So, I am especially looking forward to a relaxing 9 days in--DISNEY WORLD! That's right. We are going to join Kel's god-sister and her parents in the (second) Happiest Place on Earth. We knew we wanted to give Kel a special vacation for his birthday (which falls mid-November) and where better to seek out magic than in our favorite vacation destination, Mickey's house!

We'll spend the first 7 days at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, famous for its rooms with views of live animals in a savannah-like setting. We brought Kel to this resort for his first visit a couple of years ago, but there'll be a lot of new things he'll discover at this age. 

Our last two days we'll be hopping over to Disney's Port Orleans Riverside for a stay in their new Royal-themed rooms, complete with Sassagoula River view. 

Aside from our Disneyland Paris visit last December, we've never visited WDW during the holidays, so we're thrilled to be visiting during Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. 

In addition to this special holiday event, we've got some other very cool events lined up. Our goddaughter will be receiving a princess makeover at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique, and Kel will get a Captain Jack Sparrow makeover at the Pirates League. 

We'll follow the festivities up with dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table in the castle where we'll be greeted by Cinderella herself and a few of her best girlfriends: Aurora, Snow White, Ariel and Belle. 

Speaking of royal experiences, we'll have an opportunity to eat in the Beast's Castle, lunching at the Be Our Guest Restaurant. 

We have reserved seats for Epcot's annual Candlelight Processional; a telling of the Christmas story backed by a full choir and orchestra, and our celebrity narrator will be Whoopi Goldberg! 

Best of all, we'll be doing special birthday celebrations for both the kids (they're two months apart) including a Welcome to Disney party at our resort complete with Disney-themed birthday presents. And even the other adults are in for some holiday surprises I've spent weeks planning!

This will be a great opportunity for us to relax and unwind after coming into the States, time we can spend reconnecting with friends and making new experiences as a family:)

Hello Pin Number, My Old Pal!

As we get closer to going home for the holidays, I'm beginning to think of more and more adjustments I'll have to make. Here in Saudi, I've grown very accustomed to carrying large quantities of cash on me. The compound commissary, snack bar, coffee shop, restaurant, dry cleaners and barber only accept cash. At the major stores and in every store in the malls, plastic is accepted. However, there can be a few problems associated with using them here:

1)  They often have problems with their credit card machines. It is quite common to walk into a store and be informed they are only taking cash as their whole system is down. 

2) Regardless  of how conscientious you've been about putting travel alerts on your account, your bank may still seem to enjoy stopping a transaction or two every now and again just to keep you on your toes; which is always fun particularly after they've already rung up and bagged a huge grocery purchase. 

3) Some of the cashiers seem to be unscrupulous, untrained, or both, and will double charge you or overcharge you or both. We are currently disputing a charge with our bank at a store where we were told our transaction didn't go through and were handed the declined receipt--in Arabic of course. We then paid with cash and left. Guess what showed up in our online banking the next day? You guessed it...the so-called declined transaction. 

4) Even at some of the stores that accept cards, their systems have difficulty recognizing non-Saudi bank cards and may not authorize the transaction. For all these reasons, it's far easier to take money out of the ATM once or twice a month and pay for your purchases with cash.

Back home, we come from a culture that largely (at least for my generation) uses plastic for everything. I almost never had cash, treating it very much like a novelty item. Anything I needed in every place I could think of accepted my debit cards. It will be strange to use my card to pay for things again, to not need to break the 500 (SAR) you're carrying. It was very difficult to get accustomed to a cash culture when I first got here, especially with the currency difference. I'm very comfortable with Euros, but had never seen a Riyal. It'll be nice to shop for things without having to do the automatic conversion in my head!

And so now I will get to return to using my beloved, personalized debit cards. I will once again earn my points at the gas station, the grocery store and when eating out. Get ready BofA, rest time's over!

This chick's about to put some serious wear and tear on her cards!:)