From Boxes to Bargains

So, life has been a bit crazy since I last wrote. Before I begin writing about more of my moving adventures, I would like to take a step back to the weekend and share our wonderful chalet experience.
My mom rented one of those new beautiful beach houses in the lagoon area over by Khairan Resort. We were by the Al Zor chalets which is a newer beautiful area. We had a three story, 5 bedroom, diwaniya, driver room, huge living room, dining room, kitchen, giant yard and a pool chalet. We rented it from Thursday till Saturday for KD 300 and it was worth every penny. There were tons of kids with us because my niece invited tons of her friends. They all had a blast going for walks and hanging out at the beach. My nephew and his little friend spent countless hours in the pool. I was worried he was going to turn into a prune!
The chalet had all the necessities you need. Fully equipped kitchen, pillows, blankets and all that. It was just a wonderful experience and I would highly recommend it.

Story of my life! ^

 



Now on to moving. Oh my word it is hectic! So we put an ad up on Just Landed for all of our furniture and my phone has not stopped ringing. I like that everything is going fast, I was worried things wouldn't get sold. However, what I can not stand is the disrespect. People are coming into my home that I put my heart and soul into and try to basically rob my husband and I. We are already selling our stuff at ridiculously low prices and people want even more of a discount and things for free! We aren't a charity here! We are a young married couple moving that might need that money just as much as you need that furniture. It is just annoying and disrespectful. Like one guy came last night to look at our PlayStation for his kids and made a big deal about him coming for that and we mustn't sell it before he gets there. So he gets here and tries to haggle. We are including three controllers and their wires, this motion controller with a gun to go with it and the camera all for KD 60. I am sorry that is a bargain. This man was all like aren't you including all your games in the price? Um..no...those are my husbands games. Plus the games don't really lose their value and if he wanted them they are honestly all about KD 300 worth. Then he goes on to say no you must give me a better discount, I can go to a store now and get it for KD 60 new. Well you know what I say to that? THEN GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE AND GO BUY IT ELSEWHERE!!! What the hell is wrong with people?
Any who, my mom bought our couch and my mom in law ended up buying the PlayStation. I just love them so much. They are itching to help us out in any way possible.
We also sold our dryer yesterday so it is air drying our stuff for a while...eww...We also sold our washing machine last night and the guy is coming to pick it up tonight. So it also looks like I will be washing our clothes in the bath tub!!! Haha going totally old school here. I hope someone buys our beloved Samsung Smart TV! We are really selling it for a steal. It is KD 300 but brand spanking new. The 3D glasses are still in the plastic! The original price is close to KD 500. We shall see.

Anyways, note to everyone: Just Landed really works but get ready for very rude and invasive people. They don't respect that this is still your home and not the Friday Market.

Tata for now...xoxo

What is Healthy?

So, my rant yesterday got me thinking about health. I wouldn't say I am healthy or a health nut, but I have made a huge difference in my diet and lifestyle since I got fed up with the image. Then it got me thinking, what is healthy? I don't believe in diets, pills and all that. I have tried them but I get too cranky and get cravings and am in general not happy. So instead, I took the everything in moderation approach. I didn't cut a single thing out of my diet nor did I substitute things. I just watch more carefully at what I ate. I realized I drank coke like a crazy person. So I started paying more attention to water and made sure I got that in while I lessened the amount of coke I drank. It was the little things like that that added up and made all the difference. As I mentioned in my ranting post, I lost a good amount of weight but I would like to to note that weight was not my main concern. I didn't focus on a scale and all that, I just focused on how I felt when I looked at myself. I judged it on how comfortable I was in my own skin. So below is my before and after picture. Now some people wouldn't see me as fat even when I had the extra weight but that isn't the point. I gained more weight than I ever had, I felt like crap about myself, I wasn't sleeping well and I wasn't confident in myself anymore. So below is the picture. Now my next step is to get into a workout habit and tone my tummy so that I can be confident in a bikini again.

The left picture is a more recent one when I started to like how I look again. The right side is one of my low points when you basically had to force me to take a picture. I was forced to take that one because it was Christmas and I needed to be included. :( However, I am feeling great now and when I out those two pics side by side it totally boosted my confidence and made me just feel good.

So on an end note, get out there! No one is going to do it for you. Take charge of your life before it is too late and love yourself.

Peace Out! xoxo

Catch Ya Later

So today has been  a sad day for me and will continue to be one for a couple more hours. Not only is it my last day at work but Indiana and I also sold our beloved Wrangler today. I didn't realize I had such an attachment to that car until I let it go.

Now, I have to wrap up my work and say good bye to all the lovely colleagues and friends I have made here. We have become so close in such a short time. These are the people you see every morning and at the end of every day. It is going to be very hard. But in the end of the day, I am not saying goodbye but catch you later instead. That's the great part of today's day in age; with all the social media we have, everyone can stay in touch.

On the flip side just a bit of info for those who are leaving and don't know the process. When you quit your job they usually will not give you your last months salary or end of service benefits until you are out from under their residency. Also, once you cancel your residency which should take three to four days, you automatically switch to a one month visa. So you don't have to fret over getting out of here too fast. Please note: I am American and this applies to me, I am not certain if it applies to all nationalities.

If you are selling your car, it was super easy for us to sell it right back to the dealer. It was at a bit of a lose but you never get your money back with a car anyways. It literally took us less than 24 hours to do it. We went to the dealer, agreed on a price, left it there overnight for them to check it, met at the traffic department this morning, paid our traffic fines, transferred the name and then got the cash in our hands right then and there. So easy. You pay KD 10 to transfer the registration. So we totally skipped the whole hassle of finding someone and advertising the car and all that stuff.

So far that is one headache of our list of things to do before our big move!!!

Catch ya laters!!! xoxo

Stop Binge Eating!!!

If there is one thing that gets on my nerves the most is people not being able to control themselves and letting their health reap the consequences. I am sitting at Pinkberry in the avenues having a little treat. Now I am in no way fit with a six pack but I am a petite girl, size 2 sometimes 4. I have a tummy that I wish wasn't there. So I did something about it! When I was in university I gained a lot of weight. It made me super self conscious. I was always a size two and I found myself wearing a size six and bigger "boyfriend" shirts. Then one day I was like enough is enough! I'm not sixteen anymore I have to start taking care of myself. I dropped around 8 kgs and I feel great, back to 55kgs. 

So I am sitting here at Pinkberry enjoying my frozen yogurt when three rather large ladies come and order some yogurt. Ok frozen yogurt is the healthier option but not when you get a large size and fill it with chocolate flavored yogurt with all kind of chocolate toppings on it. These women sit next to me and start eating and chatting. About ten minutes later one of the girls gets up me goes and orders another one!!! Same thing, large size with all the yummy sugar filled toppings. I watch her come back to the table and struggle to sit down because she is so large. Why would you do that to yourself??? It's like people just give up and become a prisoner of their own body! It makes me so angry because I know those women can never do anything active! They can't hop on a wakeboard and try it. They can't go running or play a sport. Hell they can't even keep up with their children! So what do they do? Feed their nasty habits to their children so they live the same unhealthy lifestyle. I just don't get it! Sorry for the rant but that just boils my blood. Get out if the damn mall and all the temptation and get your ass in a gym. Your health is not something to ignore. 

Singing out before I work myself up even more...xoxo

Tis the Season to Be Snotty!

So today is my pink sweater day. I believe I am catching the oh so infamous flu bug. I saw my niece was getting sick the other day and thought oh no! I am on my last week of work and really wanted to leave with a bang! You know, make people miss me kind of thing. Leave while you are on top. Well...with the way I feel today...my bang will be more of a snotty sneeze.

I woke up this morning in a funk and was late to work. I put on my usual clothes I wear to work which is pretty casual because I dress in our bands. However, my large, old, pink. Washington DC sweater came with me. The moment I put it on everyone was like are you ok? I am in a huge sweater when it is boiling outside! I think that question is silly. So I have three more days of work and I get to fight off a bug the whole time.

While I am on the topic of the flu and colds, make sure you know which clinic or hospital is the one to go to. If you are like me and hate medicine then I will also share some home remedies I prefer.

First off, below are the clinics I would recommend when needing to get a check up.

• International Clinic- Dr. Richards specifically
• London Hospital if you live down on the Fintas side of town
• Al Salam Hospital if you are on the city side of town

I usually don't stray from International Clinic. I have been going there for as long as I can remember.

Now for my home remedies.

• When you feel that bug coming on, boil some water and pour it in a cup. Then, put a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, some honey and cinnamon on top. This helps kill the harmful bacteria building up in your throat.
• If you already have a sore throat and are coughing up a storm here is something to ease the pain. (My mom-n-law taught me this one) It is the same concept as the one above however change the vinegar to lemon. Its not the best tasting drink ever for both but they really work.
• I also, boil water and put fresh ground ginger into the pot. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes then drink it. This is a long term remedy that has numerous health benefits. I would get in the habit of this one.
• I am a firm believer in those heat water pads. When you are feeling icky get one of those and park it on the couch with one of those and relax.
• If your stomach is uneasy you will be surprised what a simple hot/warm glass of water will do. Nothing in it, just hot/warm water.
• I am also a firm believer in soaking in a bath when feeling groggy.
• If you are a lady, I would invest in a lot of cranberry juice when living in Kuwait. I buy the organic cranberry pills you can get at any pharmacy. It is completely natural.
• Sleeping problems? Warm up some of your preferred milk, pour it in a glass and out some honey in it. It works like a charm when your head hits the pillow.

If you have any good home remedies I would love to learn more! Any who, let me go attempt to work.

Good bye for now as I wipe my sore nose.... xoxo

Fun in the Sun!!!!!

So even though we are leaving Kuwait I would like to just make it known that I have had a blast living here. So many people come here with a  bad attitude thinking this country sucks because there is no alcohol, the party scene is dead, there is nothing to do here. BLAH BLAH BLAH!!! Everywhere is boring if you just sit on your butt all day and complain. It is what you as an individual make of it that matters. Ok so Kuwait doesn't have alcohol, so what? If you can't live without it then you may have a problem. Yes, I enjoy a nice glass of wine every now and then or a beer. But, I don't need it. If you think about it, Kuwait is a way to detox and live a healthier life. Not to mention save a bit of money!

Anyways, for those of you that are reading and may think this place is a drag, here is a little insight from a person who has made the most of her time here. For example, if you see the above picture, that is me having fun on the beach. Life isn't fun if you cant do cartwheels on the beach. Indiana and I invited some people to the beach and we brought our jet ski along. It was a blast we all put down our beach towels and soaked up the sun. The jet ski is always fun and a great way to spend time with friends. It was just an all round good weekend. We didn't pay the entrance fee for the Hilton or what have you, we just parked it at a nice beach spot behind Spoons in Mahboula. That part of the beach is usually quiet and you can just relax.

Other days we go on our boat to the Islands. That is a blast. We both scuba dive so sometimes we bring our gear and go explore.  Other days we snorkel or spear fish. Some days we just chill on the boat with good music.

During the winter we grab the 4X4x and hit the ridge to go camping. We don't do the fancy camping some people do with the trailer houses and all that. We just grab a tent, chair, a BBQ, food and lots of wood. It is really a blast. Sometimes we have a group of 30 or so people and we always meet new friends on these outings. If you are in the market for good camping gear, go check out Explorers Base in Shuwaikh located in the Tilal Center. They have everything. Our favorite buy so far has got to be the Coleman Insta Tent. You can literally put it up in less than a minute and take it down in the same amount of time. It also fits back into its original bag! No more fishing rods through the sleeves and all that jazz. It really transformed camping for us. Explorers Base is a must see. Below is the link to their website where you can also order your stuff online.

http://www.explorersbase.com/

That is the tent we got. This is the 4 person tent for KD 55. It is amazing we can fit our queen size blow up mattress in it with room to spare. They also sell all the accessories you need there like the mattresses and sleeping bags. There are 6 person and 8 person tents as well.

Sometimes we tone it down and go to the mall for dinner and a movie. That is also fun because we don't do it every weekend. There are tons of things to do here, you just have to try and get out there.

We will miss Kuwait dearly.

Checking out for now. xoxo

Bahrain Bound :)

Well remember the post I put up about making big decisions? Well that was because Indiana and I were doing just that. My husband got an amazing job offer in Saudi Arabia but the company will house us in Bahrain. He will be able to come home every night because he works close to the border. It will be a 45 minute to a one hour drive. So basically what we spend in traffic here in Kuwait most days!
So we thought about this long as hard and decided that we would take it! Indiana was very thoughtful and wanted me to make this decision with him 100%. He was worried about my job that I just started because I like it and am making my way in the company. So he even presented the option of me staying in Kuwait and we visit on weekends. Um....thank you luvie but no way in hell! I am young and only just graduated a little over a year ago. I have time to explore in my career and try out new things. Yes, I love my job but I also love the idea of exploring more in the business world.

So all in all, this is exciting and terrifying all at the same time. We have soooo much to do in the mean time. Sell my beloved Jeep :(. Get rid of all our furniture. Pack all our belongings. Get our dogs ready to be moved over with us. So much to do. But we have some time so it is ok.

We also get to go to South Africa!!!! YAY! I have been dying to go back. Indiana has to go to sort out his medical and all that jazz to get his visa for Saudi. So we thought, what a great time to take a nice vacation before we start a whole new chapter in our lives!

It is funny, I have lived in Kuwait for the majority of my life and probably spent the majority of that time wishing I could get out of here. Well now I am and to be honest it is a bit overwhelming. In the end of the day, this is my home. Kuwait is what I know. Although I go mad here sometimes, at the same time I love it. So this is going to be a lot harder than I first imagined it would be. Thankfully we will only be on the other side of the pond so we can come visit all the time. Although, I believe friends and family would much rather come and visit us! They can soak up the sun in a more relaxed environment and not to mention be able to unwind with a nice cold beer or glass of wine!

The place I believe we will be living is like a dream. It will be a villa in the floating city and our back yard will be the water! Talk about a dream come true! So of course Daisy Duke, our boat, will be making the journey with us. Oh, I almost forgot the Jet Ski, that will be along for the ride as well! I am so excited for Nikki and Max they finally get to be in a house with a yard!

The more I write about this the more excited I get. If anyone has any tips or tricks to make this transition easier please post on my blog. I would appreciate all the help I can get!

Masalama! xoxo 

Weekend Getaway to Bahrain

So over the weekend Indiana and I went to Bahrain to visit a good friend and have some fun. Have some fun is what we did!

It is amazing how different Bahrain is to Kuwait. We just felt like we could breath. It is so easy going and beautiful. We stayed in the Movenpik which was very nice. On the weekends they have a brunch you go to that is out of this world and so are the drinks. We must have sat four close to five hours with our friends just having a good time.

We also ventured out into the city a bit and went to a bar called Diggers. An interesting place that is. It is a hot spot for men, especially western men. Let just say you get more than just drinks and music at this place. I believe I was the only female that was not of Asian orient. However, Indiana and I had a blast cause the live band was out of this world! We spent pretty much the whole night by the stage and I even got to sing!!! Very cool. We made some new friends and it was just all a good laugh.

That is what I like about my hubby and I, we are adaptable. This bar isn't really our scene but we made the best of it and had a blast. We just go with what ever life throws at us with a smile. We are a team and that is how we make it work. It is the two of us or neither of us. Doesn't work for every couple but that is how we role. There is no need for girls night out or guys night out cause we just sit and wish we were together. When I say we are best friends, I mean it. There isn't an interest of mine that he doesn't share. If he doesn't in the beginning he will always give it a go and visa versa. Maybe that's why 5 years down the line we are still obsessed with each other. It is always fun and a challenge. The Bahrain trip was just another adventure in our book of many.

I would highly recommend those short trips to Bahrain. I prefer it to Dubai actually. Less crowded and so much more affordable. Did I mention how pretty it is? Hehe. Any who, just wanted to share.

Hasta Luego! xoxo

Oh a Woman's Mind

So today I am in my Jeep Wrangler, AKA the second love of my life, and I reach in the back to grab something only to realize it is burning hot in my back seat. So I started thinking wow I would hate to be a passenger back there, it is just too hot. Now the Wrangler caters to a special kind of person, ME! I just love the functions and capabilities of the car. It does everything I could ever want. Speed isn't it's strongest point but grunt is! I can get over anything I want and the Jeep never fails me. Plus being able to take the whole top off and the doors is just amazing. Yes, I have done that many of times. Every winter we go camping in Mutla'a ridge and the first order of business is stripping the Jeep down to have some fun on the dunes. So all in all, I am a huge Wrangler fan. However, this lack of AC in the back really got me thinking today. We live in Kuwait, IT IS HOT! Then there is the ever lingering thought in the back of my head of starting a family. So naturally being a woman, I start to think that this isn't the most infant friendly car. I can't have a newborn burning up in the back my car. I also can't be selfish and ignore that fact. So what is the solution?

Well, there is the obvious, sell it and get a more child friendly vehicle, the Grand Cherokee. Or tent my back windows to lessen the sun coming into the back thus making it cooler. That wont be enough of course, I will also have to go start my car ten to fifteen minutes before my baby and I even go somewhere. That seems like a lot of work and we all know after having a baby, memory isn't a woman's best friend. So what to do what to do? I will tell you. For now I will enjoy every moment of my beloved Wrangler and worry about the child friendly aspects when the time comes. hehe

Oh how a woman's mind can run in a thirty minute drive to work. So of course the first thing I did when I got to work was research the Jeep Grand Cherokee. It is very nice. Indiana, my sweet husband, tried to convince me when we were at the dealership to buy me a car to get the Grand Cherokee but alas I saw the four door, 70th Edition, Jeep Wrangler and it stole my heart. Apparently the Grand Cherokee is the most awarded SUV ever. Interesting.... Maybe one day I will upgrade or downgrade whatever my mind decides it will be to that car one day...Who knows..

While we are on the vehicle subject, I would just like to note that if money wasn't an option I would buy the Skyline GTR in a heartbeat! That car just takes sexy to a whole new level. I would have to have an SUV as well of obviously. My lifestyle does not suit a sedan or sports car. But what I would do to get behind the wheel of that GTR and just rip up the pavement. Ah....daydreaming....

Now let me get to work! Tata for now xoxo

So how do you make big decisions?

So my hubby and I have been faced with one of those life changing decisions that only come along every so often. How exactly do you make those kind of choices? All I can say is I am the luckiest girl alive to have married Indiana. He is my partner and my best friend so naturally discussing this was a piece of cake. We don't hold anything back from each other and we openly discuss our concerns.

But how do you make a big choice? Well its simple really. The most important part is to not be afraid to take a RISK!!! People who play it safe let life just pass them by. They might be happy and content but somewhere down the road they are going to wonder, " Where would I be now if I had just taken more risks?" So take risks people. Failing is only failing if you let it get the best of you. Otherwise it is just a speed bump along the way. You get back up, dust yourself off, and carry on. So, we weighed the pros and cons. We also took time to ourselves to really think about this in depth then we put everything on the table. The pros outweigh the cons. So it ended up being that simple.

The key is to be a good team. TRUST and LOVE go a long way. I guess we are just part of a very small hand full of relationships that can accomplish this without it breaking us. I have seen it happen to often. I usually have a rule for new couples who come and live in the Middle East. If you make it 2 years your solid. However, nine times out of ten, people don't make it. Why is that? I really don't know. But for some reason the Middle East puts on a huge challenge for couples. Especially western couples. Maybe its because the culture and lifestyle is just too different and one person caves under the pressure. I don't know. All I know is Indiana and I survived five years here together so I feel like we can take on the world!

I bet you are really wondering what this decision is aren't you? Well I'm not telling just yet so stay tuned! hehehe xoxo

Oh!!! I almost forgot!!!

P.S. Met a police man at the gas station who has been in te force for over 15 years and he said all this hype about the new traffic laws are B/S. Phew.....