Over the river and through the woods... to Grandmother's house we go

Today we are heading to the my loves's parents house. I love going there. We get to see the family, relax, and enjoy the peace of not living off the main road. Not to mention that the pups love to run in the yard. At our tiny location they have to stay on leads and can't run. No fun for them.
I am so glad that we get this chance to be abe to see Bean's grandparents, sister and nieces. She learned to really walk the last time we were there. I wonder what else she will learn this time. The four hour trek across Florida is nothing too special. No sights to see. Lots of restrooms though. What should take us around four hours can sometimes take us up to six depending on if Bean's is awake or the dogs decide to have tiny bladders.
We usually drive in silence when My Man drives. No music to be heard. Talking only when there is a corny joke to tell or to try and prounce a city's name. As for me, when I get behind the wheel... the music comes on, the laughing starts and the corny jokes are even worse.
Welcome to our road trip.
P.S Don't forget the snacks or drinks next time.

Out with a Bang...In with the flu

Well the first four days of 2018 have really been great... NOT!
We ended the year with everyone in our household sick. This cold/flu bug has attached itself to us and dug it's heels in for the long haul. Beans has had it the worst. Poor Baby girl has the hacking cough, runny nose and on off fever. She falls asleep randomly while she is eating. Cries everytime we wipe her nose. Wakes up in the middle of the night with a plugged nose (like a dam on the outside of her nose). Her wimpers while she sleeps just breaks me in two.
We haven't really left the house in a week except to pick up meds and fluids.
We supposedly got snow the other night but by the time we came outside to let the pupps out, there was none.

Well let's hope that the next week brings my New Years wishes for Health, Prosperity and Peace. So far... not even close. :)

New Year, New Beginning

It has been a busy time since the last time I posted.
Since then there has been a major move to the south, a birth and then first birthday of my baby Beans. And so much more. I have really neglected the blog.
BUT I'M BACK!!
One of my resolutions for the coming year is to post blogs at least once a week. I am not sure what the content will be or if you will get a kick out of reading but I am still gonna post.  :)
With Beans on the run and being so active I know that you will probably get a lot of Mommy Blogs or Baby Beans Blogs. If you have ideas for me... comment below. Let me know what you would like to read.
Maybe more on the books that I will be finishing. So far we have two published through Amazon that you can check out: Room in the Heart and Courageous: This Girls' Journey.
So for now...
Happy Day after Christmas and see you in the new year!!!

Shopping in the mall

I always enjoy shopping at the malls here in Amman. We have been to three so far.
First, there was a small mall called The Avenue. By small I do mean 5 floors.
Next, there was The Galleria. This is 7 floors and fun to navigate.
Last, there was The City Mall. Huge compared to the other two malls.
All of these malls are very well kept and offer a ton of shopping varieties. They even have Starbucks in or around 2 of the larger malls.
In all thee malls there is the Carrefour. This is the Wal-Mart, Kroger, King Sooper, or Glens of Amman.
But I do have to say that the best falafel and hummus  comes from this little stand near the Galleria mall. Great prices and yummy yummy food.

My media rant...

In America, I have noticed, that we are fed information by the media that we usually regard as infinite truth. We are blind to anything outside what the media has provided. Sometimes that is a good thing. But sometimes, as is this case, it is terribly wrong.

We grow up, or at least I did, believing that, in the Middle East all men and women are terrorist. And that there are very few people out there that are kind. Watching videos, that the media have provided, of men killing others, bombed out areas, malnutrition and the like, et cetera. And, don't get me wrong, there are places like that... BUT NOT HERE.

My first couple excursions out into the Jordan city life were very hard for me. I lived in constant fear that I was going to be one of the statistics. I wouldn't even smile at people in the grocery store without putting my head down first, almost like a child before being scolded. I was afraid that if I were to look at a Jordanian I would be arrested for violating their culture/religious beliefs.

And people starred at me...

They weren't staring at me for being an American. They weren't staring at me for not covering my bright red, frizzy hair. They weren't staring at me for wearing different clothes.

They were staring at me because I looked scared of them.

When I finally lifted my head I realized that a few of the things that set me apart from the other people walking in the store was that I was a red head with freckles, and I didn't speak their language.

I found that many of the woman, inside Amman city limits, were very cultured and didn't live by the traditional Muslim ways. They wore pants, capris, no head covering, makeup and lots of jewelry; there was laughter and lots of talking; they had the same emotions that I see all the time, happy, sad, perturbed.

I was no different then them except in appearance.

I have since changed the way I approach, or pass someone in the store. I look at them, smile and nod.

I feel so ashamed at saying that I was racist. I feel so ashamed that I let the media influence my way of thinking about these precious people. I will no longer take the media at face value. I will do due diligence and learn before I judge.

A New Chapter...

So I have really been thinking about these three words the past couple days... "A New Chapter". In the past I had always believed that "A New Chapter" meant that the story was done and a new one started.
But that is not true...
I am an avid reader. I can go through a book in less then a week. I am a writer. But not once did I ever think about this statement. In most books the end of one chapter does not signify the end of the story but just a suspenseful moment.

 Read the below excerpt:

"Where was he?" She thought as she cleaned off the table from the anniversary dinner that she had carefully planned. "He should have been home hours ago". She took the uneated dinner to the kitchen and put the plates in the sink. She had blown out the candles on the table sometime ago, so the dinning room was in shadows. 
Knock, Knock Knock...
"Did you lose your key?" She stated as she walked towards the door. "I've told you keep an extra one in your car," she said as she unbolted the door then turned the handle. 

This is where the chapter would end. But it doesn't end the story. It only is being continued in the next chapter.

When the door opened, there stood a young man in a black uniform, his officer hat under his arm. It was not her husband. 
"Mrs. Smith...my name is Officer Jones. I have some sad news about your husband..."

The new chapter picks up where the last one started.

That is what life does... it just continues with a new chapter heading.

This is a new chapter heading on the same story. May the story continue as wonderful as it has been going so far.

Jet-leg... the silent creeper

For the past two days I have been dealing with jet-leg creeping up on me. It has not been a pleasant experience. I am fine in the morning but once the afternoon hits so does the sleepiness. And it isn't like the weariness goes away...
Unless I close my eyes and try to sleep, it will stay with me and get worse. I don't think I have ever experienced this kind of sever jet-leg before. My body is really fighting me at this point.
Yesterday, for example, I did't get much sleep during the night and was wide awake at 5:30am. So I got out of bed and started to read. Around 10, after I showered and started the coffee pot, I sat down on the couch and passed out hard. "M" carried on with the day and even said that he kissed me and nothing woke me up. Ugh.
I woke up at 5:30pm and felt like someone had hit me with a cement block right between the eyes. After a little bit of food I felt a little better but I was still so sleepy. I knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep that night because of my little nap so I took a sleep aid. Oh boy, that was not the right thing to do.
Yes I did sleep last night but this morning I couldn't wake up. I felt shaky and weak all day. I had two cups of coffee and still nothing. Then around 3:30pm I felt that if I didn't close my eyes I was doing to pass out. So that is what I did. I closed my eyes and was out like a light until "M" got home from work.
I really do hope that this headache and weariness go away.