Domestically speaking

It went so smoothly!  I was able to fly the first leg of the journey with good Doha friends.  We met at the airport and got coffee first.  Yum!  I am defiantly addicted to coffee!  We didn't have seats near each other, but they slept the whole time anyway.

I had selected my seat the day before, and had chosen the exit row, but in the middle.  I have never flown in that row and I wanted to see if the leg room was all everyone had gushed about.  This is where I learned that this is also the baby row.  I sat by the a really cute baby who was very good.  I don't think I'll do this row in the future, though.  This baby was good, but I don't think I'd want to risk it.

When we got to London, the friends and I shared a meal (that they paid for very graciously) at a nice restaurant.  Good British bacon!  Baaaaaaacon.  :-)  Have missed that.  Turkey bacon is NOT the same.

The next flight was the the best.  I actually sat by a real Qatari family!  I sat next to two sisters and got some answers from them about Qatari.  Qatari woman do not have to wear the abaya legally.  Just whatever their family tells them to wear.  They said they never wear the black abaya.  I also asked them another very important question.  Have they seen the newest Harry Potter movie?  They hadn't!!  I couldn't believe it, but at least they'd seen all the other Harry Potter's.

I figured out something else too.  I think I know why Jane Eyre never came out in Qatar.  Because in the movie, the director centralized the drama about her agreeing to marry Mr. Rotchester and be his second wife. Since his first wife was nuts, he didn't consider that his first wife counted, but Jane Eyre (once she found out about his wife) would not marry him, or more precisely be his mistress.  As up to four wives in legal in Qatar I'm guessing that may be the reason why it never showed.  What do you think?

And the food was GOOD!  I sign up for the lactose free meal, which turns out to be the Vegetarian/Vegan meal.  It was really good.  I'm considering looking some vegan recipes up specifically because of the airplane food!  Who has said anything near that before?  Probably not very many people.

I got to Ohare with plenty of time.  I actually got randomly selected to get my bags checked by homeland security.  It was really interesting.  There was no line and they were super nice.  They were curious about Qatar (they had to be, but they asked about the weather too, which I'm sure had nothing do with their job).

The next flight I learned a lot about how to be a frequent flier.  The first thing I learned was Do Not wait for your group to be called because there won't be room in the over head compartment for your carry on.  Or reserve a seat in the very back so that your group is called first and you can for sure get space.

The gal finally called my group, the last one.  I got on the plane and people were not moving.  "Back up, back up."  The flight attendant in the back of the plane yelled.  I was just right by the cockpit by another flight attendant.  She was on the speaker telling people to move forward and go to their seats then they would get the baggage situation dealt with.  I couldn't help but smile.

Finally, I was able to find my seat, row 15.  I dropped one bag then looked for space in the overhead for the other.  There were three attendants standing by the coffee.  Is there any room back there?  There was, one space left in the over head above row 32.  I took it, but felt horrible as there were lots of people behind me.  I was told there would be no curb side check unless there needed to be at the end.  I felt so bad.

I then crawled and jumped over these people and their baggage to get back to my row.  I noticed that people were packed already into the rows in front of mine.  They were smarter than me and had not waited for their group to be called.  They knew how it worked.  When an attendant was standing next to me, I asked what I should do differently next time to avoid what happened.  "Check your bags."

Oh my.  She was not having a good day.  I decided not to mention that when taking their airline last time my flights had been cancelled twice and they had lost baggage and that second bag was carrying a change of clothes along with other overnight stuff.  Poor gal seemed like she had taken about as much as she could take for the day.  Poor thing.

I decided it would be my goal to encourage these attendants as I waited for everyone else to get off the plane so I could get my bag.  I was able to make them smile at least as I made small talk while I waited.  I hope that airline makes some changes.  Their flight attendants are really stressed it seems.

Now I'm home, with a good nights sleep.  When I woke up this morning, I went out on the porch.  It was so beautiful!  The wind blew threw the leaves of the numerous trees making it sound like a stream of water.  The smell of the flowers was wafting in the air as a bumble bee flew past.  I had trouble tearing myself away for a shower.

Doha Dayz

So, husband and I decided for my last day we would order pizza.  I asked if I could get a calzone.  He asked me to order it so he wouldn't have to pick it up.  This is when I had a Doha moment...

I called and the person who answered asked me what the name of the area I lived in was called.  Doesn't this sound like a simple question?  In a city that could make up it's mind about landmarks, it would be, but here not so much.  I told her I was on the edge of two areas.  This is when she starts trying to get me to decide which it is.

(side note:  the smell of sewage just started wafting from the bedroom bathroom as I wrote.  I had to pause, shut the bathroom door, turn on the fan, open the window, and light three candles.  This is normal for Doha...)

Moving forward on the calzone.  The gal on the phone tells me I must give her the name of the area, the name of the compound, and the street name I live on to get the pizza I want.  Again, these would be easy questions if I wasn't living here, but here, not so easy.  I tried to explain to her that we are in Doha and street names change and often don't exist.  I further explained that my compound nor my street has a name.  I thought, maybe she's new here.  She told me no pizza for me unless I give in and give her the street name.

I moved on to my next strategy to get calzone.  I told her I could give her really good directions.  She said I could try to talk to her manager.  The sad look on my face that she could not see was not making any impact on her.

I gave my sob story to the manager.  He said I could give him directions.  I had no idea I knew the city better than somebody.  I started understanding why they were zeroing in on getting the street name.  Finally, we came to a mutual understanding on where he could deliver the goods.

Then the bomb dropped.  He asked me what I would like to order.

"One Hawaiian calzone."

"You mean Hawaiian pizza?"

"No, calzone."

"We don't deliver calzones."

"But I bought one at the resturant several times."

"We don't deliver calzones, just pizza."

My world fell.  I cancelled my order after all that.  Then I called my prince charming, my wonderful husband.  I told him the whole story.  He laughed the whole time.  He said he would be glad to go pick up a calzone for me.  Oh my goodness.  He is truly my prince charming.

I've changed

I have changed my mind... about a LOT of things since I got married.  Sometimes I feel bad for my husband because he tries so hard to remember who I am, but then I go and change.  And he tries so hard to help me be true to myself (and to God first), but I change or I change my mind.

Ways I've changed since marring my husband:
-I wear more makeup
-I don't wear t-shirts except on a rare occasion
-I like good special surprises
-I want babies
-I've gained some much needed weight (although I'd be okay with not gaining any more)
-I can cook a little bit better
-I cut my hair
-I'm a lot less anxious
-I understand my mother-in-law way better
-I LOVE the beauty in Montana
-I like the idea of hiking (though it is still tough to actually get me on a hike)
-I use money differently (my priorities are rounding to be a little more like my husbands)
-I like apple pie
-I like mushrooms in things (but not alone or in big chunks)
-I know how to use a complicated hair dryer (my wonderful friend showed me how, she has sisters)
-I'm not so much a phone person

There's more, but these are all those are changes SINCE I got married.  Do you know how confusing that is for a man who has never had sisters, but loves his wife?  Poor guy.  He's doing great, but he always feels a step behind.  "But I thought you didn't like mushrooms..."  :-)

decorating

I was talking with a friend about houses and what we want in them.  She said that she likes to see what other people are doing and get ideas.  She mentioned that she tried to do a few ideas in a less expensive way than the person did who she got the idea from.  She found that they came off looking cheap for the most part and decided when she does something she will spend the money.  I have found this to be true for many things.  It is a rare occasion that one can really get the high quality for cheap.  For example, when I buy cheap clothes, they end up falling apart much sooner.  Getting higher quality on sale however, that is possible, you just have to know how to do it and be patient for sales.  I am a Gap/Old Navy girl, but I never have to buy things full price because I have a Gap card and I wait for the sales in my email box (and ALWAYS pay the bill on time or early).

But, going along a similar topic to that which I started, decorating is involved!  Especially for someone like me who has never picked where she gets to live and has never been in a place that is really hers.  When I was a child, I lived in my parents house.  When I was in college, a dorm or apartment (for too short a time to really paint or decorate).  When I got married, I moved to a house my husband bought before he met me and had to beg whenever I wanted to change something.  And then we moved overseas and packed both our attempts to decorate up in big plastic bins.  And now, overseas, we live in a villa our company chose for us with furniture that is not ours and walls made of concrete (very difficult to hammer a nail into for pictures :-).  If I ever am able to live in a place that I get to help pick and my husband and I own, I would love to decorate.  But I don't think about it much since I don't know if or when that will ever happen.

But if I were to think about it...  I'd want a big kitchen.  One with an island in it.  It would be tiled with Turkish style tiles.  Bright and lots of natural light.  The theme would be old eastern American barns, emphasis on the red.  Hmm, I sense a clash between the Turkish style and the barns.  I would be light on the Turkish tiles, but I have to have them.  A yellow maybe to compliment the red.  If I can get the right color of blue, a few blue tiles too.  I want a kitchen table to match, preferably the one that my grandma said I can have, that is in her basement.  Though she said she might get rid of it since I won't be taking it in the foreseeable future.  But this is a day dream, so I can have whatever I want.  You know, I don't care much about the rest of the house.  I just love living in the kitchen.  Someday, maybe when we are 70.  Or maybe I should just let go of it now and concentrate on the wonderful things God has given me, which is already more than I ever imagined.

But I'm taking my vitamins

I've also been thinking about babies.  Sorry, that's on my mind like all the time.  It takes real restraint NOT to talk about it.  I did all sorts of research and I know a little more of what is going on.  I started getting crazy stressed.  There are all sorts of do's and don'ts for this pre-pregnancy stage!  You know something I read said you could want to get pregnant too much, and then I started freaking out that I wanted it too much.  There's other crazy stuff, but some of it is stupid.  But, I'm taking my vitamins.  That's good, right?  I'm doing something right?  I only forget like three times a week.  

Okay, the big question for the week... I'm getting a massage next week.  Should I cancel it?  If I'm pregnant and don't know it, could it hurt the baby, even if it's a pea (smaller than a pea)?  Does this mean I can't get massages until I either get pregnant or know I can't get pregnant?  That's sad.  :-(  Ridiculous.

And what about hot tubs?  Am I restricted from them until forever too???  Hot tubs...  sad.

I'm still battling my anxiety, day by day.  Today it's felt easy.