February Frenzy (or Basketball Part 1)!

About three weeks ago we went on our first trip to Dubai. (In true Kim form, I am blogging way after the fact!) Lest you think it was a purely meaningless journey, we were there for the main purpose of seeing Sam and the rest of the ASD JV Basketball team raise the roof on the EMAC (Eastern Mediterranean Activities Conference) tournament. The guys were competing against schools from Amman, Cairo, Beirut, Oman, Dubai and Kuwait. It was three days of intense play and after the first two of those days, our boys were seeded third. That meant that on the last day of the tournament they would have to win all three of their games to come out on top. And win three games they did! In the final game, our ASD Dragons beat the number one seeded team, Beirut, to capture the first place banner! It was fun and way too exciting. Not sure my heart could have taken another day!


All of the players stayed at homes of families from the host school (Dubai American Academy). Sam and his buddy Jake were with the nicest family. Sherry took such good care of the boys. We got to meet her, her husband and her basketball player. Sam was in good hands. (Thanks for the photo, Sherry!)

Sam and Jake

Scott, Sherry's son

Now, Keith and I, as well as some of the other parents, got to go the hotel route. We stayed in a beautiful, new Holiday Inn. Only the giant and famous Mall of the Emirates (the one with the ski slope inside!!) stood between us and the school. Such a burden to have one of the biggest malls in the world in the way!

We had Friday morning free, so Kristie, Sylvie and I hired a driver to take us on a mini tour. We of course made it to the sailboat hotel (the one Tiger Woods hit a golf ball off of, the Burj Al Arab) and took heaps of pictures. We also wandered around a really neat souq area. A clickin' chick's dream! The Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world, was another sight to behold. No pics because of the dust in the air, but I am waiting to pirate one from Sylvie, taken from the roof of our hotel.

We even partook of pulled pork sandwiches one night....a real treat for a bunch of Americans who had been pork deprived for months!

Yes, I would call it a weekend with a mission!

June Cleaver Does NOT Live Here!

I have recently been accused by my friend and fellow blogger, Sybil, of being June Cleaver. I know many of you are chuckling right now. Okay, you are down right belly laughing and rolling on the floor! For one thing, I do not wear pearls and a dress while I am vacuuming. I would never name my child Beaver, I don't cook EVERY night and I can have a bit of a bad girl streak on occasion. Interpret bad girl as you will. Tonight, it is honk chicken for dinner. I actually did not honk to get my chicken, though. I got out of the car and walked to the chicken stall. Or, should I say, the chicken stall worker walked to me. I got 5 shwarmas (like a warm chicken wrap but in Arabic bread) and a roasted chicken for 35 riyals, or about 10 dollars. Getting a bargin does sound like something June might do, but slapping those shwarmas on a plastic plate and sitting around the coffee table to eat 'em while watching t.v. certainly does not!!!


















P.S. I may just order delivery from McDonald's tomorrow night. How about them apples???

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!

Keith tells the boys all the time...."When you start dating a girl, be sure and look at her mama. That's what your girl will look like down the road!" Guess Keith's in pretty good shape then. My mama looks pretty darn good! Not to mention the fact that she is warm, kind, generous and just plain fun. What more could a girl ask for??? Mom, happy birthday from the other side of the world. Love you, love you, love you.

Always,

Kim

A Doha Low

Today started out to be a nice day...a little overcast, but cool and a bit breezy. That is good weather in Doha. I got up, got Sam off to school, did my normal routine and headed off for Bible Study at the church villa. It was great, as usual (Beth Moore's Esther). Even got to sit next to my sweet friend and new blogging buddy, Brenda. After the study was over, I planned to stay at the villa for a while and work on lesson set up for Friday's children's classes. (better known to most of you in the US as Sunday School) I exited the villa to walk out to my car and gather the needed materials from my always loaded back seat and BOOM! A sandstorm of major proportions had hit! It felt like my legs were being pelted by a sand blaster. My contacts were going haywire, not to mention what my lungs felt like since I am trying to fight off a chest cold. Cough, cough.

While I was working at the church, I got a call from my friend Peggy. Our plans for afternoon high tea were off, due to the outdoor conditions. The high wind and flying sand are not condusive to an afternoon out on the town. Bummer! Nothing like high tea with the Pink Ladies (Riviera gals). Guess we will have to reschedule.

Now, if I were a really good friend, I would invite everyone over to my villa this afternoon for low tea and goodies....that is, whatever I have in the pantry. We could sit on my red and gold couch, among the newly folded laundry, and partake of flatulence tea and Nurtra Grain bars. I could even get Sybil to bring over her Ritz crackers and squirt cheese. Oh well, guess I will have to do that another day since I can't stop coughing! (or laughing!)