Another Progress Update

I finally cleared all the boxes out of the master bedroom. Yipee! I still have 2 more bedrooms FULL of boxes to go though, but as of right now I am reveling in this small victory.
Here is a before picture



And the after pictures






School is going really well. My IT class just dove right into the material from day one. I am already feeling overwhelmed...and this is only the third day of class! I guess I am taking this class more seriously because it is actually applicable to my major. I mean, if I am going to say that I have a degree in IT, I should know a little something about IT right?! This means I am actually completing all of the assigned reading (*gasp*) and watching every single tutorial video. Uncharted territory for me.

Scott is finishing up this week of night shift on the watchfloor, and then starting next week, he will be working in his normal day shop. Yay! I guess he will be working in the piracy shop, and will be the SME (Subject Matter Expert). He's pretty proud of that. He was going to have to do 3 weeks of training on the watchfloor, but I guess 2 years at the Pentagon made him a quick learner here.

Overall things are going pretty well. We have been lucky enough to hang out with another family here on the island a few times and that has been a lot of fun. I think the initial hype and excitement of moving over here is starting to wear off and reality is sinking in. Scott, as usual, is taking everything in stride and is mostly missing the puppies and so happy he gets to work in a day shop. I am also missing the puppies, and happy that Scott gets to work in a day shop, but I miss my family a lot too. I actually miss our home in Virginia. Our insanely small, old, cluttered home. That was the longest Scott and I have lived in one place so I guess maybe that's why I am missing it. I miss Cassie and Mae coming down to see us once a month, and watching TV and making fun of Scott together. I miss Target. I miss the rain already. Sometimes I can't wait to move back to the states and "move forward" with our lives AKA Scott getting out of the military and us settling in one spot. Other times I am so thankful to have the chance to live overseas and I want to experience everything and take advantage of every opportunity. OK, I think that's enough. Thanks for reading everyone =)

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Today I made my first batch of laundry detergent since moving to Bahrain. I already had all the supplies needed leftover from Virginia, so that made it easy. I definitely do need to make it a priority to check out the stores here to see what's available to me though. I may need to start ordering my supplies from amazon, but hopefully I can find what I need locally. Anyways, I thought I would put this recipe up just in case anyone is interested. I think it's fanfriggintabulous and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Especially if you have an overly sensitive husband, like myself, with the softest baby-like skin you've ever seen (according to his tattoo artist). Or, if you actually have a baby.

Step #1 Grate 2 cups of soap. I use this pretty pink Zote soap. Some people use the Fels Naptha laundry soap.


Step #2 Add 1 cup of Washing Soda.


Step #3 Add 1 cup of Borax.

And MIX! I bought a Rubbermaid plastic container at the commissary for my detergent. And I just kept one of those green scoops from one of my old containers of store bought laundry detergent. One batch lasts me 30 days, and I haven't exactly figured out the cost (cuz I'm just lazy), but it's cheap! Trust me. Enjoy!

Oh, and I started school again today. Yipee! Everything went really well, the internet stayed strong while I posted all of my assignments for today. We are getting our own broadband installed tomorrow so crappy internet should be a thing of the past. One of my IT classes this session is called, Image Editing and Implementation. Basically I get to learn how to use Photoshop and my final project is a scrapbook. Amazing! Thanks for reading y'all!

Slacking Off

Hey Everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. Never fear, there is still much progress being made! Scott and I both caught the Bahrain crud and have been focusing on our recovery instead of...anything else really haha. I am feeling much better today, so hopefully I will have some more news and/or pictures up for you all very soon! I start school tomorrow also, and I am so excited =) Thanks for reading!

Day 3 Progress/I Need More Counter Space!

I like to cook, and bake, which means I have quite a few kitchen appliances and that I need a lot of counter space. So here's what happened today...

The problem



The solution



Voila!





Thank you baby for putting it together for me =)

Day 2 Progress

Office Before



Office After



Now I can work on my fitness =)

Let's Make This House A Home

So, I know everyone says, "it's not what's inside, or the house itself that makes it a home." But I think it is a little bit =) We never quite feel at home and settled until we have all of our belongings right where we want them. Today, the rest of our HHGs came! It took 6 guys, 4 hours to unload 7 crates. It was so much faster than when our HHGs were packed up. We had them unpack our kitchen stuff and a few other boxes and have already found a few broken/damaged items =( One of the broken items is a white canister that a friend of the family painted for our wedding. We had guests write advice for us on little cards, and put them in the canister on their way out. I am super bummed that something that held such sentimental value, is broken. We made a lot of progress today (thankfully Scott has today and tomorrow off to help out), but still have a lot of work that needs to be done. Here are some pictures from today. Thanks for reading =)

Organic Bahrain

With my new found dedication to eating healthy, I started wondering if I would be able to find that kind of food (organic/vegan) here in Bahrain. So, I did a little research, and it just so happens that a Waitrose is opening up here in December of 2010. Waitrose is a major grocery store chain in the UK apparently, and they carry over 1600 organic products in their stores. Amazing! I have also found that Amazon carries many organic and vegan products, and that there are a few smaller health stores on the island. I'm so encouraged by this news and am really looking forward to starting this new adventure. I'm already about halfway through Skinny B**** and am learning so much! Here is the link to Waitrose for anyone interested in checking it out:

Waitrose

Thanks for reading!

What about In-N-Out Burger?!?!

Lately I have been doing a lot of thinking about what Scott and I eat and how we eat, and I think it's time for a change! From a friend I heard about this book, Skinny B****, and a movie called Food Inc. Apparently there is much I don't know about how the majority of food that we consume is prepared and all that it contains, and this book and movie are supposed to blow the lid off of the whole industry.

Neither Scott or I are "healthy." We are both overweight, and have very little to no exercise in our daily routines. We both complain periodically about headaches and in general just not feeling very well. We eat what tastes good, what is convenient, and what is cheap sometimes. So far Scott is not on board at all about making this lifestyle change. He said to me, "Whatever, I don't care. I'll eat poop if it tastes good." So Scott =) Hopefully once I become more knowledgeable on the subject, and he can see the changes in me, that will convince him to at least try it.

Wish me luck peeps! Here is a picture of the books I just got in the mail. Amazon is so awesome, they ship for FREE out here!

Unaccompanied Baggage

Yay! Some of our stuff came today =) We sent out a smaller shipment separate from our HHGs with a few "necessities" and just received it today. Thankfully Scott was able to take the day off of work to be here when the boxes arrived and to help me set everything up. We now have a computer, a vacuum, Scott's Xbox and Rock Band essentials, my kitchen appliances, our pillows and comforter, and a few dishes and cups. The only item that broke, was the glass screen of our microwave =( Not too bad though for traveling 6,000 miles.

Now that we have some of our American electronics, we had to figure out how to use them in Bahrain. Electrical outlets in America are typically 110 Volts while outlets in Bahrain are 220 Volts. This means transformers and converters and surge protectors galore! Everything was going fine until Scott made one tiny mistake and *POP* his Xbox is fried =( He is so upset. Hopefully it just means a new power supply ($30) but it may mean a whole new Xbox!

I think that's all that has happened since I last updated the blog. I went and saw Eclipse this weekend with a few other girls. The theater was HUGE! By far the biggest screen I have ever seen, and the seats were super comfortable. And it only cost about $8 =) Thanks for reading!

I've never done this before...

So...I've never blogged before. But I thought it would be a good way to share with anyone interested what is going on in our lives. If you're reading this, thanks! And I hope I can keep you entertained.

Scott and I have been in Bahrain for about 3 weeks now. We moved into our villa a week ago, and are loving it. We both swim in the pool at least once a day, if not more. We love having all the extra space. We love not having to share a wall with anyone. And I love being able to cook in my own kitchen again! The stove is electric though, so that's been a bit of an adjustment. We are still living out of our luggage, but expect our unaccompanied baggage to be delivered on Sunday! Yipee! Finally a computer and all of my kitchen appliances! Our HHG (Household Goods) should be arriving in less than a month. Our villa is pretty much fully furnished, which has been nice for the time being, but our landlord said that once our furniture arrives, he will remove any of his furniture we now longer want/need.

This past week, Scott started training for his job. He works A LOT. He either has PT (Physical Training) or Quarters (I guess kinda like a meeting) everyday. This on top of a 12 hour work shift makes for long days. We only live about 15 minutes from base though so Scott has been really enjoying the shorter commute. He works Sunday through Thursday with Friday and Saturday (the weekend out here) off. He also gets all holidays off. Yay!

I have been in contact with my school this past week, and am trying to start back up with my classes ASAP. I would love to be finished with my AA by the end of this year. I also found out that I can take the math CLEP here on base. The math CLEP is a test that I can take that, if I pass, will count for two classes that I need to complete my degree. It would be really great if I passed this test as it would save me 9 weeks of school and thousands of dollars in tuition! Scott has been talking about finishing his Masters, but we will see how that goes. I think it will be awhile before he starts his thesis. He wants to get settled in at work and everything first, which is understandable.

Our puppies are still in the states =( Fortunately we have a fantastic friend that has been taking great care of them. Because it is so hot out here, the airlines have a summer embargo on shipping all pets to the Middle East. We have to wait until October to have them sent out. We are anxiously awaiting their arrival!

Bahrain has been a great experience so far. The people have all been very nice, respectful, and friendly. The food has been fantastic! Fast food has the quality of a sit down restaurant, and sit down restaurants have the best food we have ever tasted! Neither one of us has gotten sick either haha! We're happy about that. Jet lag was pretty rough for the first couple weeks though. We would fall asleep around 2 or 3 in the afternoon and wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning. We were both dizzy and lightheaded sometimes, dehydrated, and almost always sleepy. We both seem to be getting into the swing of things now. It's very very hot here. And humid somedays too! Outdoor activities are pretty much out of the question until it starts to cool down. We're both looking forward to doing more exploring though once that does happen.

I think that's all for now. I plan on blogging here on a regular basis, hopefully I can keep up with it. Thanks for reading =)