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!