We're back!!

I really meant to leave a post before we headed out to Murree but unfortunately it just didn't work out that way. Our phone was out for like 2 days and it honestly felt like eternity!! So needless to say, I couldn't get on the net and even if I could it was only for about 5 minutes and then the line would disconnect. So now it's back obviously. :-)

So Shakil and I decided that we were going to head out to Murree after he got off work on Sunday night which was actually early Monday morning. We take the Daewoo bus and it is very nice, well air conditioned, we're served cold drinks and a little snack pack that has a sandwich, biscuits and some nimko. Great way to travel here!! I had everything packed, ready and waiting at the door when Shakil arrived home from work at 3:45 a.m. He had a taxi driver follow him home to get us to the bus station which is only about a 5 minute drive from our house. I always get nervous at the thought of riding in a taxi here because they really aren't that clean and they drive nuts! I guess this taxi driver was feeling quite relaxed because the ride was quite nice and the taxi was even pretty darn clean. I guess anyone would be pretty relaxed when it's 4 a.m.

We got to the bus station and Shakil got our tickets for the 5 a.m. bus. I'm really surprised we made there on time but we did. The bus takes us to Rawalpindi and then we take another bus from Rawalpindi to Murree. As soon as we started to get into the mountainous region of Islamabad the clouds were moving in and it was just getting darker and darker the further north we went. Then, the rain starts and it rained the rest of our journey into Murree.

I learned from my last trip to Murree to be careful about what I eat prior to the Pindi to Murree leg of the journey because last time I puked as we were going up the mountain. The bus kind of rocks and the bumps the turning round and around the mountain just turned my stomach and this time I was more mentally prepared knowing what to expect. Good thing was since there was rain, the bus driver was taking it very slow and there was much less rocking and I kept everything down. No puking for me!! Yea me!!! Sara just loves the ride - doesn't effect her in the least.

We arrived into Murree at about noon. We didn't have hotel reservations and a lot of people don't get them prior to going there. You see, most people go check out the hotel rooms prior to booking because lemme tell ya, there are some pretty bad hotel rooms there. I mean, just down right disgusting and you wouldn't want to pay even 100 rupees to stay there. Just bad!! We get off the bus and you are immediately rushed by I guess you could call them "porters" but they are just men that want to carry your luggage, escort you around and most of these guys are getting a commission from the hotel if you stay at the one they get you to. We brought one big piece of luggage and I swear it was well over 30 kg and this guy just put it on top of his head and carried it. He wasn't young either and I really felt bad but this man just insisted. They need the money and I was going to make sure that Shakil compensated him well. Plus, it was drizzling rain on and off.

There is a big ol' hill you have to go up to get to Mall Road. Mall Road is where all the action is and that is where we like to stay. Oh my god, I thought I was going to pass out going up the hill and all the damn stairs. The elevation just gets to you. It's like I couldn't even catch my breath. Really lets ya know how out 'a shape you are!!! ha ha!! We must of looked at over 10 hotels and we finally found one - a really nice one. It is like the 2nd highest hotel in Murree and we were up on the 4th floor. The view was fabulous - that is when it was clear which wasn't so often. You'd have to look pretty quickly if you wanted to see the view because it would vanish in the clouds. We'd keep our window open with the screen and parts of clouds would literally come into our room. It was just so neat.

Shopping and eating is really all there is to do in Murree and we did plenty of it. We'd go out during the day in between rain showers and just shop around and it was so much fun. At night we'd dine out at restaurant and just relax. The food is pretty good. It's just typical Pakistani and Chinese cuisine around there - nothing special. Murree is famous for their chappli kababs and they are a must to try! So good!! Lots of cappuccino/chai vendors hanging around and I'd enjoy a nice cappuccino every evening. It was chilly everynight. Sara had to wear winter clothing but Shakil and I just loved the cold. In our room, we'd have to bundle up in blankets.

God knows we didn't want to leave that wonderfully cool weather to come back here to the heat. We got back last night and boy oh boy was it hot when I hopped off the bus. First thing I said was "back to sweating". Shakil agreed. Overall, we had such a great time and it was nice to do something as a family before I head back to the states.

When we arrived back home we saw some mail that had been slid under the door and one of which was from The Department of Homeland Security addressed to Shakil. Shakil opens it up and it was notice that his waiver - the final one he needed has been approved!!! In short, what this means is that there is nothing holding him back now from getting the visa. The Embassy had already contacted him right before we left calling him to visit them and bring his passport and a new medical report and 2 police clearances. This is the last of it folks. It has been 2 1/2 long years waiting on this and there is finally an end to it. There is a good chance that Shakil could be back in the states by the end of the year!!! We appreciate all your prayers.

Until later...

Bye for now.

We're vampires and where is MIL?

Not really, but one might think that we are considering we're awake when the sun goes down and we sleep when the sun comes up. Very odd schedule indeed but you know it works out pretty well for us considering Shakil works nights. I've even got baby Sara on this schedule now. It might work out pretty well for me when I get back to the U.S. which btw, is only 5 weeks from now!! Yeaaaa!! Baby Sara and I will already be on track with the time there. If only it were that easy - I'm sure we'll have some serious jetlag.

We haven't been able to go swimming anymore because the pool at Shakil's grandfathers had been drained for some f'ed up reasons. I'll spare you the details but Shakil informed me Saturday night that it was back up and running and we'd go on Sunday. Well, we head over there all excited to go swimming but it didn't seem to be as clean as it was before. What I mean by "clean" is that it just didn't seem to have all the chemicals in it yet. So, needless to say baby Sara and I didn't swim. We just watched daddy swim. And in this Pakistan heat, I sure did want to jump in but I refrained.

Sunday night we of course headed to Pizza Hut and had a nice time. We didn't get home until well after 3 a.m.! Yikes!! Shakil was back at work on Monday and was off yesterday. So we decided that we needed to make a trip over to visit the in-laws. MIL had called us twice in the a.m. wondering if we were coming and mind you it was bright and early in the a.m. when she calls. She has no concept of time and doesn't seem to give a shit that here son works nights and sleeps during the day - must not give a shit that Sara and I sleep during the day either because the phone wakes Sara up every time. Anyway, we finally get up around noon or so and Shakil told me to go ahead and get ready and we'd head over to see my MIL. So, I get up get a shower and get ready.

We were just about to head out the door when the phone rang, it was MIL. So that made 3 times she called wondering when we were coming. Shakil told her we are walking out the door and we'll be there in about 15-20 minutes. We arrive at the in-laws and the watchman says that MIL is not there - she left. What the hell? Why would she leave when she knew we were going there to visit her? Her friend came and picked her up. So Shakil calls her on her mobile and she said she'd be right back. We waited and waited for her to come back. I told Shakil if she didn't show up after 2 hours then I would be ready to go. Yes, you guessed it - she didn't show up. Shakil called her again and she said she was at L Market. He told her we'd be leaving in 30 minutes and I guess she acknowledged it but still never showed up. So...we left!!

Pisses me off that we were going there to visit MIL and she just left. I mean come on, what is that all about? We came home and I heated up some Haleem that I made and shortly thereafter we headed over to go swimming. It was a nice time and it was so refreshing. Shakil has mentioned today that we should go back over the in-laws but sheesh can MIL make herself available??

We're getting ready to leave for Murree and will be doing so in just a few short days!!

Until later...

Bye for now.

The "cooking day"

So Tuesday rolls around here and that was my chosen "cooking day". Remember, I was talking about how I was going to cook up 3 to 4 dishes and freeze 'em? Well, anyways I chose Tuesday because it is Shakil's day off and I could get it done because he could watch Sara. I was up the entire night Monday night and was awake when Shakil got home from work at 4 a.m. I knew I was going to start cooking early but I never thought I'd start at 4 a.m. You see, these days if you choose to cook here it's better to do it bright and early in the morning. Why you might ask? Well, because of the heat. It's hot in the morning too don't get me wrong but it's not nearly as hot as it is in the afternoon.

I started to prep everything first. I knew that I was going to cook the Chicken Biryani first. I cut up all the onions I'd need for 2 of the dishes, then the tomatoes, ginger and garlic, etc. It made it easier - well somewhat easier to have the prepping done first instead of prepping again and again for each dish. Make sense?

Shakil stayed downstairs in my in-laws bedroom and turned the a/c on so I could just go chill in there while the cooking was going on. It worked out pretty well because I'd just get up every 10 minutes or so - go stir it, etc. When I finished cooking the Biryani, I proceeded onto cooking the Chicken Masala which is basically chicken cooked with a masala packet - very simple and very self explanatory, eh? I also cooked the Haleem at the same time as the Chicken Masala.

I didn't get done with everything until well after 12 p.m. and I was exhausted!! I had decided to do the downstairs cleaning while the food was cooking and I was miserably hot. I will bitch a lot about being hot because I'm just not used to such extreme heat and I do mean EXTREME!

We've been eating on the Biryani and I froze the Chicken Masala and the Haleem. I separated the Chicken Masala into 2 plastic containers and I did the same with the Haleem. So I just have to thaw one of them when we're ready to start on a new dish. The only thing I don't really like about cooking this way is that I'm getting pretty tired eating on the Biryani for lunch, dinner, etc. everyday until it finishes. I did break it up today and we went to pick up some McDonald's. Pretty tasty! Never knew McDonald's could taste so good. Funny how when I was in the U.S. I rarely went there and now it's like the best thing since sliced bread!! ha ha.

Went over to the in-laws and I did laundry. You know what pisses me off? Pisses me off when we go over there and everyone just speaks Urdu. Now I do understand how Urdu comes naturally for them, but still. It's not fun to sit in a room with my MIL and hubby and all that is being spoken is Urdu. They'll laugh, chuckle, etc. and hey, I'd like to enjoy too ya know? I have told Shakil to speak English and he's very good about it. He'll speak to his mom in English but she ALWAYS responds in Urdu. She will never speak English to Shakil. I do understand some Urdu but I definitely can't carry on a conversation or anything. I just think it's rude that MIL does this. My FIL does it too. I guess I shouldn't be bitching considering Shakil speaks English so I can understand what is going on, etc.

Well, today MIL calls and says that the money we paid for the servant for the year has been returned. I really never expected them to return the money. So K is not returning and we're out a servant. Shakil still says he's trying to get someone else but now he's thinking that he might not get anyone considering I have only 6 wks until I go to the U.S. and a week of that we'll be out of town in Murree. Today, I put my foot down again and told him I was not going to do the cleaning in the rest of the house. I don't mind cleaning our bedroom/bathroom because it's a/c'd. I'm not used to this heat and when I was doing it on Tuesday I literally felt as if I was going to just drop.

Today Shakil is back at work and is off on Sunday. We're wanting to head to Murree on the 24th but his work is giving him shit about taking a week off. They've said that too many are wanting to take off. Well, he has been there over a year now and has not once taken a week off. We'll know in a couple of days if he's getting that week off. Shakil called me tonight and told me that he thinks they're going to give him the week off. We'll see. I'm so ready for some cooler weather. However, today it's been pretty nice weather here. It rained alllllll day and it was considerably cooler. Bad thing is the humidity after the rains. Ughhhh!!

Ahhhh, just found out that Shakil's work approved the week off!! Yea!! So we'll be heading to Murree for a week!!

Ok, that's all for now!

Until later...

Bye for now.

World Cup fever at Pizza Hut!!

So Italy wins the World Cup in a score of Italy 1, France 1 (Italy wins shootout 5-3). Congrats to Italy!!!

Last night we did go to Pizza Hut. When we pulled up to the restaurant and started to look for parking (which is always hard to find) we did notice that it was pretty darn busy. There were cars everywhere. Now it was well after midnight mind you and still hopping with business. Seems like everyone in the city was at Pizza Hut. We walked into the restaurant and there was so much cheering, shouting, chanting going on. It was crazy! Turns out that there were so many people that had came to Pizza Hut to watch the final match.

We did have to wait a few minutes before we got seated. We always request to sit in a booth. It's just easier with baby Sara in her carrier. We got seated and Shakil was pretty happy he could catch a glimpse of the match from where we were sitting. I could see from another angle at another t.v. There was just so much excitement in the restaurant it was really pretty fun. I'd hear some cheering going on and I'd think there was a goal but they'd get all fired up when someone was just making a shot at the goal. It was great fun. We did stay until the match finished and boy oh boy the commotion when Italy won. I guess everyone here in this city was rooting for Italy. When Italy made that final penalty kick the restaurant was cheering and hollering like you wouldn't believe. Didn't disturb Sara in the least - she had a blast!

Shakil is back at work today (Sunday) and it's just been Sara and I here in the evening. Earlier in the day I decided to clean the upstairs. There are 3 bedrooms upstairs including ours and a lounge. I was disgustingly sweaty by the time I finished up. It looks so much better though. Shakil says he IS working on getting us a maid. Tomorrow I plan to get the downstairs done. Well, at least I say I am - we'll see.

Tomorrow Shakil is off and also on Wednesday and tomorrow is my cooking day. In my previous post I had mentioned how I was going to cook up 3 to 4 dishes and freeze them. I start off with Chicken Biryani then move onto Haleem or Chicken Curry and I'm done. Dal was cooked last night. I'll freeze the Haleem and Chicken Curry while we're consuming the Biryani which will take us about 3 days. It's a pretty big dish. Hopefully this idea turns out well. We'll shall see.

Until later...

Bye for now.

Update from yesterday's update...

So I cleaned up that mess from the a/c men and then I cleaned our entire bedroom, dusted, cleaned our bathroom, etc. last night. I guess I felt bad later after what happened and just sucked it up. I emailed Shakil after midnight and just said "I cleaned the bedroom and our bathroom - FYI". He emails back with a "thank you honey and I'm planning to mop the whole house tomorrow". Now that was nice! I felt really bad after that because we just argued about such petty stuff ya know.

Baby Sara didn't go to sleep until well after 2:30 a.m. last night and I for some reason I decided to go ahead and get the laundry done. I bet I was the only person around hanging laundry out on the line at 2 a.m.! ha ha. I thought it might be a tad cooler at that time but it wasn't at all. I was sweating bullets by the time I was finished and just had to take a shower. I of course had to re-clean the bathroom again because that damn washing machine can make quite the mess. I've already been over how I have to do the laundry many 'a times and it's just pathetic.

I stayed up the entire night again and went to bed with Shakil shortly after he came home at 4 a.m. We slept until 10 a.m. when baby Sara woke up. I got up and fed her and let daddy get some extra sleep. He didn't stay asleep too long and he woke up to watch some t.v. Speaking of t.v., one of my FAVORITE channels just disappeared last night during Dr. Phil and I'm pissed!!! We dozed on and off with baby Sara and semi woke up at noon. I was laying on the bed just thinking about things and then I had a nice idea. I got up and headed to go downstairs. Shakil asks "where ya going"? and I just tell him to stay, watch baby Sara and I'll be right back.

I head downstairs and I start to cut up 2 big fresh mangos. I put them in my food processor and added some milk and grinded them up and made some mango shake for us. I was just going to make the mango shake but then I thought I'd go ahead and cook Shakil some breakfast. I tossed 2 shami kababs on the fry pan and cooked those up. When they finished I fried him 2 eggs and put some bread in the toaster. I poured him a big glass of mango shake and put all the food on a tray and took it upstairs to him.

I walked in the door and said "ya hungry"? Big ol' smile came over his face and he said he was hungry. He says "now that's what I call a good wife". Hey, 2 points for me today - no, I get 3 points! I'm greedy. He devoured all the food and shake and gave me a big ol' "thank you honey"!! I normally cook breakfast for him everyday but this is a first for me doing breakfast in bed. He enjoyed it thoroughly. Hey, what man wouldn't enjoy having his wife make him breakfast in bed huh?!?

We all pretty much slept the day away and really didn't get up until well after 4 p.m. I needed some things from the market and we headed out. It's been so nice here today because some rains came in and it's been so cool!!! So I had mentioned in the previous post that I wasn't going to do anymore cooking. Well, I decided that I needed to come up with something. I really can't just stop cooking completely. So I told Shakil on Tuesday I'd cook up 3 to 4 dishes and put them in containers to freeze. Then, I won't be cooking every other day. I'm going to cook Chicken Biryani, Chicken curry, Haleem and some Dal. I don't know how well the Biryani will freeze so we're going to start eating on that first. Anyone ever froze Biryani before? If so, lemme know how it turned out. Shakil had mentioned that it might get soggy. I cooked up the dal this evening so only 3 dishes to go on Tuesday.

Tonight we're going to Pizza Hut. Yes, again! ha ha. We go for the midnight special. You can get a large pizza and pitcher with free refills for Rs.460 and that is with tax. That is about $8.50. Pretty good deal. We also order a salad that we both share. It's a great meal. The whole meal costs just under Rs. 600.

Now for the update on the servant. I had read a comment from Sobia and she had mentioned giving the "dolly" a call and let her know that the contract has been broken and that we were going to contact the police. So, I mentioned it to Shakil and he called the "dolly's" son (only number we really have) and threatened him with it and said tomorrow we're filing a report with the police. We'll see how well it works out. The guy was like "don't worry, your money is not going anywhere". Well, K went on a 2 day holiday and Wednesday makes 3 weeks she has been gone for pity sake. Sheesh. It is just so frustrating.

We're watching "The Pink Panther" right now and I've gotten some pretty good laughs out of it. We've gotten a great collection of DVD's since I've been here. Anyone who has bought movies in Pakistan knows how cheap they are and how easy it is to get just released to theater movies. Good print too! Yes, yes we're bad bad!!

Until later...

Bye for now.

Updates from yesterday and more...

So if you read yesterday's post then this one will make sense to you. If you didn't, go back and read yesterday's first - if you're interested of course!

First, the servant did not show up today. I had mentioned in yesterday's post that she was due back today but nope she didn't show up. I knew it would happen but I still had a small shred of hope that she'd return today.

I was up all night last night. Usually baby Sara is in bed asleep no later than 10:30 p.m. but last night she was up well after 1:30 a.m. It wasn't so bad considering I was up already. After she went down, I pretty much just stayed on the net browsing, etc. Shakil comes home from work about 4:15 a.m. and when he came home he was surprised to see that I was awake. Well, he shouldn't be too surprised considering it's pretty often that I'm up all night now. I've just gotten off schedule and a large part of it is due to Shakil's night schedule - he works nights 4 days a week.

In the evening yesterday I had emailed Shakil some names and phone #'s of a/c repair men. While at work he called and got one scheduled to come out this morning at 10 a.m. I was a bit surprised he scheduled it for a morning when he's been at work all night. He set his alarm when he got home so he'd be awake and ready for the a/c man. Now it's not so uncommon for these people to be late. Of course the man didn't show up until almost noon and mind you Shakil had been up since about 7:30 a.m. or so when we received a phone call. No alarm was even needed because the call woke him up. I guess I was pretty tired because I fell back asleep.

The a/c man got our a/c fixed!! It just needed a really good cleaning. Shakil was not at all satisfied with what they charged to do it and they still wanted more. No one is ever satisfied. Shakil had asked in advance what the service charge was going to be and he paid what he was quoted. Shakil thinks that they may have drained some coolant from the a/c just out of spite. I mean come on, how petty. It feels cool this evening so hopefully it's ok. At least those plastic bags have been tossed out and I don't have to look at them or that damn bucket under the window anymore.

Now here's where things get a bit worse. I do believe it started out of sheer frustration of the servant still not showing up. A few days back I put my foot down and told Shakil that I was NOT going to clean the house anymore. It is just too hot (minimum 115 degrees F everyday outside) inside and I can't do it anymore. He told me he was working on getting us someone else to come in and start the cleaning again. I also told him a few days back that I'm done with cooking as well. I can't and I repeat can't do it. I refuse to stand over a hot stove sweating profusely with my shirt and pants wet and keep wiping my face from letting the sweat drip into the food - yes, it's gross!! He had told me before summer started that when it started to get too hot that we'd just start getting take out or going out somewhere. I kept cooking though. Now it's come to a point where it's not feasible anymore. I'm just not used to it nor do I want to get used to it.

I was in my in-laws bedroom with a/c downstairs sleeping during all of the a/c repairing and Shakil came in to lay down when the a/c men left. I had no idea what time it was and asked him "aren't you going to get some sleep"? He tells me that he only has like 10 minutes - 10 minutes until he has to start getting ready for work. I was surprised and I did feel bad that he wasn't able to catch anymore sleep since he works all night long. Sara had just woke up and I told him I needed to head upstairs to make her a bottle and feed her, change diaper, etc.

We both go upstairs and the a/c men left a big ol' mess. This mess is right next to my side of the bed. First thing Shakil says to me when I take a look at is "you've got a mess you need to clean up". I dunno but it just didn't settle well with me and I was pissed. The first thing that slipped out of my mouth was "I'm not going to clean it". I said it pretty darn stern and then me saying that didn't settle with Shakil. Needless to say, it developed into a full blown argument. He got even more stern about the mess and proceeded to say "you clean that mess up by the time I get home or I'm not getting you anymore internet cards or calling cards". Now that's a pretty serious thing to say to me considering that is how I talk to my Mom in the U.S. Again, the argument is just getting more heated. I said some other things and then told him that there is nothing for me to have for dinner. He was asking why I didn't tell him earlier and I told him I was asleep. He had been pissed off that I slept most of the day. Well, I slept most of the day because I was up all night. Now, I know he was too but I did what he told me to do. I stayed in the in-laws bedroom and just took care of baby Sara. Now it's all coming back and being thrown in my face. This is what he and I do when we argue. We can have some pretty heated ones because we are both just so stubborn.

So I'm bitching that we don't have anything for dinner and the night before I had just a bowl of cereal and I really didn't want to have that again. It was after 4 p.m. in the afternoon and I hadn't eaten all day. During some of argument he tosses out that I can't do anything by myself. He suggested that I go searching for a maid. What am I supposed to do? Just stand on the corner and round someone up? He says "no, you can go next door and tell the people there to send their maid over when she's finished". You see, the maid that works next door is the sister to the maid we used to have when I came back in September. Well, I can't just go start knocking on someone's door that I don't even know. I'm just not comfortable with that. Surprisingly, he dropped that issue and we just moved on to more things to bitch about.

During the bickering and bickering he tells me that he doesn't have time to go take me anywhere or pick anything up - he'll be late for work. I take it upon myself to get dressed and scoop up baby Sara and tell him that I'll just walk to the store to get something myself. Now remember he said that I can't do anything by myself so I was more than determined to go to the store myself. Bad thing is that I'd have to walk there. It is only a 10 minute walk - if that to the store. So more arguing about that me going and him telling me that I can't go and I'm telling him that I'm going. I head downstairs and start to proceed out the front door. He stops me asking me to please not go. I was so determined and hell bent on going after the arguing and him saying that I can't do anything myself that I just wasn't hearing it. I was being more than stubborn at this point. Back and forth of him saying "don't go". To make this long overdrawn out story short, he finally says "fine go". So I did. I headed out with baby Sara on my hip and started walking.

I never thought I would ever go out walking outside of our house by myself. There was so much staring going on. It's as if people were looking at me thinking "what the hell is that white girl doing"? "why is she out by herself"? Truth is that you never see women out walking unless it is a servant, maid or something. So seeing me out walking was a new thing for these people. I made it to intersection and it is a busy one. So I decided to turn right instead of crossing and I'd cross down a little ways. I was going to go left and head down to McDonald's. Well, I didn't make it very far when Shakil pulled up and asked me to get in the car. I was on the opposite side of the road and he crossed over to come get me and escort me back to the car. I decided to go ahead and get in because I was pretty hot. He asked me where I wanted to go and I told him to take me to McDonald's. What I wanted to do was walk to McDonalds, sit there and eat, cool off and then walk back home.

Shakil wheeled us through the drive-thru and took Sara and I back home. I got home and gobbled up my combo meal and coke. I've napped on and off most of the evening with Sara. God only knows what time she'll go down to sleep tonight. Haven't heard from Shakil all evening. Tomorrow is a day off for him.

The cable company here has removed one of my FAVORITE channels. So ticked off about that!!!

So in a nutshell, it's been one hell of day here. Hey, tomorrow is a new day right?!?!

Until later...

Bye for now.

This is a long one!!

Baby Sara just woke up from a nap so I don't know how far I'll get with this post. We'll see!

Shakil just went back to work after being off for 4 days in a row. It was great having him home!! We went out to Pizza Hut one night which is where we usually go once a week. You know you've been there 1 too many times when you can start recognizing the waiters and they are recognizing us. Well, I've told Shakil they have no problem recognizing me since I'm the only white girl in the restaurant everytime. Wait, I can't really say everytime because I have seen a few foreigners other than myself there before. Most of the time, it's just me though. Some people might ask if that bothers me at all. You know, being the only white girl. When I first came here to Pakistan, yes it did bother me. I felt like I was constantly being stared at which I'm still stared at don't get me wrong but I guess I've just become used to it. I really don't think I even notice it anymore. I do have dark brown hair and maybe that helps me blend in just a little opposed to me having blonde hair or something. I dunno, I'm just used to it all now. I guess I'd have to get used to it after having lived here for 1 1/2 years.

So in my last post I was discussing how I'm spoiled. Yes, I'm still spoiled and I need help here!! What I mean by help is servant help. We went over to the in-laws the other day because I needed to do some laundry. Laundry/ironing were just two of the things that our servant was doing for us. Now you might think how could laundry be so difficult and why can't you just do it yourself Tara? Let me answer that for you...I think I've mentioned before how we don't have an automatic washing machine here at our house. I would compare it to a portable washing machine. You just fill it up with water yourself, put your detergent, toss your clothes in (which can only be 3 or 4 shirts and maybe a trouser), turn the knob to 15 minutes and it jiggles them around - nothing compared to an automatic machine. Automatic machines will spin out your clothes - not ours. Automatic machines rinse the clothes - not ours. You have to manually drain out the water, rinse the clothes and wring them out yourself. Now keep in mind all of this is being done in 100 degree heat. It's horrible! So the point I'm trying to make here is that I went to the in-laws to do the laundry because they have an automatic washing machine and I don't have to go through all that other bullshit. It's still a pain in the ass though. I do the laundry and then I hang them out which at the in-laws there is no clothesline outside - just have to use a clothes rack inside. The clothes never finish drying AT ALL so we get fold them all up, toss them in a bag and truck them back home to hang outside on our clothesline. I probably need to stop bitching because at least I have the option to go over to the in-laws and get 'er done (some southern accent for ya!)

So the evening rolls around over at the in-laws and Shakil's khala (Mom's sister) shows up with her 2 kidos for visiting. We (Shakil and I) were in the process of leaving, getting all the laundry in the car and ready to go when they showed up. So of course we had to stick around a bit longer - which was ok by me. We were all sitting chatting, etc. more chatting by them than me considering there is lots of Urdu spoken and I can't converse in Urdu. I know many words now but I can't phrase anything to carry on a conversation. Good thing is that I understand a hell of a lot more now than I used to. One of the advantages for living here so long - you start to slowly pick up the language in your way.

Discussion came up about K (K is our servant). Shakil was discussing how she still hasn't shown up and Wednesday made 2 weeks she has been gone - mind you she was only supposed to be gone 2 to 3 days. 2 to 3 days has now turned into over 2 weeks now. Shakil has made many efforts to call her village and see what's going on but we can't get a hold of them nor can we get a return phone call. Well, Shakil's khala had the phone number for the "dolly" as they call this woman. "Dolly" is the negotiator for K. To make this short, they got a hold of the "dolly". See, the reason K left to begin with was that her parents wanted her to come visit her new baby brother that was born a few weeks prior. "Dolly" informed them that K's new baby brother died and that is why she hasn't returned yet. "Dolly" says that K will be back here at our house on Saturday. That's tomorrow! So hopefully this time she will return. There was mention by Shakil that there is supposed to be like 40 days of mourning observed but it doesn't apply to a newborn. I'm a bit confused about that. Why wouldn't it apply for a newborn too?? Doesn't matter how old someone is - you still have lost a loved one. Can anyone explain that to me?

Sobia had asked why we pre-paid for the servant? Well, that is what they of course were asking for and MIL told Shakil to go ahead and do it. According to MIL, that is customary of them to ask for year's pay. Shakil's khala (mom's sister) says to pay no more than 6 months in advance because they are due a vacation at 6 months and you don't lose the money if they don't return. I agree that is much better and makes better sense.

**Ok, baby Sara pooped her diaper - gotta take a break for a minute.

Ok, I'm back...let's see how far I can get now. I should be almost done considering I have a pretty long post which most might not even finish reading because I've just babbled way too much now! ha ha. However, that's not gonna stop me! I'm going to keep on goin'!! I feel so much better after a nice long post. It's a like a release for me. Ok, that sounds weird. Anyways, I just feel better!

Where was I at? It's like my mind just went blank. Now baby Sara is starting to fuss. I think it's time for another feed. I wanted to tell you guys about our a/c that has decided to start acting up and now Shakil thinks he's handled it. Now she's really fussing. I'll be back.

Ok, I'm back. I'm gonna try to finish now. Now I was mentioning about how our a/c has decided to start acting up. First it started out with some water dripping out of the vents - just a very small amount and most of the time it would stop. Now it has progressed into full blown water drops coming out and enough where we have to keep a bucket underneath it. Our split a/c is located above our bedroom window so therefore it is causing our curtains to get damp - not good and I can't keep the curtains opened 24/7. Shakil came up with this brilliant (I'm being sarcastic) idea to use some plastic shopping bags. He has 3 pretty good sized plastic bags placed on top of the curtain rod to channel the water that is dripping out of the a/c down to drain out the window. He has the bucket placed in front of the window to catch any water that doesn't get channeled down. It's hilarious but it's now getting on my nerves. It looks ridiculous!!! Today I snapped and started bitching that he needs to call someone and he just had 4 days off and didn't call anyone to get it serviced. Anyway, you'd just have to see it to believe it! I'd be so embarrassed to let anyone see this!! ha ha!!

Oh in other news, Shakil and I are planning to go back to Murree! This time we're going to go for a week but it depends on his job. He put in 2 weeks and a few days notice just yesterday but they are saying to not plan on it getting approved - that too many are taking leave. Well, we'll see. He has already requested off for the 17th and he already gets 3 days off and usually when he requests a day off, it's 4 days in a row. So we may just head out when he gets the 4 days off in a row. Soooo looking forward to it. It'll be a nice break from the heat here which is well over 110 degrees! Murree is mild during the day and usually pretty chilly in the evenings. Sounds great right now!

Until later...

Bye for now.

I'm spoiled!

It's been kind of hectic around here lately. Not this past Wednesday but the one before our live in servant was going on a 2 to 3 day holiday. She was due to return on Saturday. I thought, ok 2 or 3 days without her will be nice because she can be a headache and it was going to be a nice break. So Saturday rolls around and she didn't show up. We thought that she was just going to take her full week vacation. So the next Wednesday rolls around and that made 1 week. Once again, she didn't show up. I was telling Shakil that I thought she wasn't going to come back. We just kept thinking that she'd show up though. So here it is, 1 1/2 weeks gone by and she hasn't shown up. Now keep in mind she was paid in advance for a whole year and she has only worked 5 full months and poof she's gone. Nice huh? I've become quite spoiled to having a servant - yes that's right, spoiled. It's one of the nice things about living in Pakistan. All your housework/laundry can be done for you at a very cheap rate.

So I decided one day to go ahead and do the laundry because it was piling up. It wasn't so bad actually doing the laundry it was hanging it out on the line. We've been having some rains come in and after the rains it is sooooooooo humid. So once I step out of our a/c'd bedroom sweat starts pouring down my face, back, etc. It's just gross. Needless to say, I did only 1 load. Then we just waited and took the rest of the laundry over to my inlaws and it did it in their automatic washing machine. Ours here at home is not automatic meaning it doesn't spin the clothes and get all the water out. You have to wring the clothes out by hand here at our house. Sounds like fun, huh? yeah right!!

I even proceeded to do the cleaning in this house which I managed to get done pretty darn quickly because you're dripping with sweat and sooo ready for a shower. Shower is on my mind the entire time I'm cleaning. My clothes are sticking to me and don't you just hate that feeling? Yuck. I cleaned upstairs and downstairs and I think I managed to get it done within about 45 minutes. Which you might be saying, that's not so bad. Well it is!! Especially when you've had someone doing for you for the past 9 months or more. It wouldn't be so bad if they had central a/c here. Cleaning in the U.S. is just completely different and I think a heck of a lot easier. Just my opinion of course. Good news is that Shakil says he'll have someone new for us here soon. I told him we could wait until this coming Wednesday and that would make 2 weeks since our servant left and we'll pretty well know she's not returning at all. So he agreed and then he'll get us a new one.

Today was a cooking day for me. I usually only cook about 1 or 2 times a week now if that because of the heat. Once again, you sweat profusely while cooking. No a/c in our kitchen. So I just try to get as much done in one day so I don't have to cook again for a few days. So today I cooked Chicken Manchurian and some chinese rice. Surprisingly, it turned out well but Shakil tells me the Manchurian has too much of something. He can't figure it out - just too much of something. I dunno. I liked it. I had it for lunch and dinner.

In other news, baby Sara is doing really well. She is now rolling over from tummy to back, back to tummy and just loving it. She is just so proud of herself. I'm so ready for her to start sitting up on her own. She loves to stand and she's pretty good at it with our support of course. I'm having a heck of a time with the cereal feeding. We started her on cereal at 4 months. She still had such a strong extrusion reflex that I just started putting it in a bottle and giving it to her that way. She does love it. So I decided that I'd start her back on the spoon at 5 months. Well tomorrow she is 5 months and I started her back this evening. I had a hell of a time with her. She is still forcing the cereal out with her tongue. It was just a big 'ol mess. Again, she was spitting more out than she's taking in. So I just put it all back into her bottle and gave it to her. Very frustrating. I want to start feeding her with the spoon. My Mom has said to keep trying and she will get used to the spoon. I'm going to try again when Shakil is here to help me out. Sara was even completely distracted with her bib - gotta have the bib on for goodess sake. ::sigh::

Shakil is off for the next 4 days! I'm so happy. He normally has 3 days off a week but he requested a day off. So 4 days in a row! :-) I'm really looking forward to it. I love when he's here at home with baby Sara and I. Would be nice if we were going somewhere since he has that many days off but no plans of that. Not too many places for us to go here.

Well, that's all for now!
Until later...

Bye for now.