Oh how I miss the Bahrain that I love...

... please tell me it will return again soon.

AND when I say soon I mean, VERY soon.

AND when I say VERY soon I mean, 17 days or less soon.

My parents are coming to visit in mid March. I want to show them the amazing country that I have been living in for the last year. I want to feel safe going to the souqs again. Hell, I want to feel safe going to City Center again. Is that asking too much?!?! Actually, I feel a little selfish for even asking (well, OK, a-lot-of selfish) but this is MY blog. This is MY brain you pick when you come here so I guess I can be a little selfish, right? Just a little? Maybe?

It's now Monday evening (Feb 21) and for the past seven days this country has been turned upside down. We have shielded the children but our adult family members have experienced a whole slew of feelings over our host country. Everything from surprise to anger, fear to sadness and even a bout of depression. It hurts to see all the...

Well, now, see that is where I have to stop.

As a military spouse, a guest in this amazing country, I have been asked by the powers that be not to post opinions due to the sensitivity of the matter. This is hard for me because I have some very strong opinions. I feel like I could blog about the past week for the next two days and barely skim the surface. I will. After things settle down and return to normal. I will. I promise.

I hope it's OK for me to post that one should NOT believe everything the "American Media Cesspool" force-feeds you. Especially when common sense tells you one thing and the New York Times tells you something completely different. When things don't exactly "add up" consider the motivations of the writers who hope to be "Johnny On The Spot" and slander a country to make their Pulitzer Prize lusting "mark on the news". I lost all respect for one journalist in particular for rewriting history this week. He will need more than a free haircut to change his image. Shame.

Well, there I go.
I did it.
I did what we were asked not to do.
Sort of...

Then again. This is MY blog, deal with it.

More NQR (Not Quite Right) from Bahrain

Some of you come to my blog just for NQR. It's been entirely way too long since I have posted some of the crazy things I have captured on film.

Enjoy friends!


"Roads? Where we're going... we don't NEED roads!"


A little dressed up to be a food delivery guy, right?


I'm a little confused, is this car "FOR SAL" or "FOR SALE"?


Is an anatomically correct baby doll really THAT necessary?


Anybody want to go to McDonald's for a "highest quality" McArabia sandwich?


The "great" thing about housing in Bahrain is that when your family outgrows their home you can just buy some cinderblocks and add on a whole new story. (Check out the AWESOME pulley system on the right of the pic that this guy has rigged up - CLASIC!!!)


Introducing the all new CRV Jeep by Honda!


Is it just me... people shouldn't live in a place where it's SOOO hot & humid that their camera fogs up at 6:30AM!


WOW! Now THAT'S just the look I was going for in my living room. Is it the abstract shape of the couch? The obnoxiously bright color pallet? Maybe the cow print on the pillows? Plastic Gerber daisies? The floral carpet? NO, it's ALL that!


As opposed to the deli for NON-food stuff.


Secure in his masculinity...


The other day it took 2 hours to cross a one mile bridge. This man changing his own time in the middle of the highway is precisely the reason why.


I know you've seen this in a prior blog post but... Let's hear it for Bahraini plumbing.


NOW let's hear it for the supplies the plumbers brought to fix their screw up.


Freshly shucked corn... Mmmm delicious? Straight to the trashcan.


The with-child Happy Family, Clara doll.


I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...
Could this doll be teaching inaccurate sex ed?


I DO however like the "New Mom Essentials" that the Clara doll comes with... because EVERY new Mom needs binoculars, sunglasses AND a flask!


This guy has the market on cleaning supplies... "CLOROX, CLOROX, GET YOUR CLOROX HERE!"


His neighbor has clearly learned the VALUABLE lesson of diversifying... because EVERYBODY likes the idea of one stop shopping for 10 gallon drums of cleaning chemicals AND fresh shrimp! BRILLIANT! ;)


This guy is SOOOOO proud of his bus he wants EVERYBODY to see it coming! I don't know what I like best, the colors of paint he selected or his beaded window skirt proclaiming his TRUE and undying love for India!

Hope you had a good chuckle, I love sharing the things I find here that keep me giggling. I love Bahrain! (Maybe I should broadcast it with a skirt on my front windshield! LAUGH)
;)

Bahrain "Autumn" Expo

OK, So who cares if it's February - If you ask me it's NEVER too late for an Autumn Expo!


The smell that came from this vendor's booth was DELICIOUS!


An amazing mountain of spices!


BEAUTIFUL lanterns from Morocco.


I NEED this chandelier... I'm kicking myself for not buying it when I had the chance!


Jacob and Gavin in a trance watching all the action around them. A vendor gave each of them a bunny balloon, they became fun toys for the kids to whack passers by. ;)


Lovely hand painted plates from Turkey.


So many beautiful plates, which one to choose?!?!?


Fun at the Expo.


The large brightly colored velvet cones on the right of the photo are traditionally used for the groom to present gifts of clothing and jewelry to his new bride. The bride opens the gift by lifting the cone topper by the golden ring. The smaller "gift wrap" on the left side of the photo can be used for jewelry or food items.


So many pretty items, where to start?

Birthdaypalooza!

Gavin is such a lucky little guy!




We have been celebrating his birthday for the last 3 weeks and he gets so excited every time he sees Daddy walk in from work with a package (because so far this month they have ALL been for him!)



We celebrated his birthday a day late so Daddy could join in on all the fun!



We did all of Gavie's favorites:

1) Pancakes and Banana for breakfast
2) Destroyed a roll of toilet paper (this was an "accidental gift" - I had no idea he had it until it was too late!)
3) Bike ride to the beach
4) Collected shells at the beach
5) Ate dinner at Le Chocolate for his request of "Pisa, Pisa, Pisa" (which we assume is Pizza?!?!)
6) Enjoyed chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (his choice) at home.
7) Lastly, a bath (his favorite part of the day (other than mealtime! LAUGH)

























































We would like to thank everybody for all the sweet gifts, Gavin has really been enjoying them all!