Happy Halloween / I'm so fast it's SCARY!!

Happy Halloween!  I am currently sitting around waiting until it is time for the trick or treaters on the compound to come around.  I am not really sure how many kids we will get because I am really not sure how many are on the compound.  We will see!

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but weekends here are on Thursday and Friday.  Saturday and Sunday are just any other business day.  The kids go to school Saturday through Wednesday.  It's kind of weird to get used to.  We have kind of started calling Saturday "fake Monday."  But again, that gets confusing as well.

Normally when the Embassy has a party, it is held on a Thursday night.  (fake Saturday Night)  However, due to respect for the death of the Crown Prince, and the funeral, the Halloween party was changed from Thursday night to Saturday night.  Since this was a regular business day, they also closed the party up an hour early at 11 PM instead of the usual midnight.  (Were they to just cancel the event, they would have had to refund everyone's money.) Anyway, I am glad that the event wasn't completely cancelled because I would have been really bummed, considering the amount of effort that I put into my costume.

I went as Medusa and Matt went as a Pepsi Delivery Man.  (I found a Pepsi tie at the Second Hand Souk and then I colored a Pepsi logo on a paper and pinned it onto a hat.)  It was at least better than no costume at all.  Anyway, here is what I wore.

 It's kind of hard to tell but I have a really cool snake bracelet on.  It had a wiggly head and everything. I was trying to get the shoes in the picture but it's hard to see.  Anyway, the dress turned out mahvalous!  I sooo love that dress.  I will figure out a way to wear it again!!

Here is a close up on the hair.  I needed bigger snakes, but one must make do with what one has!! Also, the earrings weighed a ton but they were just too good to pass up. So glad that the party didn't get completely cancelled!  Anyway, had a very good time! It was a typical American Halloween party.

In other news, we were supposed to have a 10 mile race last Friday but I think they figured that it would be too soon so they switched it to a 5K.  I decided to try and see how much I could improve on  my time  from first race (also a 5K.)  Since it has cooled off a lot here, I have started running more outside and that has made all of the difference.  Also, I worked out a new route that is longer and not quite so repetitive.  Two laps equals 3K and one lap is just under a mile.

My last time for the 5K was just under 33 minutes. (This was actually not all that bad for me.)  This time, I was determined to break 30 minutes.  I practiced beforehand and according to my Nike+ I came in at 29:58.  Of course, this was not officially measured and it wasn't a race so it was really just to know that I could do it.

On race day we were running late and got lost to boot!  Luckily, a quick phone call (or 3) got us back in the game.  We got there with enough time to check in and go to the bathroom before we took off.  They were doing something called a staggered start where the slower runners started first and then the faster runners all started later.  The race was two laps.  To get an idea of how fast the winner is you need to know that we finished our first lap (2.5K) and he hadn't even started yet and he still won!

Here I am before the start of the race.  We had a 2 and a half minute wait.  I probably should have been with the 3 minute group based on my last time but for some reason I am never on the list.  My husband always is but I am not.  It was kind of a fun way to start because you had to try and catch the people who started ahead of you.  I had a new strategy since the race was so short.  It was start fast, slow up a bit in the middle, and end as fast as possible.  I am happy to report that my strategy paid off and my final time was around 27 minutes.  27 MINUTES!!  Now that may not sound all that fast to some of you, but for me, it is almost unbelievable.  (When I first started out a little over 3 years ago, I was running a 13 minute mile when I was feeling lucky.)  So when Lance Armstrong came on over my Nike+ when I was done and said that I had just set a new personal record for my mile, I was thrilled! (New time for the mile is 8:24) I don't have my official time for the race yet because they have not yet sent me the results.  It is probably going to take a while since they are going to have to subtract everyone's start time to get the official times.  But I managed to take a picture of the timer after I finished.

So subtract 2 minutes and 30 seconds from the time and also subtract the time it took for me to get over there and and take the picture and I am pretty darn close to 27.  That is 6 minutes off of a 5K time! 6 MINUTES!!  Also, today I ran 15K (9.3 miles) and my previous fastest time for that was 1:41:59.  Today I ran it (on the compound street) in 1:34:30.  That is 7 and a half minutes off my time.  Was just a practice but it has been a while since I did that distance so I just wanted to see how I was doing.  Apparently, I am doing FABULOUS! Toot toot!!

And last but not least, here is what I am handing out for Halloween.

I made homemade caramels and little ghost cookies.  Back home I would never dream of handing out anything homemade because everyone is always so worried that crazy people are going to try and poison the kids.  Here I can do that because my neighbors know exactly where to find me!!  Anyway, had quite a few kids stop by.  Trick or treat officially ends here in about 25 minutes.  I will wait until then to break into the leftovers but it looks as though it is probably pretty well over by now.  But you never do know!  HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!

This just in!  Official time just sent!  27:07!!  Woo Hoo!!!

Riyadh Tent Souk

The other day we took a car and went off in search of Tent Souk and Ladies Souk.  I had never heard of either of these two places and would never have thought to go on my own, but when asked if I wanted to go, of course I said YES!  Crystal is usually the one who finds these things and figures out how to get there.  Honestly, if I have half the gumption that woman has I will be fine in this life.  She is fabulous!  I really don't care where we go, I am just thrilled to be invited to go along.

So five of us ladies piled into a car along with the driver and headed off first to find Tent Souk.  Now I had no idea what to expect but that is half of the fun here.  I tend not to ask too many questions and just go along for the ride.  As it turns out, Tent Souk is actually where you would go to buy a tent!  Who would have thought? (I thought perhaps it could be a souk inside a tent.)  But, aside from tents, you can actually find quite a lot of other things.  Most of them have to do with camping, but it was still good fun.

In addition to tents you can also have just about anything that you want made out of canvas.  I needed a yoga bag so we decided to see if we could have one made.  I chose a bag style and we gave the man the measurements and he said that he could have it made in one hour.

Here is the shop where I had my bag made.  I also ended up buying the backpack hanging on the upper left corner.  I'm not sure why but you just never know when you will need a backpack!

We came back to pick up the bag and it still wasn't done. (He was working on something else.)  So we stood there and he finished it in about 10 minutes. This is a picture of him making my bag.

And here is my bag.  I just love it!  There is a super big pocket in front to hold my wallet and pockets on both ends.  LOVE IT!! And only 40 riyal.  ($10 US)

While we were waiting for my bag to be made, we went looking at the camping equipment.

Here are Crystal and Tiffany looking at sleeping bags.

We also found some very interesting bags to keep food and drinks cool.  They were made from recycled materials and we all quite liked them.

 Crystal really liked this one bag that she saw hanging up so she asked them to take it down for her.  She really liked it until she flipped it over and saw this:

Honestly, I laugh every time I see this picture.  So funny.  Who is this guy? And why is his picture on the bag? He isn't even good looking! Needless to say, she didn't buy it but Tiffany and I liked the other ones so we purchased them.

We thought that they were very cool.  So here we are with our super cool "cool bags."

After that, we went off to find Ladies souk, but alas, we had no such luck.  Still, we were able to find some cushions that Tiffany quite liked.

 This particular cushion was deemed to be quite comfortable.

I think this one is the winner.  She looks quite happy with it doesn't she?

But in the end prayer time started up and so our shopping for the day was done.  But that is OK because tomorrow is another day!

Second place, but it feels like first!!

When we decided to come to Saudi Arabia, I was excited, but a little apprehensive.  I came here thinking that it would be an interesting experience, but I honestly never thought that would really like it all that much.  I must say that I been very pleasantly surprised.  I am just having so much fun.  There is so much to see here around town and even the most simple things seem way more interesting here.  Also, we keep ending up at these shops that are just so much fun.  For example, at the latest souk that we went to there was a shop that sold all kinds of rhinestone jewelry and that included tiaras! Back when I used to work at Magic World, I used to wear a tiara almost every day at work.  Gotta love a job that lets you wear a tiara every day if you want to.  Anyway, these shops looked to be wholesale shops and the selection was huge!

Here is a small sample of what we saw.

 Lots of necklaces and jewelry sets.  I got a pair of the most perfect earring to go along with my Halloween costume.  (To be revealed later.)

 This was a bunch of hair accessories and things like that.  Would be pretty cool if you needed 2 dozen headbands or a thousand rubber bands or a couple a hundred barrettes or something like that.

This was my favorite part.  The tiaras.  It's hard to see them but there were tons!  I can't believe that I didn't buy one.  I don't know what I was thinking.  Clearly, I wasn't.  One can always find somewhere to wear a tiara.

Also, while we were walking along the streets we saw the most interesting old buildings.

So many interesting things to see.

Anyway, last night was Ladies Night at the compound restaurant.  The idea was to wear your most outrageous Arabian outfit.  We all scoured the second hand souk for the winning dress.  We made our selections and had them altered to fit.  Finally the night arrived.

There was much preparation for such a night.

 Here is Crystal putting the final touches on Tiffany's hairdo.  (There are 2 toilet paper rolls in there.)

 Here is me "before" my lovely transformation.

Almost ready!  Just need makeup.  Turns out that Crystal is very good at these things!

Here we are afterwards.  Like I said, you can always find somewhere to wear a tiara! Luckily Crystal's daughter had a tiara that she agreed to loan me for the evening.  She was also very generous with her purses. (I only had one toilet paper roll in my hair)

After our transformations were complete, we went off to the restaurant to see what everyone else had chosen to wear.  Now, there were other pictures taken, but since these people don't yet know about my blog, I would hate to have them just show up in it so I just don't feel like I can post any of the other pictures.  Just know that there were 22 ladies that showed up and we all had a little fashion show and then a vote.  And the winner was.... Tiffany!!  Isn't she lovely?  She truly deserved to win.  Also, the dress weighed a ton.  Now there was some pretty stiff competition between these dresses but I think the key point was that we had Crystal doing our hair and makeup, which clearly cinched the title.  Did I mention that Crystal won the contest last year?  After Tiffany was awarded the prize (a box of chocolates) it was asked who came in second place.  A quick recount of the votes revealed that it was in fact me!  But you see, when you wear a crown to begin with, in all the pictures it looks like I am the winner!  (I was thinking ahead!)

Anyway, if for some reason Tiffany can't uphold the duties of Miss Saudi Princess, well I am right there in line to take over!  (I'm pretty sure that the chocolates will be gone by then though!)  I come with my own crown! (and toilet paper roll!)

And that is what is going on in Saudi this week!!

Running Around Riyadh and the Camel Souk

The latest race was a 10K that was held in a compound that was pretty far out in the desert.  It took us about 45 minutes to get there.  Since it was pretty much out in the middle of nowhere, it was a pretty large  place.  It even had its own elementary school on property.

The race was run in conjunction with a charity run for Terry Fox so there were a lot of people there.  The course was around about a quarter of the compound and each lap measured 2.5K.  We did 4 laps for our race but the charity run was a choice of either 1 or 2 laps.  

We left at around 6:30 AM to get there in time for the race start of 8 am.  We were pretty early but we needed to get through security and check in at 2 separate areas.  When we first got there we had to park our car and get out while they inspected it.  Meanwhile the three of us had to go into a room in order to also get searched for security.  Matt was on one side and they sent me and my friend Tiffany around the corner for a separate "inspection" since we were women.  At first it seemed kind of like the airport and the way they have men be inspected by men and women inspected by women, except, when we got around the corner, there was a guy there.  So my friend went first. She walked through a metal detector and then the guy there asked her to open her abaya, which she did.  Then I walked through next and was also told to open my abaya.  (This was the first time this has ever happened.)  We didn't have to take the whole thing off, just open it up and give him a flash.  We got a good chuckle out of that as we walked out because it just seemed so absurd.  The whole thing went on behind a curtain so the other men couldn't see, just the one guy back there.  We were wondering what makes him OK and the others are not?  What do you need to do to get that job?  

Anyway, after that we got back in the car and went and parked and checked into the compound.  Then we walked down to where they were holding the race and we checked in.  We lined up at the starting line around 8:00 AM but because of all the people checking in for the charity run it of course started late.  There was no shade so we getting quite hot just waiting around.  By the way, here we are before the race.

We were outside the elementary school.  Very nice school by the way. Quite large.  (We went through it while we were looking for the bathroom.)

So anyway, eventually the race started and it went pretty well.  There was plenty of water, most of which we poured over our heads.  Because did I mention it was pretty darn hot??? We finished in about an hour and 5 minutes.  Next race jumps to 10 miles so we will see how that goes.  I really hope it cools off a bit more because that will probably take us an extra 40 minutes at least to finish that and it only gets hotter as the day goes on.  Wish us luck!

Here we are after the race.

Afterward we realized that we still hadn't seen the pool, so we went to go find it and check it out.  It was sooooo nice.  One of the nicest we have seen so far. 

Pretty cool huh?  If we have another run there, we decided that we will bring our swimsuits and sneak in there afterwards.  

Oh, and one last thing.  On the way there, we passed the camel souk.  I had heard about it and I knew that we were going to have to pass it on the way.  I wasn't sure if we would be able to see it from the road but the thing is huge!  Probably a couple of miles long and it was along both sides of the road.  I took a few pictures but we were in the car and it is impossible to see how large it is from the pics but here they are anyway.  

Very interesting to see but buying a camel was not in the plans so we went home without a camel.  There were goats and sheep around too and we didn't get one of those either.  Perhaps next time.  We still don't know where the 10 mile will be held but we should find out tomorrow.  

27 Dresses (Actually only 3-5)

I had originally said that my next post would be about my new abayas but that will just have to wait.  Babushka pictures to come, just not today and probably not tomorrow either.  

Coming soon to our compound is the "Ladies Night Out" in the restaurant.  Basically, the idea is to wear the most outrageous dress that you can find.  And where does one find such a dress?  Well at the second hand souq of course!  So off we went in search of treasures.  

I had been to the second hand souq once before, but that was mainly just to find out what it was all about. It was a lot of fun going through all of these old clothes but everything was very dusty and some of the things smelled like cat pee.  I had been told that there are Arabic parties, and that I simply must have a dress ready to wear if one happens to come up, so while I was there last time, I bought 2 dresses that I thought might work.  The thing is, you can not try anything on and everything is filthy anyway so even if you were allowed to try on, no one in their right mind would even think of it.  The first time I went, I just guessed at the sizes and hoped for the best.  We held things up and tried to stretch them to see if they would fit but this is over the abaya and your clothes underneath so it was anybody's guess.  

Last time I bought 2 dresses.  After washing them both, I was able to squeeze myself into the first one and I also managed to get it zipped up.  This was all well and good until I went to take it off.  As it turns out, this was going to be a problem.  After many efforts and various contortions, I finally realized that there was no way that I was going to get out of this dress on my own.  At that point in time I did not yet have a cell phone and I had no idea how to call out on the house phone.  I later found out that to do this you need to add 500 to the villa number.  Evidently this information was a day late and a dollar short. (Or perhaps I should say a Riyal.)  

I sat around for a few minutes hoping that my friend would just happen to come by.  She didn't.  Eventually I had to find the scissors and make a cut between the zipper and the armhole.  With this extra bit of room and me practically dislocating my shoulder, I was able to remove the dress with very little damage other than the one small cut.  I don't have a picture of the dress right now, but one of my friends is planning on wearing it and she said I could post her picture!! So pictures will follow after Ladies Night Out!!

The other dress was way too big and not nearly as fun but I bought it as a back up.  Here it is.

Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking either. I just couldn't seem to find anything that time.  

This time, however, I found 3 dresses.  I also got smarter (so I thought) and brought a tape measure with me.  Before purchasing a questionable dress I measured first.  This is the first dress that I bought.  I really only bought it as a back up dress because I was fairly certain I could get into it considering how it closed up.  

In unhooks at the neck and there was a zipper on the side.  It was a bit too big but very easy to get into. It looks perfectly hideous here but actually it didn't look half bad once it was on.  Also, you can't really see it but there are a bunch of little hanging metal clusters all over the front that make a lovely little jingle when you walk.  Anyway, it was just a back up.  Now mind you, right after I purchased this dress, I was about to leave when I saw the most perfect dress for my Halloween Costume!  The man took the dress down and I just loved it and it definitely looked like it would fit.  Then he proceeded to try and charge me an arm and a leg for it.  Now had I not previously already purchased the first dress, I could have probably struck a deal for both dresses because they usually charge less if you buy 2.  But, he already had my money and he could tell I really wanted the dress.  He started at 50 Riyal and I eventually paid 35 Riyal.  (Last time I got both dresses for 30 Riyal)  Anyway, after getting the dress home and washing it, I must say... I LOVE THAT DRESS!!  Seriously, I would wear it out even if it were not Halloween.  It would be a definite conversation starter.  

I worked in a costume store for 3 years and 7 Halloweens.  I have seen or heard of just about every Halloween costume.  Not wanting to be the same thing as everyone else, I used to try and come up with an original idea.  The problem is that no one ever gets it. Either that, or everyone just assumes that I am something else that was not what I intended.  

Anyway, I am not going to show the dress just yet!  To me it looks like the dress of a rebellious debutante ... but again, no one would get that... so I definitely have a more obvious idea than that.  I think I need to take a cruise so that I can wear it to the formal dinner night.  I seriously love this dress!!

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that as we were standing around the souq, some guy walked right by me and and totally cupped my butt with his hand!!  I was so stunned that my jaw just dropped and I couldn't even say anything for a moment.  Then I told my friends, "That guy just grabbed my butt!"  Then, I am assuming because I didn't say anything to him, he kept trying to come back!  One of my friends gave him a look that probably shot daggers through him and he went away for a while. (Remind me never to make her mad!)  But eventually he came back again.  This time I made sure that I was facing him and I said, (very loudly mind you) "GO AWAY!"  And he did.  The nerve!

But back to dresses.  At the last stand that we went to, I ended up finding a dress that I really liked.  It was just fabulously hideous!  I measured with my tape measure and it seemed like it would fit.  I purchased it for 20 Riyal.  I took it home and washed it and this is what it looks like.  

Just lovely isn't it!! I know it looks a little grungy but I washed it before I took the pic.  I may need to get myself a glue gun so I can glue open the flowers.  I really think that my dress needs to be in full bloom.  

Now to look at this dress, it's all flowers and rainbows and it just screams... "Put me on! I'm magical!"  And so I did.  Again, I managed to get it on but this time I could only partially get it zipped up.  There was just no way that it was going to close up top.  (I think that is the problem with buying a dress that was obviously made for a 15 year old girl.)  The other problem was my measurements.  I measured the dress across the top, but seriously, after putting the dress on, I don't think that even at 15 they were ever that high.  

There was plenty of room in the waist and the hips, but the top was very unforgiving.  Then, it got downright mean!  Part of the problem with this dress is that the side zipper only comes down to the waist, so therefore you have to try and squeeze yourself in and out of the narrowest part of the dress.  Also, the armholes are super small and high.  I pulled the dress up as far as I could but it was just not coming off.  I glanced at myself in the mirror and I looked like some sort of bizarre tri-colored tulip.  Luckily, this time I could send for reinforcements.  I sent out a text that said, "Seriously HELP! I am really stuck this time!!"  Within five minutes they were both at my door and I went to greet them in my lovely party frock.  After having a good laugh, we went upstairs and with both of them pulling the dress over my head, I managed to break free!  (And there was a lot more laughing upstairs as well.)  

Despite this debacle, after closer examination of the dress, it was pretty clear that the dress could still be let out rather easily.  So I undid one of the seams to the point where I could actually get in and out of the dress on my own and then took the dress to the tailor the next morning.  I tried on the dress for her and she took some measurements.  She is going to put in a longer zipper and let it out up top and hopefully I will have some lovely pictures to post next week.  Also, you can meet my new friends!  Ahhh.. good times!

Bits and Pieces

I am currently all dressed to go running yet I am sitting around my apartment waiting once again for the refrigerator repair man.  He was supposed to come yesterday but that didn't happen.  Today, he was supposed to come by 9:30 and he showed up at 9:30 on the dot.  But, I still have to wait around while he fixes it, so, I may as well post another blog.

In all honesty, I am a little bored of posting pictures of myself.  Also, I have been a little lax about taking pictures.  However, I do have a few pics of things that I found funny.  So I will just post those.  But just for the record, I did purchase 2 new abayas, one of which is still at the tailor getting the hem and sleeves shortened.  The other one, I am wearing all the time.  When I get the other abaya back from the tailor I will post pics of both.  (Get ready to laugh... I think this is my best abaya yet!)

Anyway, speaking of abayas, one of my main concerns which I have mentioned before is getting it sucked up into the escalator.  Since most of them snap up the front, I can just picture having to pull it off to avoid getting crushed and then being left exposed. It would not be a good thing.  Therefore, I am always careful on the elevator.  Apparently, this must happen because I saw this:

Yes, I will be VERY careful!

I also saw a few interesting food things, so I took a few pictures.

So glad that I can still find my Mixican Bread!  Actually these were not very good at all.  I mainly bought it because of the label. They are very thin and taste pretty bad.  I did find another brand that comes frozen and tastes much better but not funny.  

Anyone for corn in a cup?  I keep seeing these all over the place.  Kind of reminds me of Macau because they had it a lot over there.  In fact, you could buy it in the Mc Donalds there.  I think it was considered a dessert.  Here, I guess it is just a snack.  You never know when you may want some corn in a cup.  I haven't wanted any yet, but you never know!

And I was so glad that I was able to find that cookie recipe that I was looking for!  

And something else that I was a little fascinated by was the burkini.  It is a very real thing!  I haven't seen anyone wearing one but I don't live anywhere near the ocean and I have yet to go to a public pool.  Never the less,  I did see them for sale.  I didn't buy one, so I cannot therefore model it for you and anyway, I said there would be no pics of me in this post.  So here is a pic from the internet that shows someone else, modeling the burkini.

This picture was uploaded from my iPod.  I am not very good at uploading pics from the internet and the iPod lets me take a screen picture so... until I become a little more computer literate, this will have to do.  I just love the hood.  Very smurfy. 

Here is what they look like in the store.

So these are the tops.  I tried to get them both in one shot but they are actually very long and I didn't want to cut them off.  I am assuming that this is to cover ones rump.  (That part I get...)

These are the bottoms.   Of course the ensemble would not be complete without the hood which is pictured in the center.  I really don't see myself ever purchasing one of these.  I think I would just rather not go swimming.  But since I live on the compound I have no shortage of pools or opportunities to swim.

The last thing that I wanted to post was this:

Obviously, this is a gas pump.  To fully understand the significance of this picture requires a little math. First off, notice that Premium here is 95.  The other one was 91.  I hear that there are lower grades than that but I have never seen them.

Now the price for 95 is .60 Riyal per liter.  The price for 91 is .45 Riyal per liter.  Now we figure approximately 4 liters to the gallon.  The first one says 32 Riyal for 53.33 liters.  Lets figure that this is about 13.5 gallons.  Next we need to divide 32 by 4 because the conversion is approximately 4 Riyal to the dollar.  So basically 13.5 gallons of super premium 95 grade gas is about 8 US dollars.

Now if you want to downgrade to the 91 grade gas (which we did) it was about 20 Riyal for 43 liters.  Converts to about 5 dollars for 11 gallons of 91 grade gas.  Basically, gas is cheaper than water over here.  A liter of bottled water costs about 4 Riyal or about a dollar.  There is definitely no pinch at the pump over here!  And not one picture of me!!

Another Party and More Visits from Grandma

Last Thursday we went to another Embassy Party.  This one had a business dress code that specifically said no jeans.  I went with a black dress and black shoes.  I had brought the dress with me from home.  I really haven't purchased all that much here in the way of clothing, but I have the feeling that I will probably be purchasing a lot less black now seeing as how I have to wear black every time I go out.  Still, I would say about 50 percent of the women at the party went with the little black dress.  It's always a safe bet.

This crowd was a bit older, and a bit more reserved.  It was not as fun as the last party but the food was very good and there was quite a lot of it.  (So none of the same problems as with the last party.)  We met some new people and since it was a business type party, everyone was talking, well... business.  As a result, there were a couple of people who were more than willing to offer their help with tips as to where to find a job.  Truth be told, currently I am not looking all that hard.  Also, this time we hired a driver and we made it back home in 30 minutes.  A lot shorter than the almost 2 hours that Matt took last time. (Although I must say... driving around these parts is very confusing.)

Anyway, it was a really good hair day for me, hence my new profile pic.  This was what I wore.

Now, I did realize as I put it on that this was the exact same dress that I wore to my grandma's funeral.  I probably even wore the same shoes, and I know that I wore the same necklace.  (I left the little white sweater at home though... not necessary as it was still about 85 to 90 degrees at night.)

Since cameras and cell phones are not allowed inside and you have to walk through metal detectors as well, I have no more pictures from the party, and like I said, it was fun but nothing great.

So back to Grandma.  For anyone who just started reading... before my Grandma died, she asked if she could visit me after she passed on.  Since, my Grandma is the least scary person that I could ever think of and was just the best grandma in the whole world I said "OK." Anyway, we agreed that when she was visiting, she would come back as a hummingbird, so if I saw a hummingbird, I would know that it was her paying me a visit. Here in Saudi Arabia, hummingbirds are not exactly native to this part of the country.  I have yet to see an actual hummingbird, however, pictures and models of them pop up all over the place.

Another place that I continue to see them is on TV and while watching movies.  There is this episode of "According to Jim" (I hate that show but they always seem to have it for some reason) where his girls are playing on a basketball team called the hummingbirds. Their shirts all have pictures of hummingbirds.  Over the last couple of months, I have been flipping through the channels and that episode seems to be on a lot.  I have seen it at least 4 times.  Well, not the whole episode, just the part where they are all running around in the shirt.

Sometimes it is a little more subtle.  I was watching a movie called "Lars and the Real Girl," (really good movie, I highly recommend it) and there was a scene where they were standing in the kitchen and they had a stained glass hummingbird hanging in the window.  I simply noticed it.  Another time, I was watching the movie Cowboys and Aliens.  I personally thought that the movie looked stupid but I really do like that Daniel Craig and so I agreed to watch the movie.  Matt fell asleep and even Daniel Craig could not make that movie watchable.  So after Matt went up to bed, I left the movie running and started flipping through the TV channels.  I found something more interesting to watch a basically forgot about the movie.  When I later remembered, I switched back to the movie and it seemed like it was getting close to the ending.  I had been watching for about 2 minutes and was getting ready to take the movie out when a scene came up where Daniel Craig walked into some partially demolished building and a hummingbird flew down through a hole in the ceiling and flew around in front of his face and then flew out again.  I really don't think that is was entirely a coincidence that I tuned in for only that part of the movie.  (Again, I didn't watch the full movie, so if hummingbirds were flying around all over the movie and I just missed them... well, humor me.)

Most recently, however, I think that I got my favorite hummingbird yet.  Grandma always did like to laugh and she had an excellent sense of humor.  This last hummingbird came via the Chelsea Handler Show.  (I was a little surprised to see that they had that show since she can be a little raunchy, but I find her hilarious.)  Anyway, it was during the segment where she has a panel of three guests  and she gives them topics to discuss and they all sit around and crack jokes about said topic.  Apparently there was a guy who stuck a hummingbird down his pants and possibly up his bum (to coin a British phrase.)  The four of them just kept going on and on about this and they had a picture of a humming bird up next to a picture of a guy with his hands down his pants.  Anyway, it was on for so long that I was able to grab my iPod, find the camera app and take a picture before they switched to another topic.  So here it is for your viewing pleasure.

I can't remember the exactly what was said... but it was funny.  So basically, Grandma is still around and if you didn't sign up to get your own personal sign before she died, go ahead and use mine.  I can share!