Life in the States (So far)

Attending a special wedding when we first got back to the States. The bride and groom are friends who met in Egypt, and all of the people here are people we know from Egypt who are from the States and actually made the trip to Houston, Texas for the wedding.

Our son (on the far left) with some of his friends from Egypt at the wedding.


It has been a long time since I last updated my blog. I guess the excuse I could use is that we have been really busy just getting settled. It has taken a while to feel like we are finally settled, and sometimes, I still get that "unsettled" feeling.

We have spent the majority of the last 10 years in Egypt, so really, Egypt is where we feel like "home" is. We returned to the States around the 1st of July, and stayed with my in-laws till the 1st of September, when the house we were moving into opened up. We had most of our furniture, but we did have to start searching for bedroom furniture for our bedroom, as well as our son's bedroom. That did not take too long thanks to Craigslist. We found 2 beautiful sets in no time. There were some other small purchases we had to make, but we are mostly settled now.

Our youngest son, who is a junior this year, is doing well and enjoying his new school experience here in the States. He has gone to a small private school in Egypt since the 1st grade. The school he is attending here in the States is small according to people here, but it is quite large to Levi. He is getting to experience lots of new things, such as playing on a school soccer team, being in the school chess club, choir, and worship band. What is kind of funny though, is that one of the things our son is most excited about is that he has a study hall. In all his years in his school in Egypt he has never had a study hall, and he is thoroughly enjoying having that extra time to work on his homework.


Our son participating in Spirit Week at his new school. The picture above is from "Mime Day", and the picture below is from "Nerd Day."

There are other things going on in our lives here and many things we are adjusting to, but more about those things later. I hope to keep my blog updated more as we are getting more settled and adjusting to life while back in the States.

A Trip to the Salon

Since being back in the States, I have made a couple of trips to the salon. Once for a slight trim and low-lights, and once for a manicure and pedicure. The prices for things here are much higher than they are in Egypt. I get a cut for about $5.00 there, compared to $18.00 here, and the manicure and pedicure there would cost me around $3.50 (total) compared to $20.00 here. Now, I have to admit I go to a Cosmetology school and have the manicure and pedicure done because I refuse to pay what you would normally pay in a normal salon.

I have gone to the same guy in Egypt for about 8 years. His name is Osama. He is a really nice guy and speaks excellent English. That is one of the reasons I go to him. I speak Arabic pretty well, but my hair is not something I want to be misunderstood on.

This is Osama.

Also, I have become very good friends with some of the women who work there doing manicures, pedicures, etc. It was really nice because a couple of months before we came back to the States, we moved to an apartment that was within walking distance from my salon. This made it nice for me to just be able to pop in on them and visit.

A Very Dangerous Discovery

In my last post, I mentioned that I miss our favorite coffee place called Costa, in Egypt. I also mentioned that, in Egypt, there is a coffee shop on almost every corner. Well, here in the States, it is that way with ice cream, frozen yogurt and frozen custard places. This can be much more dangerous due to the amount of fat and calories in these items.

Inside "The Orange Leaf"

Well, recently, some good friends took my husband and I out to eat. After dinner, they took us to a place called "The Orange Leaf". This place is AMAZING! It is a frozen yogurt shop, and it works like this:

1st, you get your bowl. They come in two sizes: large and extra-large.

2nd, you walk around the room and get as much and as many flavors of frozen yogurt as you want. The choices of flavors are:

Tart, Vanilla, Chocolate, Honeydew, Green Tea, Kiwi, Strawberry, Mango, Pomegranate, Mint Chocolate, Coffee Lover, Raspberry, Lemon, Orange, Peach, Green Apple, Passion Fruit, Watermelon, Cherry, Dole Pineapple, Blueberry, Peanut Butter, Cheese Cake, Cookies & Cream, White Chocolate, Banana, Coconut, Cake Batter, Red Velvet, Pistachio and Chocolate Raspberry

This picture shows a lady getting ready to choose which kinds of frozen yogurt she wants from the many flavors available.

3rd, you put toppings on top. Again, you can choose as many toppings as you want. The toppings to choose from are:

Kiwi, Pear, Mochi, Pecan, Peach, Honey, Mango, Banana, Granola, Coconut, Nuts, Pineapple, Blueberry, Strawberry, Blackberry, Raspberry, Honey Dew, Jelly Bellies, Cranberries, Watermelon, Oreos, Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Pebbles, Brownie, Gummy Bears, Dark Chocolate, Captain Crunch, Sunflower Seed, Dried Fruits, Graham Cracker, M&M's, Sprinkles, Marshmallows, Butterfinger, Reeses Cups.

A small section of the selection of toppings.

4th, you weigh and pay. Your yogurt is weighed and you pay for the amount you have taken.

And last but not least, enjoy your one-of-a-kind masterpiece you made yourself.

A sample picture of what your "masterpiece" could look like.

Like my title says, this is a very dangerous discovery for me. I love frozen yogurt, but I hope I can resist the temptation to stop at "The Orange Leaf" when I am passing by.