Bahrain 1 Month-iversary

I cannot believe that we have been in Bahrain for ONE MONTH already. 

It's crazy. 

I feel like just yesterday we got off of the plane and I looked at my new surroundings and said, 

"Holy crap, we are actually in the MIDDLE EAST. It's just so....foreign." (I was exhausted, I clearly couldn't come up with a better word)

So...10 Things I've Learned This Month:

1. EVERY single toilet in the Kingdom of Bahrain has an accompanying detachable shower head and hose attached to the wall behind it. Apparently freshness and cleanliness is key. I've yet to be brave enough to use one...communal rear-end washer kind of creeps me out.

2. We are going to save MEGA money on gas. We filled up for the 2nd time since we have been here for only $15 US dollars. So in 1 month we have spent about $30 on gas. That's less than one tank back home.

3. My love affair with Greek Yogurt will have to be put on hold while here. It's about $4 for an individual container. That's the one food I miss the most.

4. Oh...and on that note a 1/2 gallon of Organic Milk - $9.46...yep, we'll be drinking the cheap stuff. Well, Andrew and Caden...milk is so not my thing. 

5. Birds can magically appear in hotel rooms. See previous post. True Story.

6. Sweatiness is just a fact of life. You can't re-wear clothes, they get too gross. Let alone yoga pants (my staple) so this means I do the laundry a lot.

7. If you don't shower daily...you will stink. Maybe this is also the reason for #1. I already showered twice today...maybe that's also due to #10 below.

8. Sand hurts when it gets in your eyes. Wind blows and the sand gets all in there. Great.

9. Their potato chips come in flavors like Ketchup and Chili.

10. I still pee my pants. Yep...I peed my pants today at the gym. Not just a little...a lot. Double-unders made me do it. I was embarrassed...and I stunk for the rest of my WOD. I didn't stop though. I'm hardcore like that.

The 10 Things I Miss the Most

1. Ellen DeGeneres. She is like my happy juice. What I would give to see her show every day again. Caden would always say to me, "Mommy - you need to watch Ellen today!" It's like I'm coming off of an addiction. I'm 35 days clean of Ellen. I need her back in my life though. The dancing, the jokes, the pranks, and how she manages to make me cry at least 3 times a week. Happy tears.
***UPDATE: I've been informed by a new friend that I can get Ellen and the Kardashians on OSN once we move in to a house. HAPPY DAY!!! I think I might cry more happy tears now!

2.  Good grocery stores. Produce from one place sucks (there were a TON of bugs in my lettuce - I dry heaved and then threw it out). Meat from another is "iffy". AND, you never know what you will find at the NEX. They didn't have boneless skinless chicken breast the other day. Seriously. This is NOT okay.

3. Being able to talk on the phone clearly. For some reason my Skype phone sucks. Like, seriously. I call and I can't hear anyone - they can't hear me. I feel like a Verizon commercial, "Can you hear me now?" NOPE...I think I've only gotten a handful of good calls through in the past month and I feel so lost without talking to my mom and sisters every day. 

4. My bed.

5. Keeping Up With The Kardashians. I know, I know...judge me. I heard a new season started and Kim's having a girl and Bruce is sleeping in a separate room or house...I'M MISSING EVERYTHING. I love them, I can't stop watching them. It's an obsession.

6. Cool weather and clouds. No clouds here. Just sand, a lot of sand. So much sand that on a windy day you can't even really see down the street. Crazy.

7. CrossFit PAX - there isn't a CrossFit gym here. Well, there is ONE, but it's in the RED ZONE for us. So I'm not allowed to go there. I miss the community...I miss lifting.

8. My car - we had to sell it before coming out here. So now we are a 1 car family. A crappy rental car. The automatic unlock doesn't work on it. So I have to unlock it with the key, then jump in and try to start it before the alarm goes off. I usually don't make it - and the alarm goes off - and the baby cries - and I'm hot and sweaty and flustered. It's a total Shit Show every time. Andrew's Saab just arrived in Bahrain, but we still have to go through crazy amounts of paperwork to get it from wherever it is right now. Poor, lonely, car.

9. The smells...Bahrain doesn't smell very great. It's probably due to the sweat and heat...even if they try to put, "butt baths" as Caden calls them, next to every sing toilet. I keep telling Caden that it's not polite to tell people about "butt baths" - I'm not setting a very good example.

10.  My family and friends. They are really #1, but I just wanted to make them nervous that maybe they weren't on my list. We are making new friends, but we were really spoiled by our awesome friends back home. They rock. But as the song goes, "Make new friends, but keep the old..."

And...again because everything is cuter with a picture...

 Davis and Caden's first ever BROTHER BATH!!!

Davis loves his Maya Wrap...we took him to a little house party - this is what he did. Party animal.

and That's 'Watts' She Said...