My washer hates me :(

As usual I have a huge pile of laundry and there are even more loads than usual this week because the kids have the flu. I don't want to get graphic here, but they are the kind of loads that can't wait. And my moody HE washer is giving me an error and shutting off about 10 times during an average cycle. I heard it beeping the error code just now and I am only rinsing a load!!! I am seriously annoyed with my laundry situation at this point. I am running the dryer for 2 hours every time I dry because it sucks, and I am doing smaller loads since the washer is acting up... And even with that the whole process is not making a dent in my laundry pile. It takes me a whole afternoon to wash and dry one load!!!

OK. So if you read that a woman in WY loaded her washer on the truck and then took it out into the woods to shoot it... You will know that's me.

You might be missing the point...

Just a ha ha kinda thing from me... Don't be offended, I know we girls want to look our best... Just have a laugh.


Top 10 clues that you might be a little too concerned about looking good in your hijab (therefore kinda missing the whole point of hijab)...

10. You once put hairspray on your hijab by mistake.

9. You have enlisted the services of a Veil Designer/ Hijab stylist.

8. You have "bad hijab" days.

7. You have missed people knocking at your door because putting on your hijab took so much time that they thought you weren't home.

6. You have excused yourself on outings to check on your hijab (and not because it was slipping off).

5. You have complicated diagrams hanging next to your mirror that instruct you on styling your hijab in various ways.

4. You are often asked, "How do you do that with your scarf?".

3. You have more ways to style your hijab than you have fingers to count them on.

2. You leave your hijab on when at home because taking it on and off requires too much effort.

And finally...

1. You have a secret fear that you are now actually prettier with your hijab ON.

DIY until I die

As an American I take DIY projects for granted. I don't know if DH's background is typical Egyptian, or typical for Cairo... But my MIL and FIL had people (servants DH would call them, but I say workers). I don't think DH had held a hammer until he moved here. They called someone to hang a picture. My MIL had a sewing machine, but a lady came once a week and did the mending for her. The thing she did do was knitting... Hats, sweaters, socks, everything. But it was like a "look how useful I can be while waiting for my kids at the club" thing.

So imagine my DH's surprise when the first thing I ever asked him for was a sewing machine... And how shocking it was when he found out I could actually use it. I won't talk about his reaction to sewing Layla's diapers!!!

Well, I LOVE that kinda stuff. The first time I ever got a flat tire my dad made me change it. I used to change my own oil in college. I made my prom dress. I traveled to fashion conscious Tokyo wearing dresses I made myself carrying a quilt as a gift for my hostess. I made my first hijabs and jilbabs. Yes, I was DIY gal when DIY wasn't cool. Which doesn't always make sense to DH.

For me there is a rush to coloring my own hair, putting in a garbage disposal, making a dress, putting diapers I made myself on a baby, giving a gift I made, serving homemade bread... Even though I don't have as much time as I would like, I do like to do things myself. And this is a pleasure lost on my DH.

The famous example DH gives (and if you ever want to hear it just bring me an apple pie someday) is that I once spent $10 on the stuff to make an apple pie and DH saw one in the store the next day for $5. And that is how his mind works. DIY only makes sense if it saves you money... Is this a DH thing? An Egyptian thing? An Engineer thing? I may never know. All I know is that I think he's missing out on some real fun!LOL

Seems to be going around, so here is my 100 things list...

The highlighted below are things I have done:

1. Started your own blog Well, yeah.
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band I have a more musical past than you might imagine!LOL
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to DisneylandI went to school about 15 minutes away and all my friends were in the parades there, so yeah.
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo Oh, MANY.
11. Bungee jumping
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch Oddly, I seem to like doing that... Henna, knitting, crochet, cake decorating, quilting...
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort I grew up in CO, sheesh.
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke In Japan, it's birthplace!LOL
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkelling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie I was an actor in a college with a film department;P
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a businessmore than 1.
58. Taken a martial arts class Aikido.
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favourite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper Front page baby!!!
85. Read the entire Qur’an/Bible/Torah A translation of the Quran, and the Bible for a Bible as literature class.
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating DH and I have slaughtered and prepared many times.
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous Val Kilmer, Amy Tan... Both for writing related things.
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby Well, yeah.
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day I LOVE doing that. Just bite it all off in one big chunk!!! You really feel the flow of the writing that way. I think Faulker in particular MUST be read in that fashion.