Offshore Wifes Life

Harper Turned 2!

Offshore Wife — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:45:22 +0000

My little firecracker turned two while we were home for Christmas. Her bestest aunt made her Lorax cake & mom & I did the rest. It turned out really cute especially since it was planned with me on the other side of the world. I don’t know where time had gone. It seems like yesterday she was 6 months old when we boarded the plane to Dubai.

Happy Halloween From Dubai

Offshore Wife — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 17:49:07 +0000

Happy Halloween from Dubai.

Arg, Matey! We had a fun filled night Trick or Treating at our school’s annual Halloween night. As usual there was a little work that went in to all of that fun. As a Girl Scout committee member we helped with the candy distribution. See those two crazy cute girls in the center? Those Girl Scouts worked their tails off for their candy! I’m so proud of my big girl. At the age of 8 she already understands how to contribute to her community with hard work.

Fall is here, I think

Offshore Wife — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 19:53:21 +0000

Everywhere I look online I see signs of fall in the air. Here in Dubai there are two seasons hot (summer) and not as hot (winter). I miss the change of seasons and I certainly miss fall. It is my favorite time of year. Even though the leaves are not changing and there is no crispness to the air we know fall is here. HALLOWEEN is coming soon and so we must prepare! I’ve moved from planning a Hoedown to sewing Halloween costumes. Lil H and I will dress as pirates to KP’s school Halloween night. KP decided to be a gypsy. I cheated a bit and purchased her costume while we were home for the summer. So far I have completed Lil H’s skirt.

I took a short break tonight and instead of finishing the top, which is just an embroidered t-shirt, I painted my toenails for Halloween. Because you see, here in Dubai we wear flip flops year round!

Yee-Haw!

Offshore Wife — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 20:30:42 +0000

Last year before we arrived in Dubai I made a promise to KP and that promise was she could join Girl Scouts. Little did I know how that simple promise would change my life. Girl Scouts is run purely by volunteers and when KP signed up they were begging for moms to step up and help. Just a few weeks in Dubai and I walked away not only a Troop Leader but also the Committee Secretary! This year I have even more responsibility. Over the last year we have tweaked the program that was in place by adding monthly family events and I had the honor of hosting the first one with my troop. The theme was Hoedown & Chili Taste Off, who knew there were so many yummy chilies in Dubai?

Thanks to Pinterest, my Silhouette Cameo, Oriental Trading & of course a few friends I pulled it off!

Now I’m off to soak my weary, not use to cowboy boots anymore, feet!

Another turning point

Offshore Wife — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 19:21:56 +0000

As we mark our 1 year anniversary of living in Dubai a lot of changes have happened. H received a promotion and we have decided to sell our home in the US. I think we have finally succumbed to the fact that we are now true expats. Granted we have lived abroad before but always with “home” being in Louisiana. Once that relator sign goes up my safety net diminishes. I have always had a back up plan and that plan was, if I don’t like it I can go home. Now however there will be no home. Scary! Anyway, we will probably be in Dubai for a few years but I always throw the probably in there because honestly we never truly know. We may plan, dream about, or try to predict the future but in this industry it’s just that. We are counting down the days until we arrive in LA for the summer but at the same time I’m a bit apprehensive about going home. Truthfully all expats I think have the same apprehensions about going home. We’ve gone away and yet life still goes on. Friends find new friends, family, while they miss us, move on and people and places change. I guess in some fairy tale daydream we think time pauses until we go home. When we arrive it is a whole entourage and big welcome home to do but it seems that after about 5 minutes we are no longer heard. Oh, you took a trip to Paris how was that? Before you can describe a day in Paris they have moved on to the neighbor’s divorce, the new Kindergarten teacher & the local high school football team’s season as if you know exactly what they are talking about. I find that most of the time I just sit, nod & smile at the appropriate pause in conversation. I don’t get the “inside” jokes because I’ve become an outsider. Sometimes I feel I’m two people, the Dubai person and the Louisiana person. I sometimes don’t fit in in either country. Being an expat is a constant juggle I think, a juggle to find a place to belong on both sides of the world. However, I wouldn’t change a thing. I love this nomadic lifestyle quiet simply because I bore easily. At the same time I miss being on the “inside” back home. Now that it is just days before we land on that good ole US soil I’m excited and nervous at the same time. Will I fit in? We shall see…

Halloween in Dubai

Offshore Wife — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 06:52:50 +0000

Last week we celebrated our first holiday in Dubai. Halloween! First on our agenda was KP’s class party.

There was popcorn bingo, freeze dancing, candy, cupcakes, & costumes. I met a few more of the moms and really hit it off with one from Lebanon and one that had recently lived in Louisiana.

Next up was Trick or Treat night at the school. The weather was perfect for it. Finally a cool night! There was food, music, costume contests, a haunted house, & candy galore. HL, little H, & I sat on the greens, with the Dubai skyline in the background, and ate burgers and fries while KP played with friends.

This was H’s first Halloween! She had no clue she was in costume or that Halloween is all about the candy. She was happy to walk around with mom & dad listening to music while keeping one eye on KP and her friends. She clapped her hands to the music and just took everything in.

We didn’t go trick or treating in the neighborhood but we should have. We had a few stop by during the night. I honestly didn’t know they did that here in our community! Next year we will!