bidding - plan b

Word on the street is that there are more people bidding this cycle than there are positions available. Like, three times more, and Mister is last on the priority list. So basically, he's not going to get any of the positions he's bidding for. Which means if we just wait it out we'll likely be sent to DC, which as far as I'm concerned is a great thing, but for Mister and his career, not ideal. So we're attempting to take back control of our future and are currently seeking out NOW positions (assignments that are available immediately), preferably ones that are hard to fill/critical need with a language requirement and not Saudi Arabia or Yemen. We've (or rather Mister) has bid on two so far, one of which he has a fairly decent chance of getting, as in he's the only person to bid on it so far.

I don't want to jinx it and tell you where it is, but I will tell you that it is NOT in the Middle East. Cross your fingers for us. (And if you could please reassure me that everything will be ok? I'm kind of freaking out.)

Birthday!!

I love having a birthday in August! I especially loved it growing up because school didn't start until after Labor Day, which meant a day full of whatever I wanted (and presents every hour). It's been a rough transition to adulthood where I'm expected to actually work on my birthday. This year, I returned to my roots and both Mister and I took the day off. The birthday festivities included cake (of course), the most delicious BLT I've ever had, the Downtown Aquarium (complete with a ferris wheel, carosel and some sort of brain scrambler), birthday wishes via facebook, email, phone, postal mail and Mister's various impersonations (Jimmy Stewart being my favorite), several naps, Misters birthday wish of a train ride coming true, and the (ongoing) anticipation of a Kindle. It was the perfect day.

Birthday BBQ

The company I work for gifted each employee with vast amounts of meat perfect for grilling as what I'm assuming is a congrats for making it through the last few hard years. Sadly, Mister and I have neither the freezer space, a grill, or really the appetites to eat it all ourselves (wait, strike the last one, we definitely have the appetites). What we do have are great friends willing to let us use their home and grill and to help us eat it. It just so happened that the meat would arrive within a week of my birthday but since I am weird about parties in my honor, I didn't want it to be a birthday party. I did, however, give Danielle permission to make a birthday cake. I was surprised (and delighted) when our little bbq turned into a full blown birthday celebration complete with balloons, streamers, birthday games and birthday presents (a cute shirt that says "It's ok to love Houston" and a rad pull down map of the world straight from someones classroom). It was great fun. Thanks everybody for making me feel so special!

Here are some pics from the evening:

My traditional birthday meal (burgers, baked beans, watermelon, clam dip and chips). Not pictured because I lack the ambition to make it: Grandma's potato salad.

Shots from birthday game #1: pass the parcel:

Jess when she discovered the magic dinosaur pill would not dissolve in her mouth as she had hoped:

Not pictured: photographic evidence of birthday game #2, which is a shame because it was so fun! If I can figure out how to compress a video, I'll post one of Conor and his unsuccessful but awesome attempt at acting out Winnie the Pooh (or rather Christopher Robin).

Here's the first attempt at a birthday cake picture, which captures possibly the second of four rounds of "Happy Birthday" (a stalling tactic so that we could take pictures before I blew out the candles).

And finally, success!

Running update

I went to my running club's track workout last night. It was horrible! Because it was our first workout, they just had us do a one mile time trial. At 6:30 in the evening. In Houston. In the sun. With the temperature over 90 degrees. Needless to say it was a mess. I could only make it around the track one time before I had to take a walking break. I ended far after the rest of the folks did with my 12:55 mile and I was exhausted! I did talk to a few of the coaches afterwards who made me feel a bit better about my lack of ability. The are absolutely supportive and encouraging and I love it. Because I'm beginning my half marathon program with the marathoners, my coach explained that the first few months will be a ramp up and when the official half marathon training starts, that will just be maintenance. Doesn't a 2 1/2 month taper sound divine??

It feels so good to be back on a running schedule again. I've missed it!

weekend bulletpoints

*I got my hair cut and colored (for the first time in AGES). It is SUPER short everywhere but the top, and even that is pretty short. Now Mister and I have essentially the same 'do, but I style mine cuter. He and I have been mistaken as siblings before, I wonder if this cut will make those questions come up more frequently. I love the auburn color too. It warms up my face quite a bit. Little known fact: I have always wished I had naturally red hair. My mom will argue this point, but the redheads in my family (my sister and the younger brother) were the favorites. And, I just think that red hair is lovely.

*I bought an ice cream maker for $6 dollars at Target a few weeks ago and made my first batch on Saturday. I have named the recipe Mexican Vanilla (just boring old vanilla from the owners manual with cinnamon added in) and it is delicious.

*I also made snickerdoodles, which I haven't had in probably decades. I've forgotten how delicious they are. My mom used to make them when I was young and I remember having so much fun rolling them in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. It's the perfect cookie to make with kids.

*I didn't eat much more than snickerdoodles and ice cream all weekend. Between the two of us, Mister and I ate approximately 3 dozen cookies.

*Starting today I am going to eat more than just cookies and ice cream all the time. (only because I'm all out)

*I went to the orientation session for my running group on Saturday. Everyone there looked like serious runners and I felt very out of place. But you know what, that's ok. I'm just at a different point in my running journey than they are. I'll get there soon.

*I ran the three mile loop Saturday morning and was completely exhausted by the end of the day. It's a feeling I haven't felt since I was running my longest runs during marathon training two years ago. Boy have I regressed. But seriously, that's ok. I'm moving, and that's what matters.

*I just found out I didn't get into the Houston half marathon. I'm secretly relieved I don't have to run two half marathons in one month.

*We played Pictureka with some friends last night. I loved it. My favorite part was Mister yelling out "Lollapalooza" when he found the item in question. (You're supposed to say pictureka)

Thieves

I just got my car back from the shop where they "stole" almost 1000 dollars of my money. Granted, I own the car outright and I haven't had to do any major repairs in years, but still, 1000 dollars still smarts. Add to that the fact that while it was in their possession, my GPS and possibly another thing or two of less importance were stolen. I was so mad! I so wanted to punch someone in the face. Instead, I watched Tosh.0, which is kind of like the adult version of America's Funniest Home Videos. Completely raunchy and totally inappropriate (my favorite). I was laughing almost immediately, just what I needed. Looking for free therapy? Try Comedy Central.

Weekday wrap-up/Weekend ramp-up

*We went to Kemah boardwalk last weekend and before we sweated to death and gave up on the outdoors, (Texas is having a major heatwave...or rather being it's typical summer self) we visited the stingrays in the aquarium. They are creepy!

*I signed up for a running group that starts next week and I'm severely unprepared to be running with one. I'm scared!

*Jerusalem has disappeared from the bid list. I like to think it's because they saw Misters qualifications after he submitted his bid and have already decided to offer him the assignment. Wishful thinking.

*Oh, he also added Cairo to his list.

*Speaking of bids, this process is crazy! He's uber qualified for all the positions he's bid for in the middle east, thanks to his language skills and experiences in the army, but politics weigh in pretty heavily here. I hate politics! Because of that, here's no guarantee Mister will get any of the positions on his current list. If he's denied, he may have to submit more bids...likely to places we'd prefer not to go, like Tijuana. No thank you.

*All the time I was anticipating the list? Now I'm anticipating the handshakes (the acceptance), but that doesn't happen until APRIL! This NEVER ENDS!

*We're going to Arlington this weekend! My friend Holly (who is marrying Misters friend Clay) is there for a few weeks and the moving truck will have just arrived. This will be the fourth time I've helped Holly move. I'm awesome.

*Arlington is the place I got my awesome sunburn. This time I'm going to actually put sunscreen on before I lay in a floatie on top of a highly reflective surface.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Listomania

We got the list!!! Out of 163 possible overseas assignments, Mister has decided to focus on the following posts:

Jerusalem, Israel
Tel Aviv, Israel
Dubai, UAE
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Kuwait City, Kuwait
Doha, Qatar
Amman, Jordan
Manama, Bahrain
Damascus, Syria

I'll be honest, for a while I was a bit nervous at the prospect of moving to the Middle East (or North Africa...) but am now getting excited. Aren't those cool options?

Out of those possibilities, where would you most like to live? Would you come visit me in any or all of those places??

Now begins the LONG wait! April can't come soon enough!