Friday, November 18, 2011

You are who you say you are......

I can't really begin with “I've been too busy to write,” but I've found lots of ways to occupy myself and be distracted from writing. I have managed to find sometime tonight to jot down a few lines. I think I tend to write on here when I have too many thoughts going on up there. This must be stated; my life is very unpredictable, chaotic, and is nothing like the norm. I’ve always said that I loved to travel and made my own rules to life. I’ve never been much of a cookie cutter and revolved around the world, rather I let the world revolve around me. I know it sounds cocky and arrogant, but it’s not. It means that I don’t conform to the usual and I set myself apart. I’ve had time to think about where I stand on with my religion, my family, and my life. It’s not easy standing apart from the crowd, but here in Morocco I’ve come accustomed to it. I feel as though I have always had to answer for the way that I think and act. As though I have to give an excuse for the way I live my life. I’ve managed to live in a hotel for the last month and half with my husband, 3 year old and 1 year old and still have my sanity. There aren’t many excuses for leaving a perfectly good home in Louisiana to travel 14 hours to live in a hotel room other than to be a family.  I love the challenge of change, and new and scary butterflies; I try to embrace it all. Yes it’s probably a common system of ADD which makes my blogs even harder to read for some, as my thought can jump from one thing to another. Just in writing this I have to go two sentences back to remind myself to carry on with the same thought. Okay, back to my not so normal life. I like to take advantage of the opportunities I’ve been presented with.

I’ve had plenty of opportunity to learn while in Morocco. SIMPLICITY! I thought I needed all that stuff in my house. I had to have that couch and curtains to make a home, when in fact all I needed was my family. Yes I knew this before, but I let so many material things get in the way of what really matters. I’ve managed to live here with one suitcase of clothes and six pairs of shoes, and if you know me you know that is one heck of a commitment. The girls have been happy playing with the same toys. Aliana is happier going to the beach and checking out all the see creatures she can find by the ocean rocks. She loves to pick all the different flowers that we pass through day. I’ve caught her a few times smelling them and without ever being taught, she gets it. Chad and I have been creative in keeping a happy marriage without babysitters. I questioned myself if I had to the strength to go on this journey. I wanted the challenge of knowing the kind of wife and mother I was and could be. I know more now that I’m not perfect, but I’m glad I know what I need to work on. I’m grateful for the time I’ve been given to grow and learn and I pray every day for God to teach me patients. I learned to stop comparing my kids to others or wondering where they were among their peers; and instead I embrace them for who they are and try to nurture their strengths. Aliana has so much determination in her eyes and I see it in every new task she is challenged with. Alisia walks more and more every day and what a story to tell her when she gets older, that she learned to walk in Morocco. I quit wanting to be that other mom and realized I’m the mom I need to be for my girls. Life is much simpler here and the people of Morocco are enjoying their cup of coffee. They are taking their time to get where they are going, something I’m learning to do. The concept eating and drinking on the go isn’t accepted here and now I know why it shouldn’t. I came here for one reason and I’m going to leave with another.

Monday, October 31, 2011

I’ve been in Morocco for about a month now and the things I have learned and witness will always be a part of me. I don’t even know where to begin; I should have kept a daily journal rather than writing this novel. I’ll start with the people of Morocco who are very open minded. There is a melting pot of tourist and Moroccans with traditional and European style. There is a lot of European influence here; I see this in the clothes worn and public display of affection. I traveled to Egypt in 2007 and people there were very strict in their traditions. I assumed it would be the same here so I packed conservative. That’s not the case here most women wear whatever is in fashion and most don’t cover their faces. There is a lot of respect for mothers too. I had heard and read that the men here would say things to the women as they passed by, well they don’t if you have a child with you. Sometimes I hear comments but lucky for me I don’t speak French or Arabic. I am really amazed though of the respect they have for mothers and children. Chad has seen the difference first hand. For example he has a hard time walking around and has to dodge cars and squeeze through crowds, but with the girls in the stroller and cars stop and everybody makes room for the kids. They also have a way of showing love to your child and comment won’t do justice instead they give them a kiss. We are used to it now but women and men come up to the girls and give them kisses sometimes they ask. I think the girls get a little extra attention because they are Americans which don’t visit this are much. We are living in a smaller community outside of Casablanca called Mohammedia. Here they have a few visitors but mostly it’s just locals which I love. I think I get to see who they really are and not what they want tourist to see. Back to the people from what I have learned that Morocco hasn’t always been this way and a King few years back decided to create change. He allowed for more European influence and wanted the people to welcome tourist. They’ve only had the internet for 5 years and it’s everywhere. Some of the new technology is just getting to them and is becoming affordable for the medium income families. Moroccans have some down fall, their DRIVING! I was so glad I brought the Car seats which is not a law here. There driving isn’t as bad as Egypt and other places but we had never rented a car in those places. I would never get behind the wheel and I don’t know how Chad does it. We have this joke now that when we get back to the states we’ll make a bumper sticker that reads “I learned to drive in Morocco” LOL! So what makes driving here crazy? Well they only abide by certain rules and others just aren’t followed. Like a two lane road could be turned in four or you don’t have to ride in just one lane you can straddle to lanes for a while. Moroccans aren’t familiar with the do not litter campaign. I can’t wait till something is done about their littering problem. Beautiful beaches are covered in trash because of the locals. I think I should just pick a topic every day and write about it because I could go on and about each one. Today I’ll continue on with the people of Morocco. Moroccans speak both French and Arabic and little to no English. This makes it hard when you are trying to ask for something at a restaurant. Thank God I’m not a picky eater! Every time I order Chad asks me if I know what I ordered and I used respond with nope. I’ve had several surprise meals now and my least favorite is lamb. I don’t know why I don’t like the texture and dark meat I guess. Speaking of Lamb, this Monday is when they sacrifice the lamb. It’s a big event here and I’m not sure what it’s for or why but I’m going to learn more about it. I do know it’s a huge event and families get together and go out to pick a lamb. Chad see’s it like going out to get a Christmas tree. They are selling the lambs at the Marane (Moroccan Wal-Mart..lol) parking lot. I’ll write more on the lamb sacrifice when I learn more. While shopping at Marjane we ran into one of the staff from the hotel and he smiled and recognized the girls we exchanged a smile and went on with a smile. I told Chad it’s like shopping at home now. I’ve made friends at our coffee spot too. Every afternoon after the girls nap we go to a coffee shop where Aliana can play and I can enjoy a CafĂ© au lait! Since we go there every day the guys have really gotten to know the girls. I’ve made friends with the cashier who is from Canada and she speaks good English! AH ENGLISH SPEAKER! Today she was extra sweet and brought Aliana to the corner store to buy her some trick or treats (Candy) for Halloween! She has been a great friend since I’ve met here and has shared so much information. I think I like going there just to communicate with someone other than Chad. A few more things about Moroccans: Smoking is accepted almost anywhere, they love to people watch, don’t believe in having their coffee to go and they love McDonalds. Moroccans aren’t really that different from Americans. They’ve come a long way in a short amount of time!

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

A TASTY BOUQUET!


Practice makes perfect with this bouquet! Having the right decorating tip made all the difference in  the world and I used Wilton 1m. The trick is to start swirling from the center of the cupcake to the outside with one hand moving the cupcake in a circular motion at the same time while piping with the other hand. I used two long kabob sticks pressed in to Styrofoam in the pot and placed the cupcake on them. I used 6 cupcakes for each pot because they were so big. I saved some money and purchased the leaves at the dollar tree. I cut each branch and pushed the leaves to the top; and arranged the leaves around the cupcake roses! TADA a cupcake bouquet! It didn't take long at all and having the right consistency for the icing was the hardest part. I cheated first and bought wilton decorating icing and made my own to match the consistency. I have my own recipe now and it seemed to work great. Search YouTube for some easy tutorial and…. GOOD LUCK!

Tea for TWO!!





I have to start by saying I LOVE my PHOTOGRAPHER!! We click and our pics show it! I love sharing with her my vision and all the idea's I've pinned, from there she puts it's all together for the camera. Pictures are art, it tells a story and it has a meaning. Melonie has taken pictures of our family before Aliana was born. She is so much a part of the picture and the art or it all! I try with each picture to include something from the other pictures take and something from their past. For these pictures I included Chad's receiving blanket which was used in both girls’ new born pictures. Here its acts as a table cover. The baby doll bed was where Alisia laid for her new born pictures. Each picture with her I have included the bed to so just how much she has grown and it's something special for her. I treasure art and I'll always treasure these pictures. To see more of Melonie's work visit her website at http://www.fifphotography.com/.

Monday, August 29, 2011

TUTUS

Everyone was wonder I must have grew a small money tree for Alisia's party but I must have not watered it...lol! I always have been this way...If I want it or have an idea I will get it and I will stay up day and night to try and figure out how I can afford it. I set a budget for the party and wanted to include tutu's, flower hair clips, and just happen to come across cute hangers. I debated making the tutus or buying them. I wasn't going to spend that much on them! So after days of goggling I came across a website where they were listed reasonable in my budget. http://www.haloheaven.com/ Here I also purchased matching flower hair clips too! I'm not connected or advertising for them; I have placed an order with them and have been very happy with it. All of the girls loved their tutus and each asked "really we can take it home!" I loved it! I’m trying to raise my girls to be giving and show them that their birthday party can be just as fun when they are giving! I wanted the girls to play in a "fairy" land and of course they had to dress the part! :)

HULA-HOOP Chandelier

This was a super easy and cute! All you need is tissue paper, hula-hoop and string. I searched the net on how to make these puffs and didn't find exactly what I was looking for but what turned out worked great! Open up the tissue and cut the sheet of tissue paper in half. Stack 5 and accordion fold when you have one thick strip find the middle and tie it off with tape, fishing line, or thin flower twists. I hot glued the puffs to the hula-hoop. As for the green leafs you do the same thing only when you get to the long strip cut and angled < > on each end. When you open up the tissue paper it looks like grass or leafs. After the party I loved the idea and decided to use it as a chandelier in their play house. I removed all the tissue puffs and added some dollar store flowers in bright colors. I'll post pic soon or play house chandelier! It's held up great so far!!

Monday, August 22, 2011

Updated!

I moved my new blog to blogger because it's easy link between Facebook. I only had to move two posts, but now that I’m set up here there are more posts to come. For the next few days I'll be posting what I did for Alisia's party and share my inspiration. First I'd like to share the coffee filter roses. While at my friend and photographer Melonie's house (who happens to be just as crazy as me) was preparing for her daughter’s birthday tea party and that's when I spotted the flowers! She shared with me the web page and her lift over supplies to make my own. I have to say the supplies sat in my car for 2 weeks! I was intimidated by it and wasn't sure if I could do it. I found myself up one night and with nothing else to do; and so I decided to tackle this project. Much to my surprise it came out great, of course had plenty of my own critiques. In an hour I had made 8 roses, placed them in a vase and was ready for the next party project. HERE YA GO, ENJOY!

Heidi, in the turquoise skirt, is holding the "coffee filter" rose. I decided to keep it simple, but it would be cute to wrap the stem in ribbon and place other pieces of ribbon at the top under the rose.

HERE IS THE LINK

Girls Weekend!!

So Monday is here after a GREAT weekend with the girls! So here is a breakdown of how the weekend went! Friday we enjoyed dinner at the new Japanese Buffet and it was pretty yummy! We wanted to make it a movie night and instead of popcorn let’s do cupcakes. Well that turned into a sugar high real quick! I put Alisia to bed and we got started on the cupcakes. This is my FAVORITE thing to do with the girls! I love to bake and have fun with all the icing and decorations. I let them go wild with it all! Of course I used this time to practice on Alisia cupcakes for her birthday. I'm trying to learn how to icing a flower on a cupcake. Practice, patience, and the right tip should work! After scarfing down more icing than cupcake it was time to watch our movie, Rango. Rango wasn't in my opinion that good, so we finished up the movie and headed to bed by 10:30! Saturday we all woke up at our own pace and skyped Chad to join in on all the fun! He joined us for breakfast and helped us plan out our day. We couldn’t decide on what we wanted to do, we were at the point to drawing ideas out of a hat! After writing down our ideas on paper we just decided to go the ZOO!! So off to Lafayette for the afternoon (we didn't leave till 12). I'm not sure why everyone plays down the Acadiana Zoo, we loved it!! I love any zoo really, but it wasn't crowded and you had so many opportunities to feed the animals and get close to them. Since we were there near to closing time all the animals were active and waiting on their supper! We got caught in a rain shower, but that didn't spoil it for us rather it cooled us down. Two cranky kids later I decided to brave the mall to look for Megan's school shoes. The one thing I loved about starting school, SHOES!! Without much of a nap the little ones survived the mall, but I didn't do much shopping. A double stroller, sleepy and hungry kids we called it quits fast! Headed home for bed and we all passed out as soon as we stepped in the door! Sunday morning came in a rush, both girls were up early and Megan had to be ready for church. I skyped Chad so he could join in the ciaos! We got out of the house to help Mimi and Uncle Scott with the estate sale. I don't think I was much of any help all I did was bring lunch and tables! We did manage to get some things accomplished and then it was time to head back for a nap so that they would be rested for Jamie's Baby Shower. Well sometimes I wonder if a nap really helps! I guess Aliana didn't get all the sleep she needed because she woke up a little too cranky. I'm sure that's the law, if you have to go somewhere and get everyone dressed someone is going to be fussy! Of course I'm last minute about everything, I've known about the baby shower for over a month but when do I get the present, thirty minutes before I'm supposed to be there! We had fun and Aliana made a little friend there too! Worn out we headed back home to get into our pj's! All in all I'd say it was a great weekend!! I enjoyed the girl time! Theme song for the weekend is “Only girl in the World” by Rihanna! Nothing in our lives is ever planed and nothing in my day is planned!

HELLO WORLD!!!

Literarily the WORLD as this post will be read from Casablanca, Morocco where Chad is currently living. A few days ago I started looking for a new hobby, something I could commit myself to,have some end results and a lot of fun with! I decided that blogging just might work! A "Traveler's Wife" is something very unique, it's not for everyone and not everyone understands. Chad and I have been married for 4 years, and while our relationship is young we have found that are bond and trust is that of 50 years. Yes like anyone we do have our struggles and you can still argue thousands of miles apart. We've learned a few things this year and thanks to skype the kids get to see him almost every day! Chad reads to them, plays peek-a-boo, sings along to patti-cake, and they look forward to it! We can't wait for the next time he's home! Chad is currently in Casablanca, Morocco working as maintenance technical advisor through GE. He is scheduled to be there through September 24th. I have to brag on him; he is very intelligent and has become very successful. I believe he has excelled passed his own expectation and I am so proud of all of his accomplishments! The sacrifice that he makes for his family only shows the love he has for me and our children. He would walk to the end of the earth just to make sure we are happy! I truly love him with all my heart! OKAY, OKAY enough with the mushy stuff! Life at home without him is pretty normal sometimes. Today starts a new day! Today I start my blog, today I'm taking control of some things in my life, I'm not choosing a path I'm creating my own! Things to come in the next few weeks are going to be fun and exciting. That's one thing for sure, when Chad's away the busy bee I am. I’m never at home when he's gone; I find it much easier on us to keep our mind busy on something. We have Alisia's party in 3 weeks, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event, and then Chad's back! Wow how time flies! I keep our weekends booked, this weekend includes girls day Saturday, Sunday helping a friend, and a baby shower! Well I think I'll wrap this one up for today! I told you I could talk..LOL! Well this blog will keep you informed on what's going on with us, I'll share some of the girl's milestone, and what it’s like being a "Traveler's Wife." Until next time.... au revoir! P.S. Here is a little fact: the Language spoken in Casablanca, Morocco is mainly French and Arabic. Chad is currently learning French in order to go through day to day life.