Danny’s Blog

Let me tell you, as I sit here, in my PJs, typing, with a July morning temp of 69 degrees, with a local time of 7:14 a.m., I am SO looking forward to this day. And the day ‘morrow. And the ‘morrows following. (Saying ‘morrow makes me feel like a turn of the century poet, or Ben Franklin.) And you know why? Because my sister is…. HERE!

I just woke up to a txt message from her telling me that her plane landed half an hour early… sweet!

Can’t wait to see her!

Have a safe and happy holiday weekend everyone!

I am amazed at what a blip June was. Flew by…

July 11th marks our 5th wedding anniversary (Saed and I). Where does the time go? Five years may seem like nothing but I feel like we’ve been married… forever.. I just know him so well… 

When I think of wedding anniversaries, my parents always come to my mind.  I am so impressed and inspired by them. I can remember when I was young, and they had their anniversary… I didn’t really think much of it! But since I have been married, I have marveled at what a great marriage they have…and what an accomplishment each year is! I am so thankful for their great example, and how hard they work at keeping each other in that top-priority position…they totally support each other and are always thinking of each other first.

When I talk to one, they are always considering the other. I am thankful for their dedication to each other.  I wish that Saed and I can be like them. I really do… 

I hope they can come and visit this summer. Danny really really needs to see his grandparents. Hint hint hint…

Ok,  blogging is on my to-do list, but I have to be quick since there are also 42 other items. I have crossed off 11 so far, and feeling good. and it’s Monday……. I am thankful for the energy. I will tell you this- I think that it’s energy that comes from creating. I think that for me, that actual hands on, creating and PLAYING (with all my scrapbooking supplies) is necessary for my well-being. It makes me happy, relieves my stress and lightens my mood.

I took some time last night to write a to-do list and set some goals for the week! I was going to drop my car off at the repair shop this morning. That was #1 on my list today but Saed stepped up and gasp… decided to do it himself. To be totally honest, I was really dreading having to do it with Danny. Not really the dropping the car off part but the whole getting the rental car with Danny was going to be a hassle. If the car rental people picked us up from the repair shop then we I would have had to install the car seat in their car then again in the rental and it really is no easy thing and having Danny run around just adds to the mix…

Anyways, he came back with a rental for me. Nice black KIA. So this is what I’ll be driving for the next 10 or 12 days.

I would have taken it for a spin today too but he forgot to give me the keys. So Danny and I are pretty much trapped in the house today.

Anyways, here are some pictures of a little mini album that I made of Danny’s baby pictures. I love how it turned out. I made the album from scratch. I can’t believe how much he’s grown…

I loved reading all the little things that make you happy. As for my baby brother, I have one word for you…Buwahhahahaha! (Is that even a word?)

• Fresh sheets on the bed.
• First sip of coffee in the morning.
• The smell of the first few drops of rain.
• Waking up and Danny is still sleeping (very rare)
• Warm sun as opposed to “hot” sun.
• The smell of gardenias at my front door.
• Sharpening a new pencil and writing with it for the first time.
• Fresh flowers in my home.
• A clean and tidy house.
• Open windows and fans running instead of AC.
• The sound of Danny laughing.
• The sound of Saed pulling in our driveway coming home from work.
• Quiet time alone.
• The way Danny smells after his bath.
• Saed reaching out for my hand (a rarity)
• Swimming on a hot afternoon.
• Brand new socks.
• The smell of cookies baking.
• Watching the ocean waves.
• Blowing bubbles and watching them fly away.
• Not having to cook dinner.
• Thunderstorms at night.
• The smell of freshly cut grass.
• Saed’s funny jokes.
• Snuggling with Doodles.
• Watching fireflies in the yard.
• A yummy chocolate bar.
• Hearing my parents’ voices. They live thousands of miles away.
• Curling up with a good book or magazine during a rainstorm.
• The smell of fresh bread… yummy…
• The feel of new scrap paper
• Warm towels from the dryer in winter
• An unexpected sweet txt message from Saed (also very rare)
• My “to-do-list” all scratched off.
• The way Danny and Doodles greet me at the door after I get back.

What little things cheer you up?

Busy busy busy weekend…

Saturday, we had our friends Dana and Saad Hassan (and their adorable little baby girl Ayla) over for lunch.

Dana and Saad moved to Switzerland a while back. Shortly after they moved they became pregnant! YAY! And about nine weeks ago, they welcomed baby Ayla into the world. She is such a good baby too! She is still at that stage where she’s eating, pooping, and sleeping all the time. I can’t wait to see her crawling around and babbling and doing all the cute stuff that babies do!

Anyways, they are back in Atlanta for a visit and they came over for a little bit on Saturday and we hung out and caught up on all the baby happenings. We threw some burgers and hotdogs on the grill and I made some coleslaw and we ate ourselves into oblivion! Then we finished off with some apple pie and vanilla ice cream! Lunch was so yummy! The company was amazing and all in all it was an awesome day spent with friends! And Danny napped for most of their visit… oh well..

Then Mimi called and said that Feras (second cousin) was in town! This was a complete surprise and totally unplanned visit. She said he called her out of the blue and said open the door I’m here! Well to make a long story short they ended up bringing him over Saturday night.

Feras graduated from Georgia Tech and during the time he was in school, him and Saed were close and spent a lot of time together. Then Feras moved away and got married and they lost touch for a while. So needless to say when they saw each other it was all about laughter and joking and catching up. It was really neat to listen to them reminisce about the good old days and about all the pranks they played on each other!

After everyone left and the dishes were taken care of and Danny was down for the night, I called “scrapbook time” and Saed left me alone in my office to scrapbook! I wasn’t very productive though because I was very tired and went to sleep rather quickly!

Our Sunday was much less hectic. I spent the morning cooking for Danny and taking care of my flowers and just cleaning up around the house and Saed did his manly thing in the yard. Pruned some trees and bushes and edged the grass and played with his power tools and all that good stuff and Danny played in his playroom!

Then we spent the afternoon being lazy bums and I even had a nap when Danny did! We had a semi-formed plan to hit the pool with Danny sometime in the afternoon. Never happened! Instead Saed and myself spent the evening watching cooking shows on TV and driving ourselves crazy with all kinds of food cravings. We ended up having left-overs (from Saturday, burgers and hotdogs) for dinner, which (I know, totally out of character for me!normally I HATE left overs) but it meant cleaning out the fridge, and not many dinner dishes! Yay. 

Hmmmm long post. I should go take a nap. LOL!

Wow this week has gone by so fast!

I’m not really sure what I’ve been up to this week, although I have been pretty busy. 

Sleeping was a very low priority for me while Danny was still in school. And now that school is out it has switched to become a very high one.  I am working very hard to get my body, brain and stomach back on Summer time. the one thing that I love about school days is that I automatically wake up early. Like really early (5am, 6am). This means that I can get up and get some work done before Danny wakes up for school. Now, why this can’t become a regular occurrence for me, I do not know. I am just not wired to be a morning person, as much as I wish I was.

I am feeling a little homesick…but this has become home too. I can’t explain it but I am SO happy to be sleeping in my bed here, and waking up to my sweet Dandoon! and…despite the fact that my life is in no way close to ‘normal’ (or what I see in my head as ‘normal’) this feels more ‘normal’ than anything. (that probably makes NO sense). 

Sometimes I just get so overwhelmed with memories… and feelings, from back home. Mostly the feeling of ‘comfort’. Just how HOME is supposed to feel. My memories are not of big events, or even special occasions… it is more like how it felt to bound down the stairs when the doorbell rings… or just lay in my bed, or stare out at the open desert. My memories are being in my pajamas and hanging out… I realized that those are the memoires… and more specifically FEELINGS that I wanted to hold onto. How it FELT there. How it FEELS here. And feelings are all kinds of memories rolled together. I don’t want this time, this unique time in my life to be lost. So I want to do a better job of recording that.  Anyway.. here are a few pages that I did…quick ones. I have vowed to myself to do that more. Chuckle, we’ll see how that works out.

I’ve also been very concerned about super tight, way too low rise jeans and the ass crack clearance area where my tank top meets jeans.

This type of jean isn’t technically low rise either. The problem that we’re dealing with is my round, basketball like booty, which lowers the waist of the jeans exponentially.

All I need is one season of Survivor. That would bring the booty factor down considerably.

But on a positive note, our formal living room has never looked this good.

I will fill you in on all the gory details soon. Promise.

Okay, moving right along…
You know how I always say that one of the things I try to do when I get stressed out (lots of stuff on my plate right now - good & bad stuff, but stuff nonetheless) is write up a list of gratitudes.
It’s an attempt to change my outlook, to refocus and get myself moving forward once again.

Here’s my list for today:

1.  Saed finding that awful tick on Doodles and removing it promptly. Speaking of Doodles, I took him to get groomed today. I had them cut his hair real short. I figured it would be easier to spot the little buggers that way.

2. Saed finally hanging the wall decor that I bought three weeks ago.
3. Saed not getting hurt when he backed up into the trailer the other day. 
4. My beautiful hydrangea that is in full bloom as we speak.

5. Seeing Doodles’ tennis ball in the floor of my office. Right now he is picking up and dropping his ball on the floor chasing it as it rolls away and then repeating the whole thing again. 

Note: As I sat here writing this list I actually found it to be tough to think of things. That’s a pretty good sign to me that I am out of sync with feeling thankful on a daily basis. Definitely something I need to work on again - time to pull out my gratitude file and get to writing things down.

And a big thank you to everyone who left a nice comment about my new hair cut. It was really nice to read what everyone had to say!

Today was the Best day Ever and I think it all boiled down to weather. The weather was perfect. Absolute meteorological perfection. 77. No humidity. Light breeze. No bugs. Perfection!

So after therapy today and in honor of the beautiful weather Danny and I went to W. P. Jones Park in Duluth. I had heard about this park from Susan, Danny’s teacher and I thought today would be perfect to check it out.  It’s a City park and it’s on the smaller side with shady picnic areas, one mile walking trail, decks overlooking the creek built by Boy Scouts, and a picnic pavilion for public rental in a magnificent setting surrounded by tall Georgia pine trees. So you feel like you are in the woods in a way. And the weather was just perfect and Danny played and played and played and I didn’t have my camera with me! Bummer… Oh well maybe next time…

Saed and I sat down in bed the other night and reminisced a bit over Danny and Doodles’ “childhood pictures”. Aaaah how fast they grow… Doodles was seriously the cutest puppy ever and he was so tiny! 

And I just finished this page for Danny’s album and thought I’d share:

So it only took say what 8 or 9 years? But I finally did it! I cut my hair way shorter than I thought I would… and I actually like it! It feels so much… lighter!  I think it is perfect for the summer…

Anyway and without further ado, here it is, taadddaaaa…

I feel  freeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

And Saed likes it! He took these pictures. I tried to pose with a Victoria Beckham pout but couldn’t really pull it off!

Tell me what you think. Honest constructive opinions please… No BS!

Just a quick one before I head out to my hair appointment.

My friend Maya in Lebanon gave birth to two healthy baby boys yesterday. Still don’t know much detail. I tried calling her this morning but being the busy and tired new mom that she is at the moment she didn’e answer the phone. But I do know that both mom and babies are doing great!

Will hopefully come back with pictures later on in the day.

Wish me luck!

I guess you can always tell when I am spiraling out of control… because the blogging is the first to go. I even had to go back and look to see when the last time I blogged and what I said. And just a little week ago, seems like forever!

We are definitely keeping busy around here. A quick recap of the past few days.

Mimi and ammo Majed and Omar came over last Sunday and Saed grilled some hamburgers and hot-dogs. The food was so yummy and the hot-dogs were seriously delicious! My brothers would have been in heaven! We sat and ate on the deck. I absolutely love our outdoor furniture! That table is just awesome! Thank you mom and dad!

So the food was superb, the company was amazing, the weather was perfect but the flies descended on us like a herd of hungry wolves! But other than that little annoyance, it was all good! Danny was able to spend some quality time with his tete and jiddo…

Then Wednesday was a long day for our small family of three. Danny had his annual cardiology appointment at 11 am. His pediatric cardiologist, Dr. David Jones, is the same doctor who saw him right after he was born and during his NICU stay. He is located in Stockbridge. And Stockbridge is all the way across town from us on the South part of town which was not a big deal when we lived in College Park but is a long hike for us now that we live up here in Johns Creek.

So anyways, we left the house around 9:30am and drove to Roswell where Saed bought yet another leaf vacuum from an older couple on Craigslist.com. It is the same exact model he bought in the Fall last year. It was a really good deal too. So we picked that up and chatted with the couple and played with their little poodle PT who is adorable btw. Then off we were on our way to Stockbridge.

We got there a little late and had to wait in the waiting room for a while before we were called in. We did all the usual stuff. Echocardiogram, EKG, Measure oxygen saturation in the blood, etc. And Danny was a complete brat throughout the whole visit! No surprise there… Everything came back the same, stable. But Dr. Jones seems to prefer to do a cardiac cath to close that PDA. He says that a coil would be used to close it off and that it would be a one-day procedure.

We are waiting on them to contact us as to when we can get it done. I just hope that he doesn’t have to go under general anesthesia and that sedation would be enough. We’ll see what happens. I will keep you posted.

I tried to get a picture of Danny with Dr. Jones but by then Danny had just had enough and was totally uncooperative… sigh…

On our way back we stopped by Mimi’s and I fed Danny lunch and then left him there with his tete and jiddo while Saed and I went to Chick-Fil-A dwarf house to have lunch. Saed had been craving it for the last week or so. We used to eat there a lot when we were first married. We actually sat at the very same table we sat at the last time we were there.

In other news, I’m getting my hair cut tomorrow. I finally decided to take the plunge. Say goodbye to my long hair for a while…

It’s been so hot lately and I’m ready for a fun summery look. I’m just ready for a change I think…

So who knows how I’m gonna look when I come back tomorrow!LOL. I am gonna try to keep it interesting. Maybe it is time for a change…and maybe not. My hair lady rocks. Anyone in town looking for a new hairdresser…Brandy at Image Salon. Love her.

Okay that’s it for today! Have a fabulous weekend!

Here are some handy “Out of Office” replies for those of you who work in a job that involves extensive use of the email system.  I take no responsibility for any consequences that may result from the use of any of these….Saed.

1.  I am currently out of the office at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position.
2. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn’t have received anything at all.
3. Sorry to have missed you, but I’m at the doctor’s having my brain and heart removed so I can be promoted to our management team.
4. I will be unable to delete all the emails you send me until I return from vacation. Please be patient, and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.
5. Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. You are currently in 352nd place, and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks.
6. I will be out of the office for the next two weeks for medical reasons.   When I return, please refer to me as ‘Cheryl’ instead of Steve.  

Here are some of the videos Saed took at Monkey Joe’s yesterday!

Boy what a long day today was….

It’s 9:20 pm here in good ole’ HOTlanta and it’s sizzlin’ hot I tell ya. We have been hit by an insane heat wave. It actually feels like August not June! We actually hit a high of 96 degrees today.

We’ve seriously had some crazy weather so far this year. It snowed several times in the winter which is not common for Atlanta. We’ve had a lot of super windy days. Not to mention the tornado that tore through downtown Atlanta.

And then China of course was rocked with the tragedy of its largest natural disaster in 30 years. As reports and images of the devastation were released, it just broke my heart… Natural disaster always just makes you feel so helpless, and scared… at least it does me. It really is so important to be prepared for any kind of emergency situation that may arise. I think everyone needs to put together really smart 72 hour emergency kits, have plans and emergency numbers, and information available, as well as food and water in case of any emergency. Man, you just never know…

On a happier note… Here’s a quick recap of what we did today:

We started our day by going out for breakfast at a place called The Original Pancake House. This was our first time eating there and it was okay, nothing special…

Here’s a picture of Danny and Saed in front of this place:

Danny’s behavior was exceptionally good. He kept himself entertained by peeking at other patrons and watching us eat:

Danny and his daddy were being silly but cute so I took a series of pictures:

After breakfast we stopped by FRY’S where Danny checked out all the cool electronics:

And something that I’m really grateful for today? Saed took Danny to Monkey Joe’s while Robyn and I went to get pedicures and he took the camera with him! He got a ton of awesome pictures and videos. So what did Danny do at Monkey Joe’s you ask? Well he monkeyed around of course…

I will post the videos tomorrow… I promise!

After they came back, Danny had lunch and took a nice loooong nap!

After Robyn and I got done with our pedicures (turns out, polka dots are the latest rage in nail art so that’s what I got today. I feel like Minni Mouse for some reason. Here’s a visual:) we went by Artrageous Pottery and picked up our glazed pieces from last week. Mine turned out really really cute! I can’t wait to take Mimi one day and have her paint something! I know she will love it!

Here are the two sides of my finished piece:

Our friends Jeff and Harvey came by this afternoon. I had not seen Jeff in quite some time. So it was really nice to be able to sit down and catch up… They were in the area for a wedding reception… We had coffee and chatted and it was just like the good old days. For those of you who don’t know or have never met him, Jeff was our very good neighbor in College Park. He is no longer our neighbor but he is definitely still one of our closest friends! We LOVE you Jeff! I really miss living next door to him. But I do NOT miss living in CP!

Right, it’s getting late and I’m really tired. I promise to post the videos of Danny at Monkey Joe’s tomorrow..

Have a nice peaceful restful night…

To be continued…

Hello June.

We are so excited to see you and all that you have to offer. Danny is looking forward to his extended school year classes. Saed is looking forward to well I can’t really tell you and I’m looking forward to what will hopefully be many many visits to the neighborhood’s newly renovated outdoor pool.  

Here’s a look at other things happening around here recently:

• Had dinner at Carrabba’s on Sunday. Saed and myself had mozzarella sticks in marinara sauce that were so incredibly yummy! Here’s a pic:

And here’s one of Dandoon and me at the restaurant:

• My gardenias are blooming! Love love love the smell of gardenia! They are so very pretty! Thanks mama for buying them for me and Susu for planting them. They are getting so big! According to Mimi I need to plant them in the ground soon. Sarsoora, that will be your job when you come! LOL! Well only if you want to!




I feel like saying a few thanks. Here goes:

• Thanks to my Sony cybershots camera for allowing me to share pictures and videos with the masses.
• And thanks to Kevin who waited on us at Carrabba’s yesterday even if he was a little pushy.
• And thanks to my parents for instilling all those great values in me.
• And to my friends who stood by me through the good times and the bad.
• And to my mail carrier for delivering my mail each day with thoughtfulness and compassion even though she sometimes messes up and delivers some of my mail to my neighbors.
• And to each and every one of you.