robinchartier

This morning I woke up and it was colder outside than inside — we made it. November has arrived in all of her glory. I don’t think I’ve felt cool air outside since March. And when I say cool, I mean 75 (the low for today). Compared to what has been normal for the past 6 months, 75 is sweatshirt weather.

It will still be 90 today, but a nice 90, not the dripping, sweating kind. California 90 — stand in the sun to soak in the warmth 90. We are always sweating here on Halloween, but the switch flips in early November and we welcome the shift with open arms and open windows.

And completely unrelated, but timely photos from last week when we were still suffering along in the heat of October. Camille dressed as Katniss from the Hunger Games for the school Fall Festival. Should I be concerned she chose to be the heroine of a book where kids have to kill each other as part of a game? Hmmm. I didn’t even think about it. That’s what happens with child number 4. The only part I paid attention to was the fact that all of the elements could be sourced from home. Easy and free? I’m sold.

A District 12 hand me down T-shirt, repurposed knit hood (became her pouch) and the bow from an old Green Arrow costume, and she already owned leggings and the boots. Winning.

More easy and free costuming — Camille’s curtains were too long so I cut them and sewed a cape 10 minutes. I do not enjoy Halloween or costumes, so the less effort, the better.

As I was sewing my cape, Camille fashioned a hood from another scrap and asked if she could be Little Red Riding Hood on halloween night. No problem baby!She went trick or treating with a friend in our old neighborhood. I should have ironed and clipped that center seam — sorry child #4!!
Meanwhile, in CA, Calvin has some superhero style height in his double-unders. He competed in a CrossFit competition over the weekend and his team came in 4th (out of 20 something teams).

More free fun. A family dinner out at the opening of a new restaurant — finding new things to enjoy on this end of Abu Dhabi. Thanks Vapiano!

In the Marine Corps cycle of life, every November means dusting off the dress uniform, (making sure it still fits!) and finding a gown that hasn’t been worn at the current duty station in anticipation of the Marine Corps ball.

For some, retiring means not having to go to a ball ever again (and no longer having to fit into a uniform), but for us this year was a marker of how far we’ve come. Last year at this time we had no idea where we’d be in November 2018 — if Josh would have a job or what country we’d be living in. We knew change was coming, but not what form it would take. We were hoping to be employed and living in Abu Dhabi and told each other that if we were still here we’d come back to the ball and celebrate being retirees. Of course it’s the only photo we took all night — a quick snap for Camille on our way out of the hotel room.

We had a very fun night with longtime Marine friends who live in Dubai. But the drain of the past 6 months was evident as we did not have a triumphant return to the dance floor, but more of a collapsing over the finish line of a race. We made it. We enjoyed it. We sat and chatted and went home before 11. #retireefun

The month of October felt like we had a new issue to deal with every week. I was wishing for normalcy so we could get caught up on life instead of fighting fires, but we’ve made it through to another month. I would say the past 6 months have been the most difficult mentally since . . . maybe our evacuation from Egypt? That time period had a similar sense of being in limbo and being unsure of what was coming around the next curve.

When I lay it out, 6 months ago Josh didn’t have a job offer and my posts were laments of waiting for news of something. When I measure how much change we’ve experienced since May 1st, it’s no wonder we feel wiped out. I mean day to day we’re getting things done, getting the kids to school, going to work, and presumably we’re all eating here and there, but my brain is full of static.

On the bright side I’ve paid 20k each month for the last 3 months (Aug/Sept/Oct) so school for this year is paid in full. The next fiscal challenge is saving up the money to repay rent for the second half of our lease. We have until March 15th, but I think we can do it by February 1st. When we got word that we had been scammed and our money went to a fraudulent account, my first thought was, “Ugh, that’s going to hurt,” but my second thought was, “I wonder how we are going to get to see God provide.” And we are getting to see it up close and personal. One of the reasons we should be able to have the money early is because we’ve already been given 2 financial gifts from people who were prompted to help us out. It’s humbling to accept money, but when someone says, “God told me to give this to you,” all that can be said is, “Thank you.”

And remember my no-spending challenge? Well, my no buying anything for the house challenge (I’m spending plenty of money at school and at the grocery store . . .). Camille has been talking about having her own desk ever since she knew we were moving to this house. She had one picked out at IKEA, but the promised desk was abandoned in the shift of priorities.

Two weeks ago someone from school said they were selling a desk and chair for around $100 (same price as the IKEA desk) and it was too good of a deal to pass up. I couldn’t have been more thankful that we traded the ^^ IKEA option, for this: Including the chair, we spent less on this than we would have if we had jumped ahead and purchased what we “needed” when we first moved in. God provides even better than we could have asked for. Not only is it beautiful, but it has drawers, cupboards and a built in light.

More encouragement to stick to the plan and see what continues to happen.

I know, I’ve been MIA for a few weeks. I’ve had a lot on my mind and have been analyzing an issue that has used all of my brain power and time lately. I think it’s almost been resolved and I’ll be able to put it behind me and then we can return to our regular episodes of Crazy Housewife of Abu Dhabi. For now, a long overdue post on the boys’ play . . .

On Tuesday (two weeks ago) I had the pleasure of watching my favorite supporting actors perform in the school play. The auditorium was set up as a theater in the round, as it would have been in Shakespeare’s day, and we got to see all of the on and offstage antics of this cast of misfits.

The page, delivering the lines for a “Hamlet-off.” Carter was the director of music (the songsmith) with a drinking problem.Caleb had only one line, but provided comic relief through his non-verbal expression. (Playing a single note on the triangle at just the right moment). Carter spent the entire show stumbling, fumbling, and staggering for his footing while trying to sneak in some Adele and other modern music in spite of the director’s insistence for “Gilbert and Sullivan only!”

That wraps up theater season just in time for cross-country season to begin. The boys have started training runs on their own and official team practices start next week. Hopefully I can get my brain back and compose some coherent writing soon!

I have noticed that my clothes feel a little looser these days and I thought it was because I had developed more muscle over the summer, which supposedly burns more calories at rest, but this morning I cracked the code. We have empty pantry shelves in our new house because we haven’t been able to stock up on staples over time and everything we do get has been consumed within 5 minutes of being brought through the front door.

I went to make breakfast this morning — we’re down to 2 eggs. Carter gets one and Camille gets the other. (On a normal morning they each have at least 2, which is why we run out of eggs every other day). Caleb always makes himself a shake for breakfast with yogurt, peanut butter and frozen strawberries. I can’t imagine that combo either, but it must be good enough if the other 2 are always fighting over the extra.

I had a little bit of milk left for my coffee, yay for that. But an hour later I got hungry for “breakfast” and what did I end up with? A mixed greens salad with a can of white beans seasoned with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It was either that or leftover sweet potato and cauliflower curry, which I wasn’t feeling at 8:30am. Literally nothing left in the house. Dog peanut butter (so he takes his medicine) and some trail mix. Living large.
Some squash and sweet potatoes for lunch perhaps? Now a normal person would probably go to the grocery store, but I really hate food shopping here. I have to make too many uneducated decisions, like are these eggs actually from chickens that get to run free outside or am I getting scammed by those farms that have overcrowded houses with one tiny door that the chickens can never find? (By the way, I researched and learned that Irish organic eggs are legit free range and that makes paying $7 for 10 eggs a little less painful.)

Since we need food I’ll go online and order produce and meat from my favorite place — they are a large supplier out of Dubai and recently opened up orders to individuals, not just grocery stores. And by tonight I’ll have a fridge full of veg, fruit and meat for less than it would cost at the grocery store, but the cupboards will still be pretty bare. I guess that’s the secret — no trips to the store means no junk food (or enjoyable food) purchases and then I really do only eat when I’m hungry. Because no one is getting out of bed at 10 pm to snack on cauliflower rice.