I'm gonna do it! Uh huh!

I was perusing some blogs that are based out of Oman just now.  My daughter is in the process of starting up her own blog and we are laughing ourselves silly reading other blogs here.  Some are so very funny!  Of course, in the natural sequence of things; I wanna know who these people are, ya know?  So, I went on one site and kept going in her 'About Me' page, which, in fact, I just updated my own...

I kept watching the side bar as the people whom have viewed her profile increased until I almost made a mess (my FB friends know what I am talkin' about!) laughing at myself realizing that every time I hit the button I was increasing her views!

So,....I got this brilliant idea!  I love feeling like a rocket scientist!  I thought I would go into my own profile numerous times to up the number.

Now, answer me this, WHO CARES????????

Off to make Mini Cherry Cheesecakes for some special peeps in my life!

Shrimp Pasta

I threw this dish together pretty quickly yesterday.  I thought I would need cream and it would be nice but I did not have any on hand and didn't feel like running to the store...AGAIN today!  Enjoy and let me know if you use it; like it or have any questions!

1 kilo of fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
Spaghettini, boiled to your liking
butter
olive oil
fresh cracked pepper
salt
more butter
garlic, a lot
Parmesan cheese (optional)

It took forever to peel and devein these suckers.  About 1.5 hours.  I was fast too!  Wash them real well and make sure your cats don't get into them!  Set aside the Shrimp.

Take the butter, about 1 tbsp and put in a microwave safe bowl and melt for about 10 - 15 seconds.  Immediately add about 2 - 4 garlic cloves that have been minced in one of those cool gadgets; about two rounds of a pepper mill and some salt.  Mix it well.

Place your boiled Spaghettini in a serving bowl and pour all the garlic butter on it and mix well.  Add the parmesan now if you want it.  Set aside.

In a large pan, melt a little bit of butter, about 1 tsp. and about the same of olive oil (so the butter doesn't burn) and heat.  Add your freshly washed shrimp and begin to cook until they all turn pink.  Add salt and pepper and at the last minute; add about another 2 or 3 cloves of garlic that has been minced.

My son doesn't like shrimp so I had to keep it separate but at this point, you can add the shrimp to the pasta bowl and toss.

Serve with French bread (crusty stick) and enjoy!

A quilt, two cats and a lizard!

Hi!  How ya  doin'?  I have a long picture post today!  First off, do you remember this post?  I made this little 'kahwa' cup for a friend?  This is the friend and this is the quilt that was put together for her!  The occasion is that her daughter got married back in the States and we like her so much, we did this for her. It has a heavy Omani theme.  Let me walk you through the pictures.  We will start from the left and work towards the right as if we were reading in English...

1.  A star; 2. A Mosque; 3.  An Omani pot hanging in a window; 4.  A hand with henna on it; 5. Some sort of flower; 6.  A Palm tree; 7. The map of Oman; 8. Breast Cancer ribbon (the gal that made it is a survivor); 9. An Omani incense burner; 10. MY ARABIC COFFEE CUP!!; 11.  A beautiful Arabian coffee pot with two little cups much in the same vein as my cup; 12. An Omani Khanjar (a dagger); 13. A Camel; 14. An Omani man; 15. An Omani woman; 16. A goat; 17. A Dolphin; 18. and 19.  Two fish;  and last but not least, 20. A turtle.

Here is Patricia holding the three paneled quilt. Poor thing could not even look at it as we were all snapping photos!  I think she was really pleased and this was Basima's project and she put it all together and did a wonderful job!  Congrats to both of you!

Two nights ago, I heard my husband talking loudly and excitedly towards Peaches, one of our two Persians.  I leaned back from my desk and looked down the corridor and caught a glimpse of a teenaged lizard in Peachy's mouth!  EEEwwwww!  Gross!  So, he and I followed her and she ended up in the dining room...

I ran back to my Studio and got my camera and by then she had dropped it.  She went to a far side and was doing what cats do, watching it!

She got closer to it and it was just laying there.

A close up of the poor thing.

Then, here comes Uki.  It's like she has to be in on the action!  She 'greets' Peaches and then kind of hangs.  Just then, my hubby and I were debating whether she saw the gecko or not.  He said she did and I said she did not.

She did.  At SOME point!!

The girls have a product called Soft Paws on their claws and so no longer have the sharp weapons they possess.  Well, they do, but they are just covered up with acrylic nails.  Anyway, it looks as if she has it to her mouth.

Aw, the poor thing landed on it's back.  I think they play 'dead' to get a chance to escape.

Here are both girls watching it.

Then Uki had to egg it on and get the ball rolling!

She pounced and flipped and had a good time.  At this point I got bored and was annoyed that my continuous shot capability was not working!  Later I swore to my hubby that Uki ate it.  He said she did not.  I have not seen it anywhere!

Thanks for stopping by!  Today was the kids' last day of school and now I get them for three months!  That is a long time to be couped up in the house due to this horrendous heat!  Well, we shall think positively and deal with it!   Until next time...

PS.  The cats were shaved in the 'Lion' cut!

Mug Rugs and KG Graduation!

To start with, here is the mug rug that I sent to my partner Jan in Australia!  I forgot to take a picture of the entire package so I took a picture of what she posted on Flickr!  If you zoom in, you may be able to read what she wrote.  Very sweet.  Bottom line - she loved her package!  Yay!

When my kids were little and until now, none of my husband's family comes to any of their events.  I decided that would not be the case for my BIL's kids.  This little guy had his graduation from kindergarten and he is so freakin' adorable that Ali and I went.  Amal was studying for her final exams so she couldn't make it.  He is singing something in Arabic here.  That is the Omani flag around his neck.

Here is my BIL, SIL and the three kids.

Here are Ali and I with the three kids.

Finally for this short post, I received MY Mug Rug from Germany!  Yay!  My partner made the coolest shape and she used one of my favorite designer's Sandi Henderson's Henna fabrics.  There are many colors and she also put in a cat.  She is NOT a cat person!  Thank you so much Julia!  She sent a chocolate bar from Germany, a postcard with the sweetest letter and four pieces of fabric that are darling!  I just love this!  Now I have two from the US; one I made; and one from Germany!

I promise to post Amal playing the Oud soon!  Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday Time!

I've been busy lately and have neglected my blog!  Yikes!  Here are some photos of my daughter's 15th birthday party about two weeks ago!

Amal painstakingly cut out the numbers and letters on the wall.  We could not find the heavy duty blade.  It was frustrating but she put glitter on it and once it was done, as in many things in life, she was happy with it.

Back up!...This was on her actual birthday.  Her Dad and I bought her the Oud and the Oud lessons (which are going fabulously!  I'll get an update up soon!) for her present but when the actual day came, we HAD to give her something!  I knew she wanted the fiberglass or hard case for her Oud and the 'cool' looking one, so I took Ali in to see Khalid and we bought it.  I asked Khalid not to say anything to her because it was a surprise.  The next time we came into the shop for the lesson; she noticed right away and was like, "Aw, somebody bought it!!!"  *frown, frown* and then, "Khalid, do you have ANOTHER one???", yadda, yadda and he only smiled.  I was dying inside.  It is a good thing he did not steal a glance or I would have cracked up!

So, here is her brother presenting her with this lovely case.  See the pink ribbon he put around the neck? Awww...  PS.  Don't look at my room....

I got her this necklace that says her name in Arabic.  It is all the rage with the expats here!  It is sterling silver and she loves it.

Ok.  Back to the party....here is the GUITAR cake I made.  Three layers of vegan chocolate cake.  The chocolate frosting is a Mocha Chocolate Buttercream.  Yum-o!

The kids enjoyed looking through Amal's baby photos.  They really looked at them.  Such nice kids.  We have from the left, Baqar, Amal, Dzaf, Hareth.

They are making jokes and having a great time.  Here is Dzaf, Hareth, Heron and Charlotte.

There are 15 candles on here, look closer!

Hareth is always animated and here he is telling a story!

Ali was such a great help to me!  Thanks honey!  Here is Becky taking pics of the 'epic' cake!

edited to say:  See my quilt in the background on the wall?!!  It looks yellow-y but still!  See the matching pillows too??!!

She is ready to blow out the candles.  My quilt looks so pretty!!

Here is a group shot with Ali.  I like the smaller groups.  These kids are great.  They asked me to come and sit and chat with them.  What 15 year olds do that?  They are great to Amal which is the most important thing and they are very kind to Ali.

Group shot.  Of these kids, only Charlie is leaving.  This is very sad.  Amal and Charlie take Oud lessons together and have gotten very close this past year.  Charlie is going back to her home country of Holland.  We will ALL miss you sweetie!

Here the boys are trying to recapture some stunt they pulled at Amal's bday party last year.  I got a series of action shots but this is lengthy as it is.  This is the final accomplishment!  See my Happy Birthday banner in the back??

edited to say:  See the missing blind?  Waqar did it.  He hit a golf ball into it and broke it but I am happy to say that we have replaced it now!

Here are the kids posing one last time before the parents came to pick them up.  Amal had a great party!

Thanks for stopping by and I have a few more pics to put up; come back soon!