Time to be happy!

1. My mum is currently in route from the home country to my 'home' here.

2. The Dow Jones Industrial average has been up now two days in a row (yeah, I watch the U.S. markets)

3. I have a lovely place to live and food to eat.

It is my hope that leaders are remembering their history. And, this is a personal thanks to my university history professors for teaching me so much! I've been reading up/brushing up on what may have caused previous economic downturns. And wow, it was really interesting. Read up folks. Then go out and live!

Peace.

Life's adventure continues

My mum is still coming to visit us. She had trouble with one flight (mechanical problem with the plane I think?). So, her trip to us has been delayed by one day. But, we're very happy she's still coming to see us.

We're getting to the time of year here when the weather is getting warmer, but the water is also getting warmer. The other evening, I went for a walk on the beach. The tide was VERY low. Laying on the beach were purple sand dollars (Phylum Echinodermata). They were the biggest I had ever seen. They were bigger than the palm of my hand or the husband's hand for that matter. Absolutely fabulous. And, our home aquarium now is home to a little goby (a type of fish, looks a bit like a blennie).

I've been watching the stock markets, and I was very happy to see the recent jump in the DJIA. It is time to move forward, to move up. It is not time to sit by watching. We must be hopeful and keep going. I believe it WILL get better.

Peace be upon you.

No picture today; Just some random thoughts

Well, my mum lands here in the middle east in 72 hours. The guest room is cleaned and ready for her. The beaches look glorious, the weather is fabulous, and we have hotel reservations for Oman. It is going to be fun.

I'm reading so many different bits in the news, I don't know what to begin with.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/world/middleeast/08drift.html?_r=1&hp In the area where I live, I've seen young men driving 4-wheel ATV's on the highway at night. Looks totally insane and totally dangerous. These are the kinds of things that scare mums of teenage boys!

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090302/FOREIGN/786302239/0/FRONTPAGE I found this other article to be totally fascinating. I think with any type of clothing, if you forbid it, then people are just going to want to wear it more. For instance, when bikini bathing suits first appeared, I know more than a few women who were young in the late 1950's early 1960's who wore them. The two piece suits were the 'in' thing. They were the 'cool' thing. Why? Probably because they were deemed so 'bad' by people. I'm not saying that a society should not set boundaries. But, by trying to ban any type of clothing, you just make that piece of clothing more irresistible.

I find head scarves both interesting and practical. First, I've known Muslim and conservative Christian women who wear them. Yes, dear reader, conservative Christian women. Why would a Christian wear a headscarf? Read up on the writings of Paul and prayer. Second, I find them very practical. Living in a hot dusty climate, I find a loose head scarf is much more comfortable than a hat. Not to mention, it keeps the dust out of my hair and ears. Not to mention, some headscarves are beautiful lovely pieces of clothing. Regardless, it is my opinion that the choice of wearing a head scarf belongs to the woman wearing it for whatever reasons she has. Period.

Peace.

Time for a coffee

I was just reading the NYT among other things this morning. Check this article out:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/business/worldbusiness/03markets.html?exprod=myyahoo

Folks, this is not the time to despair or panic. That only drives stuff lower. Governments everywhere are doing what they can. But, we all need to do our part. So, what does 'doing our part' mean?

We all have to keep on going. Keep contributing to your retirement fund. Keep saving for your kids' university education. This is not the time to 'stuff the mattress'.

Ok. People are scared. But if money is NOT tight for you (ie you are employed), then go out and
have a coffee. If everyone just sits on their pocket books, then the flow of money will slow down even further. Now, am I saying that everyone should go deep or deeper in debt? No. But, we need to take a breath, slow down, and keep on moving forward. Yes, there are people losing jobs. But the best way that I know of to create new jobs is if those with jobs keep investing. And personally, the husband and I just look at each other when we see the markets and say, "It's all on sale."

Stay sensible and keep on moving. Time to go buy a coffee. We're gonna get through this.

What is going on with the world?

Yup. We went to a zoo in the middle of a desert and saw penguins. It felt a bit surreal. That zoo visit was a really splendid day out with the family. I love how the penguin on its belly appears to be looking at Munchkin #2.

I watched on cable this morning, an American news program called Meet the Press. The U.S. Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, proclaimed on this show that, to paraphrase, a specific country in the region here is not close to having a nuclear weapon. Here's an article that talks about this:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090301/ts_nm/us_nuclear_iran_usa_3

Here's a second article on the same topic/interview: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/03/01/us.afghanistan/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Ok. But then, I read this on another American news website:

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/WireStory?id=6986644&page=1 This story is about an interview done with Adm. M. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (in the U.S.). After reading this third bit, I'm really confused. Now, I know that I'm a halfway intelligent individual, or at the very least my family and I have paid a lot of money over the years stuffing education into my head. But I'm confused. Do folks know what's going on? Or is there confusion besides the confusion in my own head?

Here's another couple of stories about all this: http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Iran/10290802.html

http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Iran/10290797.html

Obviously, if you scan through my previous blog posts, you will notice that I read/listen to/watch a variety of news sources. If you see anything in the press about this that is more clear or can help me with the confusion in my head, please email me.

On a totally different note.....

Munchkin #2 seems to be doing better today now that the root canal is over and the permanent filling is in her little tooth. She's had a rough go of it the past day and a half.

We are all getting even more excited that my mum is coming to visit us. And, it's going to be a perfect time for her to be here. The husband is probably going to be doing some business travel on some of the weekdays that she's here. So, she and I will get a good bit of alone time to visit. I can't wait!