ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
Middle East and North AfricaStopped cooking for my husband!
He shot down that idea she had said....
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-01-30 16:08:00
Middle East and North AfricaStopped cooking for my husband!
good.gif
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-01-30 15:53:00
Middle East and North AfricaHappy Birthday Rajaa!
Happy Birthday hun!!!
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-05 10:36:00
Middle East and North AfricaTuesday Morning Insomniacs Unite
QUOTE (sereia @ Feb 10 2009, 02:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hello MENA ladies. 60 degrees (freezing!!!) here but sunny and beautiful. Southern CA weather is such a blessing!

I hope you're all having a great day!


Hilarious! It was 60 degrees and hot for us today lol - tomorrow is supposed to be near 70!
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-10 19:55:00
Middle East and North AfricaHappy Birthday Jackie!!!
ooooh I'm horrible and forgot but HAPPY BIRTHDAY late smile.gif
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-11 09:49:00
Middle East and North AfricaHappy Birthday Jackie!!!
Sannaaa Sayeeeda!!!! smile.gif Happy Birthday smile.gif
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-05 10:34:00
Middle East and North AfricaDual Citizenship Question
They're a pain to get in touch with. I've given up calling and just go there although this is not an option for everyone! Try the consular's office as well;

(202) 457-0012 - they're more likely to actually answer.
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-13 14:02:00
Middle East and North AfricaFRIDAY THE 13TH!!!
Happy Friday! Husband is in an uber pizzy mood today and I have no clue why. I am going to get him a membership to a boxing club here for Valentine's Day, I hope that cheers him up!
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-13 09:10:00
Middle East and North AfricaWhat are you getting your Mena Man for Valentine's Day???
I put this in today's thread but Im getting my husband a membership to a boxing club here. He's wanted to do it for sometime so I hope he'll like it.
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-13 11:54:00
Middle East and North AfricaWhat are you getting your Mena Man for Valentine's Day???
I second that suggestion - it's a great one - my husband LOVES when I do that!
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-12 14:56:00
Middle East and North AfricaWhat are you getting your Mena Man for Valentine's Day???
Ohhh they have locations here!!! I am so excited about this - thank you for sharing!!!
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-09 15:48:00
Middle East and North AfricaWhat are you getting your Mena Man for Valentine's Day???
Oh man, if i wanted a decent masssage, mani and pedi it would be close to $200 here....
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-09 10:14:00
Middle East and North AfricaWhat are you getting your Mena Man for Valentine's Day???
QUOTE (UmmSqueakster @ Feb 5 2009, 11:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Again we're grinches. We don't celebrate v-day. However, I do take advantage of the sales, and stock up on lovey-dovey presents for other parts of the year luv.gif


I DO THE SAME THING!!! Gotta love target after holiday sales!

Rajaa: Your Pic at Alkai beach - that's where my sister got married!!!
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-05 16:28:00
Middle East and North AfricaWhat are you getting your Mena Man for Valentine's Day???
Hmm not sure really, usually I cook a nice romantic dinner with candles etc... but this year I'm not sure since he'll be working most of the day. Might have to just make a cute card for his lunch box or something.
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-05 10:50:00
Middle East and North AfricaBest ME/NA blogs
Lal - I love My Marrakesh as well! Maryam and I met in Marrakech when I went in March - I actually brought over a faucet for her LOL! She's soooo sweet! I can't wait until our next visit to stay at Peacock Pavillions!
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-18 09:26:00
Middle East and North AfricaHow long to get Moroccan passport in Morocco?
Depends if there are any issues with it (changing occupation tends to cause issues),and how much extra (bribe) he will pay. I would get it asap - it won't hurt to have it early.
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-19 20:19:00
Middle East and North AfricaMena house decorating in the U.S??
Well I didn't get EVERYTHING that I wanted to done. Didn't have enough time for the bathroom and the boys closet/room took me about 5 hours to clean out, sort, and reorganize. I'm going to try to add the pictures here.

These are of the boys room. They share a small room and have way too many toys! Our apartment has all floor to ceiling windows that honestly are a pain.


This is Mikhail's bed on the side and the new curtains.

This Khalils' crib. The bed tent was on Mikhail's bed but he didn't really like it. So I thought I would give it a shot on the crib. It opens on the other side, but this way it is a little more private. One of the biggest challenges is getting them both to sleep in the same room. When they see each other they won't sleep!!



This is their closet. I wanted to do a built in desk for Mikhail but Ikea didn't have the desk that I needed. So instead I put in a little bean bag like chair on one side and on the other stacked these wire basket things for "car/truck" parking. We have so many and at least this gets them out of the way a little more.



This is our bedroom. My bed didn't have a headboard with it so I got these metal things at Ikea and put them up like a headboard. You can't see good in the picture but the curtains have a black leaf pattern on them (thin lines). I hung up the fabric behind the bed and wanted to do a canopy but I couldn't get a hole through the ceiling (concrete). So I settled for this.



This is our entry way. I always have lunchboxes/backpacks, purse etc all over. So this is just a few S hooks on some bars, a basket for mail and another for keys.



I did hang curtains in the living room but that was really the only redecorating I got done there. Sorry the images aren't super clear I took them with my phone!


MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-01-12 11:33:00
Middle East and North AfricaMena house decorating in the U.S??
The thread has been rescued!!

So my plan is a big one and I'm sure it's going to take me all of the weekend to get through. Soooo here goes:

Bedroom:

Hang curtains over windows (we have floor to ceiling windows with mini blinds that I hate). I have to actually use and/or buy these....

Make bed canopy (I posted the link to the design I'm going to use in the Thursday thread). I'm thinking this is going to be relatively easy aside from hanging the two pieces from the ceiling...

Master closet - we have a large walk in closet that really is our only decent storage space in the apartment. Sooo it has totes, clothes, suitcases and laundry. We have a friend with a house so the totes are going to her basement. Then I plan to hang a curtain in the back 3' of the closet to cordon it off. I am going to put in a fold down ironing board on the wall and put in a dirty clothes sorter. Both sides currently have a rod that goes the length of the closet with a shelf on top. I plan to hang another curtain on tension rods on each side to sort of "hide" our clothes and other things stored in that part of the closet. I am also moving my bookcase into the bedroom and possibly recovering the side tables and getting new bedside lamps.

Bathroom

In the bathroom I plan to put a removable tiling over our existing cruddy 1x1" white dingy tiled floor (gotta love rentals). Our under sink area is fully exposed so I plan to use a tension rod and curtain again to close this area off.

Living room

One of our walls has 2 sliding patio doors. I am going to hang curtains again from the ceilings to cover these up. (We have plaster walls so getting anything to stick in them is a nightmare)

I am making pillowcases to redo all of my pillows and some artwork to add to the walls (in frames of course).

Kitchen

The biggest kitchen issue is space. I am going through all the cupboards and throwing/giving away what we don't use. I also am getting a magnetic strip to put all our bigger knives on so they free up drawer space. I'm also considering hanging the pots and pans on the wall on hooks to empty one of my cabinets for more free space.

Boys Bedroom

This is the biggest challenge. Right now they have a toddler bed and a crib in a pretty small room. I am going to empty out their closet, sorting out all the clothes and packing away what I can and getting rid of the rest. I am also going through all the toys and purging the ones that are half missing, broken or not played with. They have plenty of closet space it just is not efficient right now. I plan to build on one side a small desk for Mikhail. It will be built in and have organization spaces on the walls for all of his "supplies". I am hoping this gives him some seperation from his brother. I'm also considering getting him a twin loft bed, creating more floor space, just not sure if he's big enough for that yet.


So that's the grand plan. We'll see how much I can manage to get done! I'll do before and after pics for sure!
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-01-08 14:36:00
Middle East and North AfricaCitizenship Approved!!!!
Congrats!

Name change??
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-24 09:32:00
Middle East and North AfricaDentist in Morocco
NO!!! Sorry but the only way I would do it is if I had no other choice and if I were living there full time and had fully investigated my options. My husband used to have this same belief, but now that he's been here going to a dentist and found he has periodental disease as well as several fillings, he's realized that really the dentists here are better. Again if it was neccessity obviously we would go there but choice - no way. Also if for any reason
I were living there and needed major work done I would come back here for it.
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-23 08:29:00
Middle East and North AfricaSCAMMED FOR A GREEN CARD
Staashi good.gif you're right.

Stephanie - sorry that things didn't work out and I hope you can move past this all soon.

I think that people get upset because it seems like some come to post "HE USED ME!!!" and that's it. It's hard for others to understand how, what, why etc happened. For those who do want to look out for this then it's good to know what's going on.
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-01-28 09:19:00
Middle East and North Africathursday/almostday 26 feb 09
Dorothy I just noticed that our dates are like exactly the same for removing conditions at VSC....I feel like this is gonna take forever!

Good afternoon everyone!
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-26 14:22:00
Middle East and North Africato the muslims wanting to buy a home
Hence why I don't have one wink.gif
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-26 09:47:00
Middle East and North Africato the muslims wanting to buy a home
Well that would mean about 90% of the ppl who live here where I do wouldn't be in a home. It's hard to grapple paying $1500 month rent for a 2 bdr 900 sq ft apartment, and trying to save THAT much money. We dont' even make that much in one year combined.....
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-25 16:17:00
Middle East and North Africato the muslims wanting to buy a home
You are very right Umm --- Gosh I sure miss my $600 month mortgage on our nice big house!
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-25 16:16:00
Middle East and North Africato the muslims wanting to buy a home
A friend of mine looked to do this - the downside to this is that the deposit you are required to put down is between 10 -20% of the price of the home. So in a market here - where a simply little 2-3 brd townhouse home sells for 400,000 - the downpayment is 80,000!!! (@ 20%) yikes!!
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-25 15:56:00
Middle East and North AfricaFacebook just offered me a job as a translator!
I got it too smile.gif
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-03-03 14:11:00
Middle East and North Africawhat did you know about your SO's culture before marriage/arrival
I also think that there comes a point where regardless of what we say or how much we learn about their culture to try and bridge the gap that some if just comes down to experience. My husband was a real hot head for a long time. He would get so mad over the stupidest things and be ready to fight. Finally (not so long ago) when we were driving and some guy was honking at him, pulled up along side and rolled down his window. My husband was ready to get out of the car and I said "What if he has a gun and shoots you, me or the kids (they were with) over this?" He just kept driving. His temper has flared waaaay down now. Guess that was a really long way of saying some if it just comes with time.
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-03-04 12:56:00
Middle East and North Africawhat did you know about your SO's culture before marriage/arrival
Most of what I knew was from the books, although I was very open minded and a world traveler before I knew him. I had dated another ME guy for a short time, and he was the exact opposite of my husband. He was much more conservative and while we had a good time, the deal breaker was my 6 month old son - his family would never accept and in the end he wanted to marry a girl from home. I was glad that he was honest with me about this. (He did live in the US). When I met my husband it was pure random chance on vacation and I never thought 5 years down the road we would have the life we do today! It seems like yesterday! The hardest thing to overcome was having to "take care" of him. I was always independent and having a very young child I thought bam he would come and I would have someone that knew how to take care of everything!

As for culture. I visited a lot. Lived there for almost 2 months with him, and spent close to another 3 months total visiting at different times. So really we were only apart for 7 months total. I really felt and do feel a very good grasp on his culture. I spent a lot of time talking to other women (both American and Moroccan) - two of my best friends are Moroccan women and that really helps me figure out lots of stuff. I don't have many American friends where we live now so I'm pretty immersed! My husband is more on the liberal end of the spectrum however with time and maturity I see him getting more conservative. I think culture only goes so far - some traits are just him being a man, and his lack of world experience.

My husband also insists I'm Moroccan now, (shoot my best Moroccan friend says I cook Moroccan food better than her!) but like others have said, I'm very aware of my identity more now. I'm sure when we move back to Morocco someday I will definetely realize this even more and will begin to understand nuances of their culture that I don't see here.
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-03-02 12:32:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA FB Pet Society Nuts!!!
Type Pet Society in the Search box - it will take you to the ap home page - in the area where it has posts there are lots saying "add me please!!"
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-03-04 15:23:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA FB Pet Society Nuts!!!
I need more friends for sure.....

Amal your pet likes to play ball with me lol
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-03-04 11:59:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA FB Pet Society Nuts!!!
Ahh such secrets!!! I'm hooked on this one for sure!
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-03-04 10:08:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA FB Pet Society Nuts!!!
OK I really love this game! It's so cute! I've wasted like 45 min this morning already and I promised no FB games at work today! Question - how can I make more money??? I wanna decorate but need more monies!
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-03-04 09:16:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA FB Pet Society Nuts!!!
Ok I got sucked into this one too. I dunno how to race though!!! I just made my moose dog. I wannnna shop - so tempting to actually pay for credits to buy things!! LOL
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-03-03 12:12:00
Middle East and North AfricaDINNER IN MENA LAND
Have you tried muffins? I usually make a dozen or so a weekend for hubby during the week, and get the yogurt drink stuff - and he's good with that. He likes French Toast sticks, and cereal now. But he hated them before. The first year was rough esp. food wise for us. Since working the same shift here he's had to fend for himself!
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-03-11 11:09:00
Middle East and North AfricaDINNER IN MENA LAND
Ughh if my husband did the shopping I would have to prepare an indexed list with prices on it for him. THEN he would still return only with THE cheapest items he could find. Sooo like a jar of tomato sauce, some yogurt and tuna. THEN he would ask why we didn't have anything good to eat for the week.... UGHH!!

Cleaning, hmmm I do most of it on the weekend because he works. When he has a day off during the week he'll pick up, vaccuum and do a load of dishes. He helps get the kids homework done, baths (he's good at that) and ready for bed. He used to do nothing so I guess this is a big step in the right direction!
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-03-03 15:55:00
Middle East and North AfricaDINNER IN MENA LAND
LOL my husband was in the sandwich is not a meal club for awhile too - no more!!!!!
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-26 11:19:00
Middle East and North AfricaDINNER IN MENA LAND
*sulks back to kitchen...barefoot....and pregnant....*
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-25 13:39:00
Middle East and North AfricaDINNER IN MENA LAND
Oh something else I wanted to add - I spend a few hours on the weekends cooking and freezing meals. That way I can pull out and heat up and we're good to go. If he didnt' know I did this he wouldnt' be able to tell the difference! I can now count on him to cook 1-2 nights a week and he doesn't expect such elaborate meals anymore. PM and I can share some fast easy Moroccan dinners that will be good for all of you!
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-25 10:30:00
Middle East and North AfricaDINNER IN MENA LAND
We have had this on-going for some time now. When he first came I was at the same point as you are. It's 3 years later (going on 4) and he's much better. I make sure to keep things around that are easy for him to make. I hate to say it but really nagging won't work. Suck it up or let him starve LOL!
MrsAmeraFemaleMorocco2009-02-25 10:25:00