Lovely London

We had a great time in London over Christmas. What a fun city! We saw all the great sites and museums and spent time with family...we couldn't have asked for more.

Of course, because I love traveling and life and culture and humor, I have to share some highlights...

1. I don't understand British humor {or humour, I should say}. Nevertheless, I laughed at all the commercials on TV and Mr. Bean, but didn't always understand why.

See what I mean? Is this a joke or are they serious? I guess I will never know because I didn't want to try and see what would have happened if I, err, "urinated in this area".

2. The weather forecast is done by the color of the clouds: white, gray, black. I guess if it is cloudy everyday, you have to make it exciting some how. But, that didn't really help me make any decisions about what to wear. So we just wore the same thing everyday. See?

This is the Tower Bridge on a gray day.

Here is Big Ben on a white day.

Look! Kensington Palace on a gray day.

And with black clouds. Just kidding...this is the sky line at midnight on 1-1-11!! Happy New Year!

3. The London Underground is AMAZING. When it works. For example: when the London Underground workers go on strike, NO ONE goes anywhere in London. Another example: when the line that goes out to the airport is closed on the day you need it, you spend $100 getting to the airport in a taxi instead of $10 on the Underground. It really is great... When it works.

Mind the Gap!

4. I don't think I have ever had to do a public apology on my blog. But, the time has come. I found that I have been influenced by the East more than I realized.

• I apologize to any person that I stood too close to while engaged in a conversation. I'm just used to a different definition of personal space.
• I apologize to ALL the people that I stepped in front of in line. I'm just not used to those.
• I apologize for staring at everyone who stepped on escalators coming out of the subway and automatically stepped to the right so people in a hurry could pass on the left. It was just all so organized. I'm just not used to that. (On this note... why do they drive on the left, but go 'American' on the escalators and stay right?)
• I'm sorry to all the great restaurants that I passed on by looking for a good falafel stand. I just get these cravings.
• I apologize to that taxi man who was so bothered we were crossing the road one meter away from the actual painted crosswalk that he rolled his window down and pointed to the crosswalk for us, yelling. We are just not used to paying attention to such sophisticated infrastructure.
• And specifically, I am sorry to this nice lady in the red coat who got really angry when I took a picture in St. Paul's Cathedral. I just forget to follow rules sometimes.

Pretty church though, eh?

5. My daughter can produce the perfect British accent. It made me laugh the entire trip. The Brits have such great English. Americans sound so boring compared to them. I was shopping for Wellingtons {those cute rubber boots} for my son and asked the clerk if there were more sizes available. He kindly said:

"I'm quite sorry, there has been a rush on Wellies according to the inclimate weather."

I found myself stepping in front of the elevator doors just so I could hear the voice on the elevator say:

"Please refrain from obstructing the doors."

And of course, no trip to London is complete without repeating at any chance possible:

"Mind the gap between the train and the platform."

But my favorite came on a cold night when my dear hubby and I were out on a date. He went to order me a hot drink to warm me up. So sweet. It was a special Christmas-y drink that was on the menu. My hubby came back with his head down and no drink. Apparently when he ordered the drink, the man told him they no longer have that drink because:

"VINTER IS VINNALLY VINISHED"

He was German...  not really British-speak, but funny.

6. The biggest highlight for me was this. Family. A picture says 1,000 words.

Aww, cousins.

Merry Christmas...not from the Middle East!

Our Christmas Surprise...

It started with a thick cloud cover...

and a snowy runway...

and low lying fog over the river...

and putting on our wellies...

and riding double decker buses...

and 'minding the gap' when getting off the tube...

Merry Christmas from the Apricot Lady...IN LONDON!

My Christmas Gift to You (Free Download!)

Today is the last Sunday in Advent. Over the years I have looked and looked for a perfect advent 'recipe' to use for our family and I think I finally settled on one. The kids have really enjoyed each week. The conversation can go deep and wide or short and sweet {like the night that my girl tossed her cookies right during dinner. Yum. Advent celebrations were cut a bit short that particular evening.} Different words can be talked about and discussed. All the scripture or just part of one can be read. It really seems to be the perfect fit for us and I think it can grow with us over the coming years.

I printed ours off on card stock and cut it into four squares. You could also print it and put it in a holiday frame. So many fun possibilities.

I started this blog to 'not forget' the funny adventures and stories and moments that my family has. I had no idea that so many people would become our beloved, faithful readers. I'm actually really glad that I am not just laughing by myself. That would make me feel crazy. {Which would be scary because I already know I am crazy.} So, THANKS!

Merry Christmas from my blog to you!

Christmas Shopping Our Way

Now that I shared all our tricks for celebrating Thanksgiving...it is time I shared with you how we go Christmas shopping:

I love a good bargain. In the States, I was the queen of eBay and Craigslist. I loved a good garage sale and LOVED my local Goodwill.  I can't remember the last time I paid full price for something. Moving overseas kind of cut that addiction out of my life. No eBay, Craigslist or garage sales here.

But, about a year ago, I found someone who can give me a good fix every once in a while when it comes to kids' toys! The shop owner is actually a very sweet man. In fact, he is on my top 5 list of most favorite shop owners in the country {this list is NOT easy to get on, it requires not EVER making me feel a creepy vibe or feel that I am being ripped off}. He is also a sheikh, actually THE sheikh for the mosque downtown. That means he has to close down the store five times a day to run and do the call to prayer. I don't mean just go and pray. I mean he is the little man whose voice rings out from the minaret. {Recently he locked my husband and I in his shop so we could continue shopping while he did the prayer...I told you, he is just a nice guy!} He also has an African Grey parrot that lives outside his shop that says: Marhaba (hello), Salam wa alaykom (peace on you), and will cat call at anyone walking by. The bird also does the perfect imitation of a cat meowing. Poor thing. You know who he gets to hang out with all day in that alley. He was actually a bit camera shy when I shot this video. He would NOT talk for the camera. Silly parrot.

Anyway. Abu Sheikh {as I like to call him 'father of sheikhs'} also has an amazing memory. He remembers all the toys that our family has ever purchased {not to mention the fact that he has the entire Koran memorized}. If he sees me coming he starts pulling out his new wares customized for us...kind of like how Amazon.com has {probably very complicated programming} suggestions of items you may want to buy based on your buying history.

From what I can figure {and all the bizarre questions I've asked him}, he gets big containers full of items that have been returned at places like Target, Toys R Us and Walmart. He gets overstocks from Goodwill and Salvation Army. And one time he got a load of left over garage sale items. I really have no idea how he gets this stuff. But I love him for it. He has three locations: His store. The storage room next to his store. And his storage garage behind his mosque {I call this place his Holy of Holies}. You would NOT believe the stuff he has in there. Recently he got about 40 huge burlap bags full of overstocked Old Navy and Gap clothes. {yippie!!!!}

WARNING: This will just make you jealous if you are a fellow bargain shopper...proceed with caution!

Here is what I have found over the last years and the prices Abu Sheikh sells them for:

American Girl Josefina Doll: Retail $95 - Abu Sheikh price $7

Playmobil Large Pirate Ship: Retail $110 - Abu Sheikh price $17

Playmobil Fairy Palace: Retail $60 - Abu Sheikh price $14

Lego Star Wars Various sets: Retail $20 - $60 - Abu Sheikh price $10

Lego City Airport: Retail $99 - Abu Sheikh price $15
Mexican Train Dominoes: Retail $20 - Abu Sheikh price $3

Tony Hawk Wii Skateboard and Game: Retail $50 - Abu Sheikh price $12

5 Wii Games: Retail $30 - $60 each - Abu Sheikh price $7 each

Pink ihome alarm clock: Retail $50 - Abu Sheikh price $10

Hannah Montana Monopoly: Retail $20 - Abu Sheikh price $4

Eye Clops Bionic Eye  Microscope for TV: Retail $70 - Abu Sheikh price $8
Huge set of Lincoln Logs: Retail $40 - Abu Sheikh price $2
My Little Ponies: Retail $6 - Abu Sheikh price 75 cents each

Back in college, my boyfriend {who later became my husband!} did a summer internship in a small Guatemalan village outside of Antigua that was famous for their unique, colorful handwoven crafts, with patterns only made in that area! Look what we found at Abu Sheikh's a few weeks ago:

From Guatemala in some tourist's bag... to Abu Sheikh's in Podunk, Middle East. If that thing could talk... We found it just hilarious that it was lying next to a Bible cover {not too much of a market for those around here}.

Well, before you get too jealous of my great fortune. I will leave you with this picture. This is his store on an organized day:

Abu Sheikh on the hunt for the perfect toy.

See anything you want?

Happy Christmas Shopping!

Get 'em While You Can!

Dear faithful blog readers,

Merry Christmas and thank you. Thank you for enjoying Apricots Today. Thank you for seeing the humor in our lives. To express my sincere gratitude, I would like to purchase special gifts for each of you. Below is a beautiful flier that I recently received in the newspaper (you can click on the image to make it bigger). It showcases the best of what can be bought here. Please select your gifts. I know, the choices are hard. Will it be the silverware hanging on a tree? Will it be one of the fine urns? Will it be the Louis XV juice goblets?


Merry Christmas!
Apricot Lady