I'm a convert.

We initially planned on walking over to the new baskin robbins that opened at the mall near our apartment, but were told that the actual opening was the next day; so we ended up getting our ice cream at target.

And i just cant get enough of it. its ben and jerry's little tub of chocolate fudge brownie flavour with real fudge brownie chunks. and i keep raiding the freezer and spooning it directly from there.

Who would've thought? i guess its all about quality flavour maxed out.

I guess nani will be proud. lol

Front-load Chronicle

I did have a list of gadgetry in mind before I left. Machinery that would substitute the hired help of Pakistani culture with the mechanical self help-ness of the developed world. But theory is never quite the same as practice as one would say.

And as I, after washing my first ever lot of coloured clothes, under the 'whites' simply because i took arqam's word for granted and did not read the correct order of instructions; would learn by experience.

or not. because i would follow suit by yet again, taking arqam's advise too literally and turning off the heat setting in the dryer, and thus returning still with damp laundry having spent all my ten quarters.

so this time around today, i was so sure i had become quite the pro as i lugged my bag of soiled clothes. There was no stopping me except... that my quarter kept popping back out. It was after all 8 in the evening. and i kept dropping it back in vain, wondering if there was an after hours after which the machine didnt work.

Or maybe the machine was faulty?

Ofcourse it was, so i changed the machine, dumping my load into the one on the far right, since the far left one, which i had tried before was already occupied. which was a good thing, coz it made me read the instructions i hadn't last time, and brush out a bit of excess detergent i had dropped into the clothing. Scooping it up and pushing some into the slot that it was actually supposed to go in and not amidst the clothes as i was enlightened, i kept praying that there was no movie scene re enactment of fuzzy surf exploding all the over the room syndrome.

And then, there it was, the clink clink clink clink of the quarters as they fell in perfect chime into the machine. All except the last; which i finally realized was being rejected because it was a 'dirham' and not a quarter.

Stupid isnt it.

and that changed, we were good to go!

And while i am waiting on the dryer, i figured i'd just relate how i'm sittin and wondering if theres anywhere more the no-brainer could actually stump me.

hopefully not!

'Remember the Alamo'

I know I was aiming for a daily update, but with Amroo being down with the flu and uncomfortable with the idea of his clogged nostrils, I really didnt get round to doing much else that was interesting. But between then and now, the furniture arrived, more grocery shopping was done, and I finally got to do some Dollar-twentyfive x2 laundry by myself.

We usually tend to go to super-target for the bare essentials, and although we're always in too much of a hurry to properly explore it, i have spotted aisles of scrapbooking stuff, and other nifty gadgets i'd like to take a look at in detail.

The shop crew is always extremely good natured at all places, but i remember this hispanic dude at the counter who told us a couple of jokes the other day. sharp witty humor so i thought i'd share them here as well.

'Isn't it ironic to choke on a lifesaver?'

"Dont you think its ironic to get hit by a Dodge?'

"If you say every 4 out of 5 people suffer from Diarrhoea, does that mean that 1 enjoys it?"

Anyway, the great thing about Arqam' s duty over here is the weekends. Saturdays off! We just spent an entire day outdoors today, and oh em gee, we can do the same again tommorrow! We headed downtown San Antonio, had a good stroll along the river walk, which is really scenic, but was too humid and crowded to take too many pictures. i guess we landed there around lunch time. It links right up to a mall, so that was great, waltzing into the food court, stuffing up on large slices of vegetarian gourmet pizzas, and coke, and heading off to macy's to make the most of the Last day of Sale before mother's day!

Which reminds me, Happy mommy's day mommy! Love you loads! and Amroo says happy grandmommy day!

We bought amroo a couple of musical toys coz i've just been feeling really sorry that we hadn't gotten him anything since forever in lieu of this trip! he seems to like them enough, although he still seems to require one of us to play them for him.

By the time we got to the actual 'Alamo' it was past visiting hours but we had a good time walking through the city sipping out strawberry banana smoothies. everything over here, even the place we're staying at has the word 'Alamo' in its name... if you want the historic details, google it... we were just enjoying the humvee limo and the prom class posing for pictures before they left for their party.

3rd of May

I think I hate cooking.

I mean, I love the idea of it in my head. All the planning and the prospective potential of recipes that promise flavour and aesthetics all in one is simply not meant to be for my palate.

And here I was, planning to disown 'desi-pakwan' for 5 months altogether in lieu of the crunchy salads and crispy baked chicken… and cod cakes. Ah, the simple and delightful memorable cod cakes. There was to be only express recipes of marinades thrown in together and popped in the oven, and pastas and pies; steaming and aromatic…

And then, hubbykins dearest. requested. 'gravy.'

We were out getting halal chicken and condiments, at a place called 'Mustafas; " which BTW is shockingly identical to any pakistani utility store you can think of. Its like a piece of typical musalman environ in the middle of texas, and its sad that it remains that way here or anywhere else in the world.

Biryani masalas aside, Arqam must really be missing Bano auntie's super awesome home cooking to have been eating Roti three days in a row! So I am reallly not looking forward to serving the khichri-pudding of Pulao that I just finished making. I blame the rice. I guess they were long grain, but not basmati.

Ah well, there is always more naan to have with boneless chicken handi.

The furniture arrived today, and I think Amroo really likes the high bed. He was pretty happy to lie down on it and admire the ceiling fan up closer. I'm hoping his flu gets better though. Theres not much once can do about all the mucus that bugs him…. Or is there?

Walkthrough of the apartment later.

And any easy peasy tried tested rice chicken meal combos that you send me will be loooove!

Day One, Two, and a half.

I got off the plane, into the airport and out onto the highway thinking America was overrated, and it probably is just like any other country in the world, except that the pantry I got home to is stocked with gigantic tempting cinnamon rolls, and luscious brownie bites that I'm trying not to indulge in too much. The fridge is loaded with Arqam's choice of exotic flavors in junk food and the sight of pita naan and tortilla and daal assortment is definitely throwing my fresh salad diet plans out the door. For now anyway. And its not just about all these bountiful delectables that will seemingly, thankfully, replace 'pepsi' in the household…. Or so I thought. It seems that my arrival seemed to remind arqam of his earlier state of 'coke-lessness'; and he has promptly addressed the issue in our first trip to SuperTarget.

I love our Apartment! It isn't even furnished yet, but speckled brown sugar strewn magnolia carpeting and ivory beige scheme have really hit home. The faux wooden flooring in the kitchen and bathroom see me pattering onwards barefoot irrespective of any consequence to my recently pedicured heels. The community area is pretty nice, although I have yet to take Amroo out for a stroll to get to know the area the pedestrian way. The pool, I'm told is about 50 paces from our place, and I'm wishing Amroo was old enough to put in a tube or harnessed with floats into the water. I'd love to see the reaction on his face.

The diurnal range of temperature varies considerably. Its hot windy air that blows your entire hairstyle into disarray that quiets down into a wonderfully chilly breeze come dusk, twilight or dawn. This mother son duo still seems to be battling off jetlag and tends to sleep through the most opportune outdoorsy moments, leaving Daddy to prattle around finding something to do with all the time on his hands.

Its Monday morning, Arqam's off to work, Amroo's taking his first nap of the day, trying to get his circadian rythm back into cycle, and I am planning to blog my way through these five months before i step out to find the laundry. Do I miss my maid? Not quite yet.

Until Next time!