Doha Diarires: Part 5

I have finally edited the photos I wanted to put on this post, so here we go: part five of the saga continues. I put a vintage/seventies tint on most of these photos. I thought it would make it look more desert-like, which it definitely was. After the night at the lovely hotel, we ate breakfast at Johnny Rockets, went home, repacked the car, and followed two other families to go to the inland beach. We had many adventures before we even got to the beach, which is what all these pictures will be dedicated to on this post.

This billboard says, "Seatbelt is safety". With a guy wearing his thobes and another cheesy slogan, it was a must photo opportunity.

After driving about an hour or so, we got to the point where we quit driving on cement and start driving on the sand. We had a nice touristy pit stop so that Ashley and I got to ride the camels. Why it never occurred to me that we would me taking a TON of photos on this day I don't know. I might have worn a different swim suit cover-up. Maybe one that didn't make me look so white and was a bit longer. Hey, I just thought we were going to be riding in the car.

I actually put some shorts on under the cover-up, but while on the camel they don't seem to show up. I had a very scratchy blanket under my saddle, which was rubbing on my legs during the ride. Once again, reason to have worn something different. Changing from the laying on the ground to the standing up position with the camel (and vice versa) was nerve racking for a girl who has never felt comfortable on a horse.

When we took off, Barrett started crying for Aunt Sissy (Ashley), so he and Wendi jumped on a camel to catch up with us.

All four of us on our camels. It was very hot and very sunny during our brief camel trek. They seemed like such sweet creatures, and I actually felt sorry for them that they just sat around all day waiting for the next white girl to come and ride them.

I understood the reasoning, but it seemed cruel for their mouths to have this suffocating crochet thing on them. Here's two camels playing with each other. It's actually amazing that people used to (and probably still do) travel across a desert on these creatures.

Ashley, me, & Wendi

Nick had been saying how he wanted to see a falcon that day. Well, low and behold, you could pay 10QR just to hold one. So I did - for my mom, who is such the bird lover. Since this is a hunting bird, they had its eyes covered up so it wouldn't hurt me. I really liked the stylish glove that they gave me.

Once again, wish I had on a different outfit. But hey, my summer tan is coming. I think that bird really liked me. When I handed the falcon off, it tried to fly away from the next person. Shani, the bird whisperer.

Here's Nick letting air out of the tires before we go sand bashing. Didn't know that was a requirement. Nick drove an FJ, which everytime we would pass one of these cars, Barrett would yell out the color of the car with the FJ. So if we saw a blue one, he would yell out, "Blue FJ!"

One of Nick's coworkers knew how to properly sand bash. So we took at picture at the tallest dune that we were able to drive down. It looked daunting (and I wanted to really scream when we casually went down the dune).

Hard to see the drop off, but I was at the top taking a panoramic view.

Donna's family going down the dune. Brooks was riding with them, so we were screaming for him.

Once again, hard to tell, but this is as we are starting to go completely vertical down the dune.

So glad we didn't do the professional sand bashing - don't know if we could have handled it. Nick was loving every minute of it. On to the beach for the next post....

Joel Rosenberg

Another author I have been meaning to brag about. I heard about this guy a year ago, and since then me, Derek, and my mom have flown through the entire 5 book series. It's like The Left Behind series on steroids, and much more realistic. With all the chaos since 9/11, it's chilling to know how much foresight this author has. A born-again Jew, Joel Rosenberg wrote his first book of fiction of the series and talked about going to war with Iraq - the book was published 4 months before the US declared it was going to war with Iraq. I truly believe we are living in the end times, but every generation has ever since Jesus rose again.



The next books, in order in the series, are The Last Days, The Ezekial Option (my personal fave), the Copper Scroll, and Dead Heat (so realistic as to why the US is not a super power in the end times). Rosenberg is known for his prophecy, and what makes these books so great is their subtleness in Christianity. In fact, the last 3 books are not even in the Christian section at Barnes and Noble. I love it. He's become my new favorite author. I need to get Epicenter - it tells how he wrote the series. I finished the last book of the series and then my church did a three week study on the end times, based on I Thessalonians scripture. I think we are running out of time, and after reading these books, you will too!

Don't Make Me Count to Three...

I love this book. I have been meaning to blog about it for months. I read through this book last fall as a Tuesday morning biblestudy with my Sunday school class, and now I am doing it again with a group of moms here in Houston on weeknights. For those with kids ages 2-3 years olds and up, this book is a must read. Totally changed the way we discipline in the Michaelis household. It's a work in progress, but the heart issue is such a hard thing to reach on sinful little toddler. And let's face it, they are all just little sinners running around looking for guidance. So go get this book. Here's the info that's on the back of it (makes me laugh but it is so truthful):

“Do you want a spanking?”

“You just wait till your daddy gets home!”

"Don't make me come in there!"

Sound familiar?

A Mom's Look at Heart-Oriented Discipline

Do you find yourself threatening, repeating your instructions, or raising your voice in an attempt to get your children to obey? Are you discouraged because it seems you just can't reach the heart of your child? Through personal experience and the practical application of Scripture, Ginger Plowman encourages and equips moms to reach past the outward behavior of their children and dive deeply into the issues of the heart. With wit and tact Ginger steers mothers away from the “survival mode” that is so easy to fall into and reminds them of the great calling they have.

Happy disciplining....

Doha Diaries: Part 4

Continuing on with our fun day at the hotel. After the beach we decided to go check out this new development called The Pearl. It's a lot like Dubai's Palm island getaway. On the way there we saw these cool looking towers.


And a lot of the compounds where everyone lived looked similar to this - every house looking the same and not a lot of color. You pretty much have to with all the dust and reflecting off the heat.

This was taken from inside the car - sorry for the window reflection. This is a photo of two men in Thobes and two younger boys also wearing the same thing. If I had the guts then I would have gotten one for Justin to wear for Halloween. The men would treat their headpiece like hair - they would flop it over their backs like we girls do in the humid Houston weather.

Some of the women wearing their Abayas. Some would only have an eye opening, others would only have their face (with their exquisite eye makeup) exposed, and a few had a metal cover over their face. Very different. They would have their Louis Vitton purses with the occasional embellished sleeve link or the bottom of their dress. I guess it's the only way to distinguish themselves from the other women all wearing black.

One view of the Pearl establishment.

We were on a bridge and looking one way...

... and then the other.

Definitely a touch of Arabic in these buildings.

And the advertising. I almost want to send some of the jobless people over there to help think up some better slogans. I was crying through the laughter at these billboards. So why don't you by that.

Well good for you. I like it to but don't want to spend that much. Reminds me of a saying that Justin has - he is always saying that he loves it.

And this photo - what can I say?

A picture (while we were driving, so sorry for the fuzziness) of one of the many round-abouts in Doha. We don't need no stinking traffic light, just a round-about that will slow everyone down. Apparently there are very few wrecks there, so maybe they are on to something. It only just aided in the carsickness, if you ask me. Whenever we were in the car with Barrett, and a bus would pass by, he would yell out, "Doha bus!"

They don't drive or park well in Doha. This person is literally hanging out in the middle of the street.

So we went back, showered, and got ready for dinner. Their aren't a lot of nice restaurants outside of the hotels, much less the hotel is the only place to get an alcoholic drink. So we walked downstairs for dinner. The flowers were gorgeous.

Three hungry ladies.

A photo of the pool - can only take photos like these without a flash. Just put your ISO on 800, put your shutter speed to pretty slow, and there you go. Manual photography 101.

At dinner we got to eat our own caprese salad. Here was their version of it.

Me, Ashley, & Wendi

After dinner we decided to head back to the Pearl for some coffee. We got a ride from the parking lot to the establishment in this lovely mobile.

We realized that the natives were roaming about. We were some of the very few white faces in a sea of red and white headpieces. Notice how we strategically took this photo. But the view was gorgeous and the weather was so pleasant.

That little bit of caffeine got us acting like junior high girls with lots of giggles. Wendi is looking very similar to that women's restroom symbol.

Running through the hallways.

Impersonating the store models. I think we look just like them.

And another night photo, this time of the bridge walkway from the Pearl to the parking lot.

We've worked out way through Thursday night in Doha. We all three popped an ambien and slept like champs that night. Getting closer to the end of my 1 week stay...

Doha Diaries: Part 3

Doha at it's finest - the Intercontinental Hotel. Wendi, Ashley, & I were treated to a lovely experience at a nice hotel in Doha. Donna, Wendi's new buddy, kept the boys until Nick took over the duration of our stay. We went on a Thursday and came home Friday. So lovely, and such great service. I took a TON of photos of these 24 hours, so I'm breaking up this experience into 2 posts. hey, I have to make the magical #7, so I must pace myself. I think I am almost halfway through shuffling my massive amount of photos.

We checked into out hotel, got a roll-away to complete the bedroom with three individual beds, put on our swimsuits (that was a scary moment - first bathing suit outting of the spring/summer), and took our white bodies outside to get a tan. I didn't bring any sunscreen, but I didn't want to burn. So I applied the only sunscreen we had, which was SPF 30. Let's just say that I am still that same white body when I returned home to Texas.

A view from the pool looking at the beach. How nice is it that Nick & Wendi live so close to a beautiful beach?

Another view from the pool. We changed seats 4 times during our laying out time. Why not - so many choices and lovely scenery. My hesitation in my swim suit went away quickly as I realized that bikinis really did come in sizes for bodies that should have known about 1 pieces. And I mean very large bodies in bikinis. Definitely confused about how to be modest. Apparently women in Doha don't believe in sucking in.

I found a goldmine in a lady sitting down that I asked to take our photo. She said her husband had a nice camera, and as she started working it from different spots at the pool, I knew I had a good one. Here we are hiding in the water.

She took lots of photos, including some "in the moment". I included this to show the swim-up bar in the middle of the pool. Saw some interesting choices of swimsuits there as well.

There was some construction down the beach. This lovely machine was driving right past our beach. Such a lovely sight to see at a nice resort.

Normally I wouldn't post a swimsuit full-lengther for everyone, but the skyline, with the beach, was such a pretty photo. The lifeguard, after much instruction from the camera owner, did a good job of at least centering the photo.

A view of the hotel from the beach. Starting to get a little overcast at this point, but with very little humidity, the 88 degree weather was absolutely perfect. Not that it mattered with the 30 SPF that I was wearing. I truly just didn't want a sunburn on the flight home, plus we were going to be at the beach the following day.

I needed to take a photo of my new camera bag from Tracy Joy. I love it - half the time I use it as my purse and just put my wallet and cell phone in it. Thanks Mary Beth & Tom for the birthday money! Some of you have asked me recently what kind of camera that I use. Sorry I haven't emailed you back. Basically, it's not the camera as much as it is the lens that I use. I only have a Canon Rebel XTi, but my lens is the ticket (as well as my flash that I got recently). So after taking a class in Houston, and reading lots of blogs, I figured out the direction I wanted to go. So go get yourself some instructions, and a 50mm/f1.4 prime lens (doesn't zoom, but stays fixed), and you'll be going in the right direction. It's all about the ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. I know that's a lot of mumbo jumbo for some, but there's so much to say about it. It's all in knowing how to use your camera, not necessarily the camera you have. Get yourself a good SLR camera and you'll bemoving in the right direction.

Ashley, don't kill me. But I love the candidness of this photo. I was playing with my camera and took this shot. Caught her off guard, but it's such a natural smile.

Just being goofy taking a photo of our water bottle from the hotel. Can't drink the water, so a nice water bottle with a label on the beach makes for a cheesy photo.

I bumped my shutter speed up to 22 to get the sun beams coming up off the hotel.

This bride and groom combo walked around the entire hotel all day. And they wore their outfits, all day. We even saw them 5 hours later for dinner. Never saw the wedding party. We just laughed.

Had a nice drink before heading off to take a shower and get ready for a childless dinner.

Wendi and I relaxing under the canopy.

Photos from the rest of the evening coming soon....