Inconsistent at best

I've updated this blog so infrequently that my browser has forgotten this URL.

I typed in "kategotstarted.bl..." and while normally I can sit back, relax, and hit "enter" before jumping right to this spot, today Chrome was like "whaaaaat?" Kate Upton Google search (whoever that is)? Kcrg.com weather page?

Nope.

Just the blog that I mostly forget about.

Inconsistency is the story of my life. I was the wild card in volleyball and softball pitcher in high school (a serve over the net? Maybe. Strike or will she hit the batter? You never know), I was a decent soloist until college and my nerves got the best of me, I could turn out a pretty decent article as a journalist and then have to write three corrections the next day.

I keep things interesting, folks.

I AM predictable/consistent in these ways:

1. If I decide to go out on the town but start with a big pasta dinner at a restaurant, you can bet that after dinner I'm going to want to crawl back into stretchy pants and park in front of the TV instead of staying out. Actually, it doesn't have to be pasta -- anything super-filling. If you are out with me and want to last past dinner, slap my hand away from the fork after 10 minutes. Better make that 5 minutes, actually.

2. I realized this after Tim being away for two weeks of guard training -- the more time I spend by myself, the weirder I get. If you spent time with me in the last few weeks, you know what I'm talking about.

3. I start a lot of blog posts by talking about how fast time is passing. BECAUSE IT IS. (Next week is July? What?)

There you go. Three things you can count on from me.

Goal for July: double the amount of times I post in here. Last night, Tim and I were re-watching "Midnight in Paris" and aside from wishing I could just live in Paris, I wished that I had something else to offer the world besides corporate navigation skills. Really, aside from cooking and pretending I know how to keep plants alive, this is my creative outlet (thanks again to my trusty handful of readers!) It might be a [really] small [and sad] contribution, but I like living dynamically. Correction: I NEED to live dynamically.

Happy Monday!

DUBAI Recap

Finally! Get ready to scroll. We've been home now for more than a month, and we still talk about the trip almost every day. I'll post more pictures on FB (sometime in the next year, hopefully), but in the meantime, enjoy these little tidbits.

We flew from Cedar Rapids and after two short flights and one 14-hour flight, we were in Dubai at 10 p.m. local time. Laura and Eric (Tim's sister and future brother-in-law and our hosts) picked us up and whisked us to their high rise! This was one of the views at night from their balcony. Can you spot the lit-up golf course?

This is a balcony view during the day. Dubai was such an interesting city in that, even the oldest parts weren't that old. Laura and Eric live in "new" Dubai, which is under a constant state of construction.

The  first full day we were there, we took part in a legit Dubai tradition: brunch. The work week in Dubai is Sunday-Thursday to follow Muslim tradition, and on Fridays, people pile into fancy hotels to eat and drink everything they could want for 4 hours or so. We went to the Atlantis on the man-made Palm island off the coast of Dubai.

During the day a few times, we did what any Midwesterner in early spring would do in a hot climate: we sun-worshiped. Tim's parents got a room at a Westin resort with a private beach and pools.

Laura also showed us another public beach area with some of the city skyline in the background. It was a 100+ degrees every day we were there, but it really wasn't too unbearable (as I'm sure it is now!)

During some other days, we also observed another Dubai tradition: malls. The malls in Dubai were unbelievable, and one included an indoor ski slope. Amazing!

One mall is also part of the tallest building in the world (currently), the Burj Khalifa. While we were waiting in line, we took some pictures of the model.

Here we are at the top! (Or as high as they let you go). Awesome city views.

After we went up, we ate dinner at a Thai restaurant near Dubai's version of Vegas' Bellagio fountains. Great show! I was geeking out. Speaking of food, we ate a crazy variety of cuisines while we were there... Thai, French, Italian, Lebenese, Indian, Middle Eastern (general?), and did some cooking at home. It was great.

One night, we had dinner in Laura/Eric's neighborhood, which includes a (what else?) man-made marina. To the right, you can see a woman who was completely covered. I saw a lot of traditional dress while we were there, but Dubai is really modern, too. Such contrast!

Midway through the week, we went on a desert excursion. A nice man in a LandRover picked us up at the apartment and drove us 40 minutes out of town. We let a little air out of the tires and went DUNE BASHING. Better than a roller coaster, people. Basically, you just drive up, over and into large sand dunes.

After bashing, we went to a "traditional" Bedoin camp for camel rides, sheesha, henna tattoos, belly dancers and dinner.

I had never seen a desert like this before (Arizona doesn't count). Our Land Rovers stopped so we could take pictures, and the kids were sliding down the sand. The trip was one of my favorite things (even though it was probably the most touristy, haha.)

Toward the end of the week, we visited the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is about 40 minutes from Dubai and is the more conservative capital of the Emirate that both cities are in. The mosque was gorgeous -- 9 ton chandelier, some of the largest (if not THE largest) woven rugs and mosaic tile floors in the world. It was a "world traveler" moment to learn a little more about a different religious culture.

Women had to be covered, though. Did I mention it was 106 degrees outside on this day?

On the last days of our trip, we went to Old Dubai and has dinner on a glass boat that tours up and down Dubai creek. Bateaux Dubai originally started with dinner cruises up and down the Seine in Paris (now I want to do that, too), but it was a lovely evening with some pretty spectacular food (since some of you know me, you know there will be food pictures on FB).

The very  last thing we did on the day we flew home was visit the souks in Old Dubai. There were gold, textile, spice and "old" open markets. Every ten paces or so, a man would approach us to offer "master copies" of designer bags, watches and sunglasses. I was really put off by it at first, but wound up buying some fake sunglasses.

I DID go nuts at a spice shop, though.

This is Dubai Creek during the day.

That's it for now! So many pictures to wade through and post. It was definitely a trip of a lifetime, and I'm so glad we had an excuse to go by visiting Laura and Eric. It was a lot of fun to see what their lives are like there, and we miss them! (Laura, are you reading this? WINK). :)

Pausing the Merry-Go-Round

But only for a moment....

I can't believe another MONTH has gone by and we are officially into summer. It's been hot, we have things that need to be watered and clipped in our backyard, and when we aren't actually participating in plans with friends and family, we are talking about the new ones we have for the next few months.

It's going to be a very busy summer.

Up first = I take my GMAT in less than a week. I've been studying a few hours every other day or so, and over the weekend, I totally bombed a math practice test. I've spent the last three weeks trying to re-learn everything I struggled with from 5th grade through high school, and the practice test was a huge reminder of why I was a liberal arts major to begin with.

I put some distance between me and the quant-monster this weekend, and I'll spend the rest of my study time this coming week just trying to get myself up to "average." In fact, I don't want to blow away this test, I just want to do well enough to get into my program and move on. What employer really wants to test your ability to reverse-FOIL a polynomial? That's what I thought.

The studying has been good, however. I feel smarter (?) and it's been good practice getting used to living with a little guilt gut all the time. Oh, you don't remember guilt gut? Let me refresh your memory.

Guilt gut: (n). The feeling you get when you've procrastinated all day, only to completely avoid doing something that you need to do. Guilt gut reaches its peak at 7 p.m. when you are watching TV and thinking about how you should have done X.

Some of you might experience this with exercise, house cleaning, and other loathsome tasks. I occasionally do in other areas, but studying and doing homework have been the worst causes of guilt gut for me. So much so, that I now enjoy cleaning because it provided slight relief from study guilt gut. (Cleaning is productive and therefore not a total waste of time when you are avoiding your textbooks, in my mind). By the way, our house has never been cleaner.

I will be relieved after this test is over and hopefully, I'm admitted. But I fully realize that when class starts, I'm in for a full 3-5 years of consistent guilt gut with assignments and tests. Better to get used to it now!

After the test and a busy weekend celebrating a friend's bachelorette, I'll have a few weeks of downtime to relax and enjoy the slower side of summer before things pick up again.

Cheers!