Visiting distant lands, going home, and a night out in FTL

Earlier this month Hoor visited China for ten days. I can't believe he's walked on the Great Wall of China four times! He traveled to Beijing for four days and spent the rest of the time in the capital city of Zhengzhou in the province of Henan. Henan is famous for being the birth place of kungfu and is an amazing city in the heart of the country. Hoor has promised to post some pictures of his travels on the next blog post, so keep a look out... 

While Hoor was in China I flew back home to spend some much needed time with my family and friends. During my time at home I enjoyed walking to school in the mornings with Shariq and Sabreena while they filled me in on all of the happenings in Kindergarten. I also had a chance to visit my cousin, Alifia at Northern Illinois University. Ah, to be in college again! Later that weekend, we went to cheer on Shariq’s basketball team, the Elgin Longhorns. Ali shared plays with the semi-interested 6 and 7 year olds as he tried to coach them to a victory. The game was very entertaining because not everyone dribbled as they moved down the court. Coach K has his work cut out for him!

                    I definitely indulged in all of my favorite comfort foods that I avoided in Florida. Among my favorites were fettuccine aIfredo, Portillo’s, nihari, halwa puri, and deep dish pizza from Giordano’s. Why is it that all the good food is SO bad for you? My eating habits even forced me to dabble in P90X! Ok, let’s be honest. I spent more time swearing at the TV. Ali, good luck to you, but I’m going to stick to my regular workout routine.


Alifia and me at our family brunch

Although I was sad to leave, I was excited to return to warm and sunny South Florida to see Hoor. Our first week back was pretty uneventful. As Hoor struggled with his jet-lag, I struggled to understand what went wrong with Kim's Fairytale wedding. Most nights Hoor was asleep by six. During this time I caught up on all of my celebrity gossip.

 He was back to his normal self by the end of the week just in time for the Fort Lauderdale Trolley Loop. The trolleys took passengers to various drinking establishments in downtown and on the beach. The money raised went to local charities. That night we met up with some fellow Chicagoans!

We had so much fun checking out local hot spots and sharing stories about adjusting to life in South Florida. We ended up at a piano bar. It was no Howl at the Moon, but they played everything from Biz Markie to Elton John and we were entertained! We spent the rest of the weekend shopping for our Thanksgiving dinner. This year it will be just the two of us!