Welcome to our home!

Our 2 bedroom/2 bathroom apartment is much smaller than our townhome in Saint Charles, but we love the location and all of the amenities!





 

 

 

Second bedroom pictures will be posted soon. It's not ready for its close-up at the moment!

Reunited and it feels so good!

Shortly after Joy came and went, Ali (and Alvin and Brittany) made a stop in So Flo to see us! Ali had a conference in Orlando and was able to spend two nights with us. The chipmunks were sent by Shariq and Sabreena. Ali received special instructions from the twins to take the chipmunks everywhere he went and to document their experiences with pictures. 

Friday night we had dinner and drinks at Cafe Europa on Las Olas Boulevard. We came back to our place and played a few rounds of shuffle board (my new favorite game).

 

 

Saturday morning we drove down to Miami. We enjoyed a sunny day on the beach and had a late lunch at The Tides. Their lobster tacos and mojitos did not disappoint! Hoor and Ali enjoyed their time drooling over all of the beautiful cars that drove by. We walked around for a bit, but we couldn't fight it, we were tired! Damn, we're getting old! We came home to pizza and movies.

Sunday afternoon Fort Lauderdale was hosting their annual IndoPak festival, but there was no convincing Hoor or Ali in going. Instead we had breakfast at La Bonne Crepe and walked around Fort Lauderdale Beach shopping for souvenirs and enjoying cold beverages. When we came back home, it was time for Ali to head to Orlando. Come back and visit us soon, but this time leave the chipmunks at home and bring the wife and kids!

Joy, sunshine, and rain!

This past Labor Day weekend Hoor and I experienced a little piece of home when our dear friend Joy visited. We were so excited to host our very first guest after being here barely a month. Before Joy's arrival we came up with the perfect South Florida itinerary. When Joy touched down, rain clouds filled the sky promising heavy showers (ruining our planned beach day). We decided to grab some fish tacos for lunch and head home to show Joy our place. We kept a watchful eye on the weather radar in hopes that we would be able to make it to the beach.      

The clouds broke for a short period and we hopped in the car and headed to Hollywood Beach. As soon as we arrived it was pouring…. We decided to hang tight and enjoy some mojitos. The sun eventually came out and we were able to swim for an hour.

That evening we hit up Las Olas Boulevard for crepes, gelato and shopping.

 

We woke up early on Sunday and drove to Universal Studios in Orlando for “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!” I could hardly contain my excitement on the way up and I truly felt like a kid all over again. This was an experience that Harry Potter fans of all ages could appreciate.   

   

We rode HP themed roller coasters, drank butter beer and shopped for wands and robes (way too expensive for my liking)! After lunch at Three Broomsticks we went through Hogwarts castle and played a round of Quidditch (my favorite part of the day)! On our way out of Hogsmeade we stopped at Honeydukes and Zonkos. As we were making our way around the park it started to pour, again. We decided to leave and check out the Orlando Premium Outlets on our way home. We were overcome with joy when we found out that they were open until 9!

Monday morning we drove to Miami and went to South Beach. We couldn’t have asked for a better beach day. The sun was out and there wasn’t a rain cloud in sight, but there were many jellyfish in the water! We avoided getting stung and enjoyed the warm waters. Later the teenagers sitting in front of us at the beach swam out and found two starfish! I couldn’t believe all of the marine life we saw that day!

 


Listening to a live DJ and overlooking fancy cars on Ocean Drive, we enjoyed an amazing lunch at The Tides Hotel. It felt like our waiter was recommending salads only. Must be what all the skinny supermodels get while on South Beach. We stayed true to our Midwest roots and opted for grease and carbs, well at least Joy and I did! Hoor went with a salad, go figure!

After lunch we walked around Collins Avenue to shop and we visited The Kardashian’s store, Dash Miami. Other than the free mojitos at lunch this was the highlight of my day! The store was quite small and had cute and not-so-cute things that screamed Kardashian. There was a tank top I really liked, but I just couldn’t justify spending $80! I could have had a Gryffindor robe for that much! I decided I would buy a $10 bottle of water that had the three sisters on the label.

After all I needed a souvenir! At that moment Joy’s expression spoke louder than words. I quietly put the water bottle down and walked away and decided our picture in front of Dash would be a better souvenir.

 We are so excited to have our next visitor (my brother) this weekend! Until next time, dolls!

Would you like vegetable samosas or Buffalo chicken wings?

Last Friday evening we ventured west to Sunrise for dinner at an Indian restaurant. Our appetizer options included various types of samosas and........Buffalo chicken wings. Pretty random for an Indian restaurant, huh?  Guess which one we chose? During dinner we enjoyed people watching as guests arrived for a mehndi that was held above the restaurant. 

Oh, and Hoor will be one of 15,000 people at the IndoPak festival this month!

Eid Mubarak everyone!

Yeah....we should have gone with the Buffalo chicken wings. This picture is a close-up and the samosas were a lot smaller.  Mom's samosas are bigger and better!

One month later...

We've been in South Florida for exactly four weeks, but it still feels like we arrived just a few days back! I have to say we are settled, comfortable, happy, and enjoying life down here. My first day of school was yesterday and to say I was nervous, is an understatement! Palm Beach County school district is a bit intimidating! With 187 schools, 12,500 teachers, and 173,000 students, Palm Beach County school district is 5th largest school district in Florida and 11th largest in the US!! My two elementary schools are very large, close to the size of my middle school. The schools each have three separate buildings with outdoor "halls" connecting them. My offices are not in the main buildings, so the occasional walks to the main office does a number on my strategically straightened hair.

If you know me, then you are aware that I'm not a fan of A/C so, I often ate my lunch outside while I was in training. It wasn't until one day I was surrounded by not two, not three, but four lizards, and one was the size of a small alligator. OK, I'm exaggerating, but it was pretty big! Along with the lizards, we have gotten used to pulling U-ies, the plastic shopping carts, the Spring Break-like atmosphere down by the pool and the poor drivers here. I would say we are adjusting very well!

Hoor is happily married to me again. His ring came in last weekend! We didn't make it to the beach this past week, but I did learn that the sea turtles are beginning to hatch. When they hatch they follow the moonlight to lead them to the ocean. Unfortunately, the tiny sea turtles are getting confused by the street and restaurant lights. They end up coming across the street and  getting run over by oncoming traffic Sad, I know! The beach here in Fort Lauderdale has been buzzing with many animal rights activists. I just may join them!

My first blog post, the Dolphins, and South Florida drivers.....

Now that Zin has started school here in South Florida I thought it would be time to start contributing my weekly (well at least that’s the plan) blog posts. My exciting news is there is a plethora of Miami Dolphins game tickets available to the public. There are so many unsold tickets, management is bundling the Dolphins home opener with the Patriots with another game during the season for just $99. Be sure to watch for Zin and I on the highlight reels on ESPN on Sundays!

Life down here isn’t much different then Chicago except for the abundance of sun, OCEAN views, sporadic thunderstorms, and the poorest quality drivers I have ever seen. I’ve been to India, China, and other places where one would think the driving is worse and there is no doubt in my mind that the drivers here in South Florida rank as the WORST I have ever been around. I would love to share the road with taxi drivers from India compared to some of the folks down here. No wonder auto insurance costs so much!

Be on the lookout for more updates, but for now all is well and we are hoping to miss Hurricane Katia next week. If not, there will be plenty more for us to blog about and I’ll definitely need to fill you in on how the news sensationalizes theses storms. Till then……

First Days of School

Monday was the first day of school in Palm Beach County. It was so strange not being at a school to see the fresh haircuts, new supplies, and the overall excitement of a new school year. I’m looking forward to finally visiting my two elementary schools next week.  At the start of this week there was talk that school would be closed Thursday and Friday due to Hurricane Irene. Hoor and I have to get used to the way they sensationalize the hurricanes here.  The news warned South Floridians to stock up on water and food before the end of the week.  Although she caused much destruction in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, she will miss Florida and only cause heavy storms along the way. The news this evening showed many surfers enjoying the larger than usual waves at Fort Lauderdale Beach. 

Welcome class of 2024! Wednesday was the first day of Kindergarten for my niece, Sabreena and my nephew, Shariq. They have only been waiting for this day since May! I'm happy to report they both had a great first day and made some new friends. Their favorite part was recess. Go figure! Ah, to be 5 again!

Wishing all of the teachers and students in my life a wonderful school year!

I looked for familiar faces but found none...

These past two weeks seem like a whirlwind with driving all over Palm Beach County getting all of my paperwork in. I’ve jumped through many hoops, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

I started training for my position as a Learning Team Facilitator in Boca Raton. The first day of training brought on feelings similar to that of a high school freshman in the fall. Would I recognize any familiar faces, would I hit it off with anyone, and most importantly, who would I sit by at lunch??!! (I'm missing all of my STC teachers so much). It turned out there were seven other women (former classroom teachers) who were hired for the same position. Much to my surprise, three of the women were recent transplants from New York, Maryland, and Georgia. Suddenly I didn’t feel like the odd one out anymore. Thursday and Friday’s training included all 60 LTFs in Palm Beach County. It was so nice to network with them and hear their insight about the position. The training was light, engaging, and enjoyable. I have learned so much already. We were given an hour and a half for lunch and this provided the opportunity to step out and chat with the other LTFs. Obviously the newbies stuck together and we shared overwhelming feelings of excitement and anxiety.

Friday afternoon I was able to visit both of my elementary schools. So long 10 minute commute! I will be driving 45 minutes. Luckily both schools are right off of 95. I will just have to be strategic in leaving at the right time because traffic on 95 South to Miami is crazy. Thank goodness for great radio stations in South Florida (every other song is a Pitbull song) and Sour Patch Kids to get me through the long drive!

On Sunday we drove down the street to Fort Lauderdale Beach. It was a very hot day and the waters were a little rough, but the beach was still filled with sun bathers and swimmers.

On either side of us were sea turtle nests that should hatch in October. How cool would it be to witness this?

Hurricane Irene is on her way, but it looks like she is headed East of us! We will keep you updated on our first hurricane experience.