Another Trip to Katy

On the day I turned 43 (ouch!) I boarded an Emirates plane for the 16-hour flight to Houston. I thought for sure that the flight crew would take pity on a birthday girl and give me some additional perks but no such luck, ha! I will admit that this was likely one of my most miserable birthdays. That flight -- along with a 1-hour delay on the tarmac and additional delay upon arrival due to a medical emergency on the plane -- is such a dreadful experience that I never get used to. I was SO happy when I finally arrived and made it to my hotel in Katy. I had an extra special weekend planned with my Mom. On the agenda was some shopping, our favorite restaurants, and lots of trips to our local Bucees! My birthday may not have been all that fun, but the weekend afterwards was the best. I always feel so blessed that I love hanging out with my Mom and that she will drop everything to spend time with me. I hit the jackpot as far as Moms go!

I checked the weather forecast before my trip and knew that there was an expected cold snap during my visit. But even the weather forecasters were surprised by how cold it was for several days in the Houston area. The temps dropped into the 20s with wind chill at 19 one morning. This Dubai expat was completely unprepared for the ice cold weather. Thank goodness I was able to borrow some warm clothes from Julie, and we met up with Michelle for a fun girls day in the chilly weather. Brrrr!

Julie saved the day again when she allowed me to stay at her house for most of my visit. There was a lot on the agenda related to the purchase of our new house. But I also managed to cram in some visits with friends and some job interviews. And of course, I had to get some snuggles from some of my favorite furry creatures.

While I was in Katy, Jeff was being Super Dad at home in Dubai. Working full-time, managing the kids to school and all of their many activities, AND hosting 2 sets of guests. The Winklers treated Jeff and the kids to a yummy steak dinner at Texas Roadhouse, and they were all smiles.

Of course, in preparation for my long absence, I printed Jeff a 3-page schedule with checklists spread across 3 families. It takes a village, but he handled everything well. That is, until he was forced to endure the plumbing problem of the century. Let's just say that in our Dubai villa, the construction is quite different. What Jeff thought was a simple clogged toilet turned into a major disaster in multiple rooms. The plumbing company had to literally unclog the toilet INTO THE KITCHEN. Jeff is still severely traumatized by the mess it left behind, that he then had to clean and disinfect.