After a lot of maneuvering and begging, Tony finally got approved for an R&R the last week of August! Because of contract and bonus issues we are going to have to plan it at the last minute (and anyone who knows me knows I like to plan!) but if everything works out we should be spending about 9 days in Germany!
I haven't gotten my Rick Steve's book in the mail yet (I love that APOs are cheap to mail to, but it takes FOREVER to get stuff), but right now Tony and I are planning on driving around the southern and western regions of Germany and visiting castles, wineries, and small villages (we don't want to be in any big cities-we live in the city now and are dying to see trees again!). Our goal for the trip is to only stay in a hotel the night we arrive and the night before we leave Germany. The rest of the nights we are hoping just to meet people in whatever town we end up in who will let us stay with them for the night. So if anyone has any friends in Germany we would love to meet them...and stay with them for a night!
Keep your fingers crossed it all works out! The Muegels have forgotten what the color green looks like!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Sunday, July 1, 2007
4th of July at the Prince's Crib
Every year the American Business Group of Abu Dhabi hosts a Fourth of July Celebration at the Emerites Palace. The Emerites Palace is without a doubt the most beautiful building in Abu Dhabi. Besides being a hotel it is also actually the palace of one of the Princes and it is absolutely gorgeous!
After the cocktail reception, we sat down to an...interesting buffet dinner. We actually got all dressed up for dinner at the Palace and what do you think they served in celebration of the 4th of July? Hamburgers, hotdogs, corn on the cob, ribs...you get the point. It was a little absurd to me but not bad at all.
The band that was playing that night was a Filipino rock band that does the BEST covers of American rock songs. The lead guitarist was the most amazing!
He's holding one of the center pieces from the dinner and did a little homage to the States which was really cool. Afterwards we had a few drinks with him and Tony taught him how to tie a dew rag which was hilarious!
It was absolutely the most unconventional way of celebrating the 4th of July but we had a great time and made a lot of new friends!
After the cocktail reception, we sat down to an...interesting buffet dinner. We actually got all dressed up for dinner at the Palace and what do you think they served in celebration of the 4th of July? Hamburgers, hotdogs, corn on the cob, ribs...you get the point. It was a little absurd to me but not bad at all.
After dinner we went outside to the beach and watched a fireworks display that was short but pretty impressive. Afterward, we went inside for the most amazing desserts I've ever had and then there was dancing the rest of the night.
A bunch of us decided to continue the celebration at a nightclub so we took one of the Palaces personal taxis (unmarked white Mercedes with tinted windows, leather seats, good music, actual air conditioning, and a driver that speaks English...if you new what the regular taxis are like here you would know how amazing that was!)
The band that was playing that night was a Filipino rock band that does the BEST covers of American rock songs. The lead guitarist was the most amazing!He's holding one of the center pieces from the dinner and did a little homage to the States which was really cool. Afterwards we had a few drinks with him and Tony taught him how to tie a dew rag which was hilarious!It was absolutely the most unconventional way of celebrating the 4th of July but we had a great time and made a lot of new friends!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Belly Dancing 101
Well yesterday I took my first belly dancing lesson and as uncoordinated and ridiculous as I looked-I had a great time! I went with Lani, one of the other wives (I think I've convinced her to try the Spinning class tomorrow). The instructor is from Egypt and she is SO nice! Most of the girls don't go regularly so everyone was pretty shy at first and we all must have looked hilarious trying to shake our hips without shaking our bottoms-thank God they blocked out the windows!!! But the instructor was so fun that pretty soon coins and bells from our scarves were flying!
Lani told me that in some traditional Arab weddings a woman must learn to belly dance before a man will marry her because there is a traditional bellydance she must do for him at the reception. It was interesting because the girls I met in the class were from Singapore, Japan and Mexico. It is funny because the class was filled with women of ALL ages, but as soon as we tied those scarves around our hips we were all twisting like little girls playing dress up to make them jingle! After the class Lani told me I had a natural since of coordination for bellydancing-I think she just wanted my 60 Dhs a week!
The class is twice a week and I think I'm going to start going regularly-so this weekend I'm going to go buy some booty scarves of my own. I don't see myself becoming a professional bellydancer any time soon but it was a ton of fun!
Lani told me that in some traditional Arab weddings a woman must learn to belly dance before a man will marry her because there is a traditional bellydance she must do for him at the reception. It was interesting because the girls I met in the class were from Singapore, Japan and Mexico. It is funny because the class was filled with women of ALL ages, but as soon as we tied those scarves around our hips we were all twisting like little girls playing dress up to make them jingle! After the class Lani told me I had a natural since of coordination for bellydancing-I think she just wanted my 60 Dhs a week!
The class is twice a week and I think I'm going to start going regularly-so this weekend I'm going to go buy some booty scarves of my own. I don't see myself becoming a professional bellydancer any time soon but it was a ton of fun!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
To Our Dads
Just wanted to send our Dads love from overseas on Father's Day! Here are some of our favorite memories with our Dads...they'll know which ones are from whom. 
-Fishing in Pahsemeroi
-Dinner at Elephant & Castle, followed by second row seats at the Sonics' game
-Making our own fishing poles
-A good coach
-Carving our names in the Cottonwood at Darling “Crick”
-Having times table races (and beating you)
-Seeing who could shoot the horseshoe out of an OLY can first
-Staining the backyard fence (and not because you paid me)
-Teaching me how to slow dance in the kitchen before my sixth grade formal
-Feeding the camp robbers at lunch time
-Staying up all night to pull out a tooth that was barely loose
-The cherry chip cakes you make me for my birthday
-Teaching me to drive your truck and not yelling that I ended up on the curb
-Thanksgiving rides to check in on the big bucks
-Learning that sometimes it’s all about the right curse words to get that stubborn bolt to come loose
-The beauty of a well filed and gapped set of points
-A full stringer next to a “No Fishing” sign
-Having a beer in my hotel room when getting ready to be married
-What a wonderful wedding toast!
-A full bed of wood and a wall hanger
-The computer cards you sent me that always smelled like the ship
-That old rickety rope swing at the river
-Catching fireflies at Grandma’s
-Teaching me that a track in the snow is hard to chew
-Making the turkey dance while stuffing it
-Dropping off that KICK ASS ALAN JACKSON CD….. Only a 4 hour drive…….
-The way you think hello is pronounced “yello”
-”I can’t tell you what to do, but…”
-Sleeping in cots in the backyard because the stars were beautiful that night
-Making our initials out of wood in the garage
-Taking the old International on a cruise to the Rod and Gun Club
-For God sakes, they sell short pants without strings now!
-When you made me believe I could hear Rudolph on the roof
-Playing four-square on those long weekends
-How you are always up for watching a Disney movie
-How the first CD you played on the new surround sound system was Ace of Base, because you thought it cool
-”diggin up bones…”
-All you can hear in my football videos is you yelling for me
-The value of silence and watching the sunset
-3 feet of snow in the morning of a good hunt
-Being the black sheep “BAAAAAH”
-Letting me raid your closet for flannel shirts because it was cool in the ninety’s
-Passing up a perfect 4 point to make our time together at The Kilns last longer
-Letting me grow up but knowing I’ll always be Daddy’s little girl
-Teaching me the things a man needs to know and the pride of a hard day’s work
-Fishing in Pahsemeroi-Dinner at Elephant & Castle, followed by second row seats at the Sonics' game
-Making our own fishing poles
-A good coach
-Carving our names in the Cottonwood at Darling “Crick”
-Having times table races (and beating you)
-Seeing who could shoot the horseshoe out of an OLY can first
-Staining the backyard fence (and not because you paid me)
-Teaching me how to slow dance in the kitchen before my sixth grade formal
-Feeding the camp robbers at lunch time
-Staying up all night to pull out a tooth that was barely loose
-The cherry chip cakes you make me for my birthday
-Teaching me to drive your truck and not yelling that I ended up on the curb
-Thanksgiving rides to check in on the big bucks
-Learning that sometimes it’s all about the right curse words to get that stubborn bolt to come loose
-The beauty of a well filed and gapped set of points
-A full stringer next to a “No Fishing” sign
-Having a beer in my hotel room when getting ready to be married
-What a wonderful wedding toast!
-A full bed of wood and a wall hanger
-The computer cards you sent me that always smelled like the ship
-That old rickety rope swing at the river
-Catching fireflies at Grandma’s
-Teaching me that a track in the snow is hard to chew
-Making the turkey dance while stuffing it
-Dropping off that KICK ASS ALAN JACKSON CD….. Only a 4 hour drive…….
-The way you think hello is pronounced “yello”
-”I can’t tell you what to do, but…”
-Sleeping in cots in the backyard because the stars were beautiful that night
-Making our initials out of wood in the garage
-Taking the old International on a cruise to the Rod and Gun Club
-For God sakes, they sell short pants without strings now!
-When you made me believe I could hear Rudolph on the roof
-Playing four-square on those long weekends
-How you are always up for watching a Disney movie
-How the first CD you played on the new surround sound system was Ace of Base, because you thought it cool
-”diggin up bones…”
-All you can hear in my football videos is you yelling for me
-The value of silence and watching the sunset
-3 feet of snow in the morning of a good hunt
-Being the black sheep “BAAAAAH”
-Letting me raid your closet for flannel shirts because it was cool in the ninety’s
-Passing up a perfect 4 point to make our time together at The Kilns last longer
-Letting me grow up but knowing I’ll always be Daddy’s little girl
-Teaching me the things a man needs to know and the pride of a hard day’s work
We love you guys so much! Have a wonderful Father's Day!!!
Love and Miss You,
Stef & Tony
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Long Story Short
So I had some difficulties with the blog but I think I'm back on track and should be better about posting! To sum up the past couple months:
Mom and I visited New York, England, France, Monaco, and Italy before meeting Tony in Abu Dhabi. We had such a great time but were glad to get a vacation from vactioning! Dad met us in Abu Dhabi for a few days and we had a great time showing him around the city! Unfortunately they eventually had to go home and Tony I were left alone in the UAE!
One of the most exciting things we've done so far is go to the Aerosmith concert in Dubai! It was their first show on their 2007 World Tour. Since it was their first show getting in was a mess! They told us to be there at 5:30 sharp (which we were) just to find out Aerosmith didnt take the stage until 10:00 and there was no opening band...so what was there to do but sit in the grass and drink beer...not a bad way to pass an evening!
Except that the beer line was hot (It was 110 degrees that day) and long! Oh well we made the best of it!
We met some wonderful people from Austria so I got to practice my German which has gone way down hill since high school!
Aerosmith was AWESOME of course and well worth the hassle!
We spent the next day hanging out at our hotel's rooftop pool. After a fabulous dinner we went to a Lebanese restraunt for champagne and shisha pipes. We met an amazing man from Saudi Arabia who let us sit at his table in the front row so we could see the belly dancers better-those women were unbelieveable! After insisting that we eat the huge spread of food he ordered (the lamb was to die for!) he even picked up our bill and insisted we call him next time we're in Dubai so we can go out to lunch!
What Tony and I love most about the UAE so far is definitly the people. Very few of them are actually natives-our friends are from India, Egypt, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabi, Pakistan, Iran...the list goes on and on. But they are all very generous and genuine people who have made us feel so welcome! They laugh that America calls itself the "melting pot" when there is so much cultural seperation. They say that the UAE is the true "melting pot" and I think they have a point. We have made so many wonderful friends here that we hope to keep after we return to the states!
Well I think that's the past couple months in a nutshell! I'll try to do better about keeping this up to date! Tschuss for now!
Mom and I visited New York, England, France, Monaco, and Italy before meeting Tony in Abu Dhabi. We had such a great time but were glad to get a vacation from vactioning! Dad met us in Abu Dhabi for a few days and we had a great time showing him around the city! Unfortunately they eventually had to go home and Tony I were left alone in the UAE!
One of the most exciting things we've done so far is go to the Aerosmith concert in Dubai! It was their first show on their 2007 World Tour. Since it was their first show getting in was a mess! They told us to be there at 5:30 sharp (which we were) just to find out Aerosmith didnt take the stage until 10:00 and there was no opening band...so what was there to do but sit in the grass and drink beer...not a bad way to pass an evening!
Except that the beer line was hot (It was 110 degrees that day) and long! Oh well we made the best of it!
We met some wonderful people from Austria so I got to practice my German which has gone way down hill since high school!
Aerosmith was AWESOME of course and well worth the hassle!
We spent the next day hanging out at our hotel's rooftop pool. After a fabulous dinner we went to a Lebanese restraunt for champagne and shisha pipes. We met an amazing man from Saudi Arabia who let us sit at his table in the front row so we could see the belly dancers better-those women were unbelieveable! After insisting that we eat the huge spread of food he ordered (the lamb was to die for!) he even picked up our bill and insisted we call him next time we're in Dubai so we can go out to lunch!
What Tony and I love most about the UAE so far is definitly the people. Very few of them are actually natives-our friends are from India, Egypt, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabi, Pakistan, Iran...the list goes on and on. But they are all very generous and genuine people who have made us feel so welcome! They laugh that America calls itself the "melting pot" when there is so much cultural seperation. They say that the UAE is the true "melting pot" and I think they have a point. We have made so many wonderful friends here that we hope to keep after we return to the states!
Well I think that's the past couple months in a nutshell! I'll try to do better about keeping this up to date! Tschuss for now!
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Where to Begin?
Since Tony and I left Texas in early February so much has happened! To make a long story short we took a whirlwind tour of the U.S. by car visiting a friend in Chicago and family in Michigan. We then flew to Washington and went on the annual Mt. Bachelor ski trip with my parents and our close friends the Sheridan family.
While at Bachelor we also celebrated Dad's 52nd Birthday.
We spent a wonderful weekend skiing, hot tubing, and hanging our with family and great friends!
While in Washington I had a chance to catch up with some old high school friends at the Magnolia Cafe. We had a great night sharing memories catching up on each others' lives.
Thanks to Hans, Kelly, Kasey, Mike, Torie, and Ben for a great night!
A couple days later Tony and I went to the airport and had to say goodbye for a couple weeks. I left for New York and Europe and Tony left for Abu Dhabi.
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