My trip to Oman

I visited Oman in August 2006. It was hot, but then I knew that prior to leaving. It was quite an adventure just wow. Gorgeous. Oman is diverse and the people were very friendly. Their hospitality in the Gulf region preceeds them. I highly recommend visiting this lovely country once they have recovered from that cyclone Gonu. The picture posted here are two Omanis in their native dress, the Disdasha. We visited one of the many
gorgeous forts to be found scattered throughout the region.
I hope to return one day. Also I highly recommend the local cuisine. I am a fan of rice. Hmmmm....being half Puerto Rican I wonder why? :)

To get there took about a full day. I flew on Air France (yummy food--I usually detest airline food). And had a layover in Paris.

I will post more pictures later on to share my experiences with this lovely Middle Eastern nation!

My daughter

This is a picture of my sister Maria & daughter Jessica. Jessica is leaving for Japan in July for two weeks. This is awesome because it allows her to experience a different culture outside of her own. Jess can speak and read Japanese. I love that my kid is so into other cultures. We must always remember that we are on this planet together and should all work to strive for peace and environmental harmony.

Websites for Himalayans

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayan_cat

http://himalayancats.org/

http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/persian-him.html

http://www.persiancats.org/

http://www.flamepointcat.com/

http://www.nemr.net/~poppy1/welcom.htm

Family

Well, my mom is in Puerto Rico visiting her mother and other siblings. She is the eldest of 12. I always loved large families. I have over 60 cousins and when I was growing up we spent our summers in PR and I loved it. If I was bored with one cousin I would go off and play with another one. Having my mom so far away is kind of hard. I am so used to her being near but she needs this time away from dad since she is practically his nurse what with all his illnesses she needs some "me" time to just enjoy life.

I have included a picture of my mom and dad and my brother at a wedding of a cousin in Wisconsin. Let me tell you, Puerto Rican weddings are a blast, what with the music and food. Very lively.

I will have to upload more pictures of my family to post and save on this blog. Just a matter of getting around to it.

Rants

Growing older is hard to face because I am now 38, on the verge of facing my 40's. This is my last birthday (September) in my 30's. Sigh..................Here is a picture of me taken when I was 28. Man, if I could redo life over again I would definately have made some different choices...like leaving the relationship I was in for soooo long. I would have woken up and smelled the coffee on THAT one but things happen for a reason and I try not to be toooo negative about it. Hard sometimes but I do try.

My Lion King

Simba is my two year old Himalayan or "Himmie" and I adore him. He runs the house and Luna, my five year old mutt of a cat. He is my faithful companion, always there when I come home after work and letting me know if I am late. Very vocal but he adds life to my home in so many many ways.

I bought him from this farm in Illinois, one of the best decisions I made. These two pictures are my favorite of Simba. The one on the couch, well, he was caught hugging my bear. I placed the remotes by him just to take this picture showing how spoiled he is. The other picture was money that we used as a prop and he was a "willing subject." You can see my daughter's hands.

I adore this little guy to pieces. I remember when I brought him home I brought this box. I layered it with an old quilt but no, he did not want none of that. He howled and then when I was driving I heard these little nails making their way up my back seat and then he settled himself into the curve of my neck. He stayed there for the hour long trip home. I was hooked. Well, he hooked me. When I bought him from the farm there was him and a brother. Now Simba's original name was "Mama's Boy" but I chose to name him after my favorite character from the Lion King.

He is so hilarious and keeps me in stitches every day. Because he is a Himmie he tends to be very vocal. Himmies are originally bred from Siamese and the Persian. That gives them their sweet personality and color points. Simba is a Blue Point. I plan on sticking with this breed. The only down side is the shedding but I still would not trade him for anything in this world!