I've Traded My Roots For Wings

Have you ever heard;

Of a tree being jealous of a bird?

A sapling growing towards the sky

Reaching for the sun; yearning only to fly.

Does the youth not see;

The true wonders of being a tree?

In the earth where it is firmly planted

The sapling takes its roots for granted.

Instead it wishes for wings;

Of all the ridiculous, impossible things.

So that it can chase the sun as it sets.

Live life to the fullest; sans regrets.

I was once a regal pine;

Dissappionted with my life's design.

So I traded sturdy roots and limbs

For wings to soar and draft the winds.

Forgoing shelter and shade;

A bargain with the devil made?

For now I have not a haven for rest,

No home; nor place to build my nest.

And for all the miles I've flown;

I must let the truth be known.

I am grateful for the freedom of the skies,

But it is the tree who is truly wise.

How funny can life be?

That I, a bird, am now longing for a tree.

There will be TACOS

I think this just may be my new life motto:

nom, nom, nom.

Road Trip Around Qatar

Last Saturday the future hubs and I decided to take a mini-adventure and see the rest of the country outside of the city of Doha.

Whose genius idea was this??  Did I not learn my lesson from the last time we tried to venture outside of Doha?  Apparently I did not.

So off we went into the desert and here is what we found:

A WHOLE LOT OF

NOTHING

and some FLAME stacks from all the natural gas wells

also what desert adventure would be complete without some domesticated CAMELS

and some wild ones too!

The best part...

That is about 124 degrees F...in case you were wondering.

Moral of the story, life inside the city of Doha is looking pretty good right now.

100th Post Celebration & Giveaway!

I DID IT! 

 

I am not quite sure how, but I managed to turn my incoherent ramblings into 100 blog posts!!  Also, I am 98% positive I used the word AWESOME over 5,000 times therein. 

 

I think that is a pretty flippin big accomplishment, don't you?

 

OH HELLS YES.

 

In celebration of such a momentous occasion and obscene over usage of the word AWESOME, I am going to host my very first ever GIVEAWAY!!!

 

What's that you say; I'm going to give something away??  HECK YES. You heard that right. 

 

CHECK.IT.OUT

 

 

What is it??

 

It is a 14"x11" mixed media print from one of my favorite Etsy sellers.

 

Awesome, right? (It says the word ADVENTURE on it!!!)

 

So how can you enter to win this lovely little giveaway?

 

Three simple ways:

• Leave a comment (1 entry)
• Become a Follower of "Be Awesome Instead" (2 entries)
• Post a link to this blog post on your blog or facebook & let me know (2 entries)

Entering the giveaway will end midnight (West Coast Time, USA) on 6/24 and the winner will be selected randomly thereafter.

Best of luck! Thanks for helping me celebrate!

Adventures in non-american sports part 2

So there is a little something called the World Cup going on in South Africa this month. 

http://www.fifa.com/

Us Americans tend to be very passionate about football, but not the type of football being played in this tournament.  In fact, if you are living in America you probably have not heard that much about it, unless you hang in a "football" playing crowd (I did when I lived in the states).  Also, ahem, we call the sport SOCCER.

I would say that most Americans have played soccer at some point in our lives (on a recreational team at the very least), know who David Beckham is (not for his soccer playing skills though), but honestly do not follow the professional sport AT ALL.  Some of us may even know this hunk of gorgeous flesh (also not for his soccer playing abilities):

(you are welcome, ladies.) From Emporio Armani

However, since I now live outside of the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, I have come to understand that the World Cup is kind of a big deal to the rest of the world.  It is all ANYONE is talking about over here. ALL.DAY.LONG.  On Sunday everyone I ran into that day asked me if I saw the England vs. US match (not game, but match...remember we aren't in Kansas anymore.) and what I thought about it.

My response:

"World Cup; um, cool, GO USA.  But what I really want to know is, 'How about them Hokies?!' "

And then I kindly showed my British colleagues how USA covers the World Cup: World Cup via The Huffington Post 

America you are awesome.

Slump Day

It is Wednesday

and I'm feeling it;

that mid-week slump.

Staring blankly at my monitor at work

daydreaming about the kumquat mojitos at the W Hotel's Spice Market.

I had a bit too many last weekend.

But damn, they were good.

Thinking to myself,

"Is it Friday yet?!"

So I can go here:

to enjoy a good book and a refreshing swim...

and perhaps a cocktail (or 3)

::Sigh::

I think the only way to brighten a slump day

may be to make it a hump day...hehe. ;-)

Oh, (get it?) Wednesday.

Care Package

LOOK WHAT ARRIVED IN THE MAIL YESTERDAY!

a little bit of love in the form of a puppy named Grouper.

ok so it was e-mail and not actual mail (bummer), but still this special delivery put a big smile on my face. (thanks bff!)

Thought for the Weekend

Artwork by Mae Chevrette

You Know It Is HOT When...

You step outside and instantly your sunglasses are fogged up with steam.

You get 3rd degree burn from the leather seats in your car (buying black land rover with black interior is looking like it was a bad idea)

You consume 7 liters of water during a 70 km bike ride (ave 1 L/10km) and still feel dehydrated and like you are going to die. (don't worry mom, I promise I won't go outside riding anytime but night until summer is over from this point forward!)

[in Qatar you have to take this mantra literally]

You have to bring an inside AND an outside outfit to work so that you don't get hypothermia from sitting in AC in sweat-soaked clothes

Your Ten Day Forecast looks like this:

and it is only the START of summer!

I don't know what I am going to do when it is August and 150 Degrees F.  Has anyone invented portable AC yet??