I got the Golden Ticket!

I finally got my eticket.  I leave out of DC on August 11th and arrive in Abu Dhabi on the 12th.  Now I'd better get some stuff done Pray for me!

DC Was Quite a Trip!

I had to go to Washington, D.C. to have all of my documents authenticated yesterday.  I took my friend Anne and Jacob.  We hit almost no traffic (thanks, Jacob for letting us use the HOV lane!) and made excellent time!  When I got to the Office of Authenications they informed me that my teaching certificate and my Master's Degree had been notarized in Virginia, but not Sealed by the state.  Therefore I had to get them notarized and sealed in D.C..  Not only did I have to do that, but it had to be done before 11 am which is when the Office of Authentication closes.  So, Anne, Jacob and I started a scavenger hunt through D.C..  We got the notary, and the Seal and it was 10:45.  Thanks to Anne's good driving skills we navigated back to the office, I jumped out of the moving car (really - but moving very slowly) and ran to the office.  I got there at 11:01 and the doors were locked.  I waited for someone to come out and I snuck in the door.  I went to the window and begged the lady to PLEASE take me.  And guess what - she DID!  It restored my faith in the human population.  So then we took my documents to The UAE Embassy, dropped them off, and came on home.  All this on one of the hottest days of the year in LONG SLEEVES.  I know, I know, "it's gonna be a lot hotter where you're going!" 

Getting Ready

I find myself packing a "practice" suitcase.  I leave it for a few days and then open it up to see what I've packed.  Every time I end up taking half the stuff out and asking myself, "Is this something I'll really use?"  Here are some examples:
Candles- my dad once told me I had a candle fettish - I think he's right.
Teaching books - I've decided to spend some extra time at school scanning and putting the ideas on my flash drive.
Children's books
yarn and stuff for my favorite crafts
post it notes *
sharpies*
dry erase markers*      (*these items are supposedly not available there?)
I'm sure I'll get this all figured out in the next month!