Weekend Update:

Saturday
Started the day out with Pilates and Sopranos. Interesting combo, I know but it made the burn bearable.

Then one of Issame's friends and his wife came to pick us up and we went shopping in Manhattan in the freezing cold. It was an interesting experience. We went into this building and on every floor there were merchants selling top name brand items like Roca Wear, Sean John, Baby Phat, Fugu, Gucci bags, Louis Vutton, Coach, Fendi all for really amazingly cheap prices. And of course all the merchants and the buildings owner were Arab so we got on top of those discounts the extra Arab discount. I got an adorable baby blue, Baby Phat track suit with a detachable hood for only $18! Outrageous! I wanted the black or navy blue one but they didn't have my size. It figures!



Then we ended back at our house where I cooked this amazing Moroccan chicken dinner--Chicken Royale. The official chicken dish of the King. It was amazing because , Issame's friend's wife is going to the NY Art Institutue (formerly the NY Restaurant school) to be a chef. So I was very nervous preparing and cooking because she wanted to learn how to do it. We made Moroccan tea with mint (dried mint and it tasted great), salad and french fries. The meal was delicious!

Sunday
Slept late. Did pilates with Tony Soprano (My goodness, what an image). Just hung around the house catching up with the Sopranos (Season 3). It was just way too cold to go anywhere, so I just straightened up the house, read some magazines and hung out online.

Today, Monday
Woke up late for work so some powdered snow already on the ground. They are talking more heading our way tonight. Freezing outside. I have actually been working hard today. It is Monday, I should make an effort. But the 6 year old inside me is praying on her knees that tomorrow will be a snow day!

Stay tuned....

Apparently, Issame is out in this bitter cold working hard for his money. He's working construction with one of his friends for a few hours to make some extra dollars. I have a terrible feeling that his appointment with the Dept. of Labor on Wednesday will not produce any good news.

Trying not to think about that though.

Guess what? It's Africa Cup!

Here's the team:
Morocco
Fouhami Khalid, Regragui Hoalid, Roumani Akram, Ouaddou Abdeslam, El Karkouri Talal, Naybet Noureddine, Zairi Jaouao, Kissi Abdelkrim, Baha Nabil, Hdiouad Mourad, El Yaagoubi Mohammed, El Jarmouni Tarik, Kharja Houssine, Bidodane Mustapha, Safri Youssef, Mokhtari Youssef, Chamakh Marouane, Alla Hassane, Alioui Jamal, Hadji Youssef, Chihab Tariq, Lamyaghri Nadir.

Morocco is playing I think it's this Wednesday, maybe tomorrow. Because you know that we are campaigning to have the World Cup in 2010 hosted in Morocco. One of Issame's friends had T-shirts made and we took photos and sent them to this newspaper Assabah and there I was making headlines in Casablanca. there was a picture of me in the paper holding up the Morocco 2010 banner. Then they printed some of the photos I took in the following days. So now I have an international photo credit. Very cool!

Nothing much on the political front. Have taken a back seat to all that crazy jazz for the moment. Did watch the Golden Globes last night. Some moments I did cringe--like that whole Michale Douglas award ceremony. Cringe-fest!

It's 5:15 p.m., going to hed home now. The fun begins! Get some food shopping done before the cold settles in.

Have a great night and stay warm!