Just the two of us

Come this September we are going to have an addition to the household - we are employing a housemaid basically to help me out with the chores. Actually and truthfully I don't need one. I singlehandedly took care of the house, the three children and a shih tzu for nine months back in the Philippines and I think I did quite well, except that my dog was always in the vet clinic (too much love, I guess).

However eventually, I decided to get the services of an "iron lady" when I noticed that ironing that mountain of clothes every weekend was already robbing us of an enjoyable family time. 

So why hire at this point where in fact household chores are a lot easier nowadays because of the dishwasher, floor polisher, gardener etc etc, plus I don't have to drive any of my children to school because I lack the license here. Ask my husband why and his reply would be: For my wife to have someone to talk to the whole day while the children are in school :) Mahal,bili mo na lang kaya ako ng parrot tapos ibigay mo sa akin un salary nya?

Anyway, the real reason why we are employing one is because most of the time hubby is out of Dubai during the weekdays. There were times back then in the Phils. when I would wake up in the morning feeling sick, feverish, with aching muscles all over my body and so dead tired to get up from the bed. We were just so lucky that hubby was in good grace to be with an understanding boss that he could always asked for a time off to substitute for me. Here, I worry about the unexpected and unwanted days. I just want to make sure my kids will go to school well fed even if I have to stay in bed. 

Another reason why I also insisted getting one is because I would like to bring our "just the two of us" back to our lives.When I was still working, we had time to have dinner regularly either in our favorite Contis or a newly discovered restaurants. We shopped and window shopped, we had scheduled body massage, we went to places without worrying much of the kids we left behind in the house.

                                                          (http://meanttobehappy.com)

When I sent the nannies home for good, we also bade goodbye to alone time. And here in Dubai, going out for grocery was always in a haste, with my mind always worrying what the children might be doing while we are away. And yes, we haven't tried any of the fine dining restaurants here in Dubai, it was always "fast food" and most of the time take away (take out).

I have read that date nights with your husband/wife is one of the best ways to keep the love alive. True. Date nights allow us to talk to each other face to face while enjoying what we both love to do - Eating. Dahil walang distractions, naaalala namin ang mga bagay na laging nalilimutan sabihin because we are so occupied with a lot of things in our mind.

So needless to say, I am excited this September. I am excited to explore Dubai on quiet evenings with my husband. I am praying that she will come as scheduled and everything will be smooth sailing with her documents, terms of employment and her permit to work.

But for now, I am enjoying my children 24/7

and when they are busy with their own minecraft businesses, I entertain myself by planning a nice family vacation somewhere, sometime :)

and I'm thinking about

this

(photo from the web. thank you.)

when I saw the gorgeous pictures of my former officemates in FB I suddenly thought "Oh why not?" Dubai fashion allows you to style yourself freely. Walang pakialamanan. :)
Maybe one day. or maybe not. :)

Ramadan Kareem

Today marks the beginning of  the Holy Month for Muslims all over the world. Two weeks ago, I saw the phrase "Ramadan Kareem" in the mall printed on the glass walls of a number of boutiques. I thought it meant Sale on Ramadan (ohhh, forgive my being so naive and insensitive), it was only when I bought this Ramadan Guide magazine that I was enlightened. Ramadan Kareem means Blessed Ramadan. 

I had my first real encounter with a Muslim who was on his fast during this Holy Month three years ago. That was when I was still employed and we were having our CBA Negotiations. Our lawyer was a Muslim belonging to a royal house in Mindanao. During the entire Ramadan Month, he refused to partake with our foods nor did I ever see him drinking water during the entire meetings that we had. Negotiations would normally start at 9:00 am and end at 4:00 pm but his state of mind from the morning would still be as sharp until we finished every agenda for the day. His grasp for details didn't wane a bit despite the hunger and thirst. I swear I could imagine his tummy growling during lunchtime. Up to this day, I feel honored that I had the privileged of working with him. 

But anyway, back to the present. I am in Dubai and Ramadan is a whole new experience for me. The British girl from the relocation team assured us that we would get by and I need not be scared, we just need to make some adjustments. :)

The first thing I did this morning was to have our groceries delivered. 

Except for meat and other cold cuts, I have in these plastic bags my supply for at least a week.

See how easy life is in Dubai? One phone call and you are saved from the hassle of dressing up and going out. But why delivery? I wanted to avoid the roads because of the conditions of taxi drivers now. Heat alone can make anyone tired and grumpy much more when it's coupled with hunger and thirst. Taxi drivers' last meal today was before sunrise (that's around 4 am) and their iftar (break from fast) would be at sunset. Although during Ramadan, Muslims abstain from negative behavior and avoid being angry but it's still best to be careful.

The second adjustment would be on clothing. In Dubai, you dont feel you are in a Muslim country. People can dress up the way they feel right, so it's not peculiar to see women in short shorts, in tubes, in short skirts and dresses. But during this month, it's a cultural donts to wear revealing and tight clothes. So women are advised to cover their shoulders, midriff, chest and knees. I dont think I would have any difficulty with this one :)

And the third which is the hardest during weekends is dining out. Restaurants in the malls open only from early evening when the sun has gone down until 3:00 am and usually they are packed and reserved. Our plan now is to leave the house after an early lunch and be home before dinner. 

But rather than be annoyed about the temporary changes, I will just choose to seize this opportunity to learn about Ramadan and the Islam religion. A little knowledge wont hurt us, will it? 

Ramadan Kareem. God Bless us all.

starting the week right

In a country where I hardly know anyone how do you think I am able to survive? In a neighborhood where I only get to interact to one person, the Filipina nanny beside our house how do you think I am able to keep my sanity? Of course there is TFC and it's pretty awesome except on days when signal turns bad, and yes, my kids but who are more often lost in their minecraft games. 

More than two months have passed and I still feel ok, sanity wise. Uhmmm, maybe. Well. that's because I entertain myself by exhausting my body through cleaning and cleaning the house. Every nook and cranny, every corner, walang pinalalampas! Pero hindi naman ako nag iisa. 

So, let me introduce to you to my almost everyday buddies

living in a desert country requires me to clean my furniture, my windows, my sink, my cabinets etc almost everyday. You dont like to inhale the dust, do you? There are lots of them here and they never get tired getting through all the holes in the house. grrrrrrr!

there are weeks when I wash almost every day and these are my best friends on those days.

I swear, I can't last a day without polishing our floor (adik! adik!). But despite that I couldn't achieve the shine that I want. must be the kind of tiles they used or maybe i need to use wax. but i couldn't find any floor wax in the UAE. why oh why? kelangan ko rin ng bunot dito!!!

another best friend but not so oftenly used. Three or four times a week is good enough.

My time for myself starts after lunch or a little before lunch like today. It depends on the time I woke up from bed. Yan lang ang kaibahan ko sa housemaid, pedeng gumising ng tanghali :) hehe.

I get tired, yes. I also have mood swings during weekends, perhaps when all the physical and emotional stress have compounded to make me mareklamo and "unhappy" so to speak. But it will just take lambing moments from husband and a little shopping and everything will be ok again.

But kidding aside, it's not easy. not only the exhaustion but also the mind conditioning that I do to myself. -that this is a choice that I have made; that a lot of working mothers out there would willingly exchange places with me just to be with their children and watch them grow up; that there are people whose problems and preoccupations are far more serious and heavier than mine. I constantly think of those things to remind me of the countless blessings that I have received in my life, despite being undeserving most of the time. :)

Setting the mood for the rest of the week.

Happy Monday!

Baked mac

for now i will just be posting the major ingredients that I used. I did everything right except one major boo boo with the cheese. So i have a doubt if I got the top layer right.

I used three kinds of cheese here. Mozzarella, parmesan and cheddar. and that's where I died :)

It tasted good, though. And looked like baked macaroni. But I don't like to embarrass the source of my recipe so I'd just wait till I got this dish perfectly made.
Bon appetit for me!

breakfast, dry skin and hot weather

I don't like cereals and oatmeal, the last thing I would wish to eat for breakfast. But my cravings changed when I discovered this:

 It tastes yummy and always urges me to open one more sachet after barely a minute of finishing one.

A box comes with individual packs. I fill it with milk until the dotted line then pour it on a bowl and heat it. I started eating it with fruits when my friend Brends shared me a picture of her oatmeal breakfast.It looked absolutely yummy so I am doing the same. I tried strawberry and grapes. I eat my oatmeal with a glass of Vitamin C.

This is like your orange candy, you just dissolve the tablet (1000mg) in cold water and presto! You have Vitamin C supplement and a refreshing juice in one!

Ever since we arrived in Dubai, I have been exposed to A/C 24/7. It's drying my hair and my skin. I don't know, but I think it's not only the aircon that's causing it but I have a suspicion that the water may also be the cruel culprit. I have dry hands and feet. The water seems so hard for the skin (meron nga ba nung hard water?). Anyway, I checked the pharmacy in the mall and tried their products.

I don't use soap nor shower gel anymore, it's just this Eucerin. Anjo has this also in her bathroom. It's effective and for a time I didn't have to use anything after bath. But last week, I tried using this human + kind oil (Yes! like our human nature in the Phils.) for the face and body after shower.I gave it a try because the Filipina merchandiser in the pharmacy was so persistent that I buy it. :) Ok. No harm. It's just oil. But its expensive huh. It's around 90dhs. It's a blouse already in American Eagle Outfitter he he.

Now Dubai is becoming hotter and hotter. the only refuge is the mall. Nowadays, temperature rises up to 48 degrees Celcius. Unimaginable in the Philippines right? But it's normal here, I guess. :) Even the water from the shower and faucet feels hot even if you put it on cold setting. Hay! Dubai is 6 to 7 months of extremely hot weather and high humidity. It's definitely more fun in Pinas!

How can this bird survive the heat outside?

We have frequent visitors on our yard, there were at least 3 kinds of birds, this one has an open mouth all the time, the other is like our maya back home and the other is the wood pecker. They come any time of the day to look for foods in the grass. I feed them by throwing by the window side our left over rice.  

Walang dog kaya bird na lang :)

Till then folks.

some days...

there are days when I am just too lazy to do anything. If not for my children, I will be on my bed half the day and the other half on the couch. Sometimes I like things unstructured. Like this for breakfast

I miss our hotel days. Just go up and you can have your cupcakes, croissant ad muffins. :)
Just feeling really really lazy today. I have a mountain of clothes for laundry and ironing. aw!!! crazy!