IT'S OVER!!!

Hallelujah...As-Salāmu `Alaykum...Eid Mubarek!!! Or whatever term of rejoice you choose, the holy month of RAMADAN HAS ENDED!!!! We can eat and drink in public, restaurants will be open! No more hiding in the car to eat or drink! WOO-HOO!!! Can you tell I am a little excited!!!

Pampering...

I finally treated myself to a little pampering here. I went to a nail spa just down the promenade. I thought I would get a manicure/pedicure. Now I didn't take any pics...would have really looked like a tourist but let me describe. I sat in an over-sized leather chair with a girl at my feet and a girl at my hands, scrubbing, masking, heat packs etc. But they do not have massaging chairs... ANOTHER girl came behind me and held up a towel and asked me to remove my shirt. Now most of you know I am the least modest person but wasnt quite sure what I had gotten myself into. HEAVEN...the girl wrapped a warm towel around my chest and proceeded to massage my neck, shoulders, arms, head, etc for an HOUR while they were doing my nails. No rushing to get me out of here! This has made the hard last few months very worth it...and the fact that it cost about $40 made it even nicer!!! Another must-do when visitors come ;)

Suvaroff

We went to a new Russian restaurant in our building for dinner, Suvaroff. It serves very traditional food. Steve chose a veal meat pie with potatoes and onions. His drink was called kvas, a bread crumb and raisin pressed drink (sounds appetizing, huh?). The owner said it was meant to taste like beer. Steve liked it enough to have 2 glasses. The boys split a chicken kiev...Drew licked the bone clean! I had a local fish smoked with alder wood, it was delicious. Jacob realized he liked blinis with ice cream (it is like a crepe). Steve and I split a baked apple with floral honey and cedar seeds...very interesting.

Planet Hollywood

This weekend we took the kids to Planet Hollywood, they have a great americanized Friday brunch. The restaurant provides great activities for children and a great children's buffet! They are sitting in front of Titanic movie memorabilia. Planet Hollywood is next to another huge Dubai mall named Wafi City. It is shaped like a pyramid with an egyptian theme and has scenes of Aladdin throughout.

Dunebashing!!!

This weekend we played tourists and went on an excursion...dunebashing!!! It was a half day event by Orient Travel called "Desert Wonder". Anybody who decides to come visit, this will be a must to do again. We were picked up at 3pm and returned about 830. Our driver was awesome!! We met up with a fleet of other drivers; mostly land cruisers and one hummer. Each car was filled with 5-6 people. We met a couple from New Jersey and Michigan. In our car, we had a newlywed Asian couple who spoke no English.

Our driver's name was Noufa. When we got to the desert he stopped to take the tire pressure from 42psi to 16psi so it is easier to drive in the sand.
It was a hazy, dusty day...108 degrees.
When we would make turns or slide down a hill, we were sandblasted!!
He drove us up and over big dunes...it felt like roller coaster!

Drew said, "I feel like a bobble-head!"

One car completely lost a tire off the rim and had to put a new one on. It was probably a good thing we stopped because the lady in the turquoise shirt was getting extremely car sick.

While we were waiting, the kids wore themselves out climbing the big sand dunes.
We went to a base camp where there was camel riding, henna painting, sand boarding, sheesha smoking, and a desert BBQ.
Jacob had a celtic design put on his arm with henna. It will last about a week.
Drew had a cobra, and I had an Arabic design put on my ankle.
I tried a double grape sheesha...it was ok, not something I would do often. Steve loves it!
Jacob did a great job sand boarding. Drew just tumbled down the hill for fun.
Jacob and I did the camel ride.
We posed in local attire...Amber, this one is for you!! (Thinking about making this our Christmas card:)
Falconry is a big hobby here also.
For the BBQ, there were hamburgers, chicken and lamb chops along with salad, rice and potatoes. The drivers are also the chefs. After sunset they served Arabic sweets, wine, beer and coffee.
We had some very worn out kids on the way home.

WHAT WAS I THINKING!!!!

Instead of joining a conventional gym here, I decided I would do something "convenient"...a military style bootcamp on the beach. It is put on by a company www.physicaladvantage.ae .
Now I have done the bootcamps at Conway Fitness and they were good, but nothing prepared me for last night! The weather was a mere 100 degrees with 80% humidity (so feels like 108)! I had taken my towel and water and was a little nervous of what I would find. Luckily the mix of people was just right, 30 individuals from Texas to Iceland; boys and girls; old and young. Some had done it before and others were as shell shocked as I. We started with a warm-up (now mind you I was already pouring with sweat and we hadnt even begun), then moved on to "fitness testing". Now sweat and sand just do not mix! After seeing how many situps, push-ups, squats, etc we could do in a minute, I had sand in places where sand shouldn't be!!! Then we moved to the hot black pavement to run a mile (very embarrassed by time, so won't mention it). When the tunnel vision and waves of nausea set in, I had to sit for a minute...for those of you who have ever seen me exercise, my face gets extremely red. Well we moved past red to purple!!! One girl said, "I have met my weightloss goal in sweat alone!"-I knew what she meant. Needless to say I made it home and took an ice cold shower and vowed to return...

Camels, donkeys, goats...oh my!

Today after lunch, we took our "Sunday Drive" on our Friday. The forecast called for mostly dust and a high of 103. Steve decided to take the scenic route through the Hajar mountains to Fujairah which is on the east coast and borders the Gulf of Oman.
The mountains are not the usual, think moon terrain or above the tree line; barren, desolate and brown.
We saw wild camels eating, mountain goats walking along the road, and almost took out a free roaming donkey!
We passed through an archeological site, Hayl, located in Wadi al-Hayl. It is an area that has ruins that carbon date to 1470a.d. We didnt see actual ruins but we saw the fort that is located on the outcroppings. There are 100's of petroglyphs (engraved pictures) that are thought to date back 1st or 2nd millinneum B.C. Wish we could have seen this, we are going to research more to see about visiting!
The beach has very dark brown sand and small waves.
After returning home, we walked along the plaza where we live, watched a beautiful sunset and ate at Coco's, a metro-cultural restaurant (in other words had every type of food you can imagine)!!

So Happy It's Thursday!!

Instead of TGIF, S.H.I.T is more appropriate here since it is our version of Friday! We all have colds right now, probably from the adjustment and the neverending dust that is in the air. Tonight we are headed back to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. When we ate there for Malaysian night, we entered a drawing and won two free dinners! AND THANK GOODNESS STEVE GOT HIS VISA TODAY!!!!!

We have now been here a month....

So here is my list of what I have learned:

1. Deoderant is still my friend (and needs to be shared with others).
2. Driving is still scary, but I have quickly learned to honk & ignore signs (like everyone else)
   
3. Handwashing dishes sucks!
4. 102 degrees is considered cooler.
5. How to convert fahrenheit to celsius (almost burned cinnamon rolls).
6. Mcdonald's fries taste exactly the same:)
7. Poptarts do not exist in the UAE (dont worry, 16 boxes getting shipped).
8. 38th floor-great for views, scary for earthquakes!
9. George Forman grill is my new best friend!
10. And last but not least, I have come to realize that I have done something right in raising the boys...they have yet to comment on the dress differences of various cultures!!
    

You shook me aaallll night loonngg!!!

Ok, just a brief note...while I was blogging, felt something a little strange. Thought someone was moving something because the floor was vibrating. It lasted about 30 seconds...apparently a 6.1 earthquake in Iran, and Dubai felt the tremors. Kids didnt notice a thing. Steve was driving and said he felt like he had a flat tire. Now let me remind you that we live on the 38th floor...something to remember!!! Feel free to read about it: http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Environment/10243956.html
FYI...a definite first for all of us!

First Day of School

Let me preface this post by saying first, get your depends ready to wet your pants, and second, the kids have no idea how bad it really is since everyone else has on the same uniform!!! I pray my children won't hate me when they are older!

...come to find out ties are for special occasions-Thank Goodness!!!!

They are attending the Dubai American Scientific School. It is K-12. Both kids will learn the usual plus arabic and french. The principal is from California. During Ramadan, the kids only go to school from 7:50-12:30. They will usually go until 2:30.

Drew's teacher is from South Africa, Ms. Hendrix. He has 12 kids in his class, two are from the states.

Jacob's teacher is from Russia, Ms. Imai. He has 13 kids, and one is from Ohio.
They have enjoyed their first week!!

Bowling, Camels, and Chuck E. Cheese???

We finally have internet in our flat...woo-hoo!!!!

Last Thursday night we took the kids to the bowling alley. It was very nice, non-smoking, 24 lanes and had a big arcade area. We ate at the Mugg&Bean Cafe. Steve and I have now considered shipping our bowling balls and shoes (what nerds)!

I had to take a picture of the fresh popcorn machine...you put in about $2 and get a fresh popped box!

We also went to the desert to look for camels-I know, its stereotypical but the kids were dying to see one (although they have seen plenty in a zoo)! After driving east just about to the country of Oman, we saw several. Many are kept in gated areas so they dont run in front of cars. I have hit a deer and caused 3k in damages, cant imagine what a camel would do!

Driving back we saw the Dubai outlet mall...THEY HAD A CHUCK E. CHEESE! The kids were very excited. This one is quite a bit bigger than in the states and has an ice skating rink, bowling,
plus a huge arcade area.

Moving Day #2

We received some more furniture and the "cooker" today. Now just waiting for fridge and washer/dryer combo...yes, I chose this over dishwasher...just means more manicures for my dishwater hands ;). Still have plenty more to get, but will do in time. The boys got there first haircuts here today. I was a little nervous because Susie was the only person to have cut there hair. Didn't turn out bad at all. They even used gel afterwards!

Our bedroom- we chose a superking size and I went with blue and brown. The dresser is where I will be doing my hair since no plug ins in the bathroom...ugh!Our patio...for those cool comfortable nights.

Our living room...still need rug, lamps, curtains etc....

Dinner table...seats are leather covered and there is a bench on the other side.

The "cooker" and microwave. The oven has a rotisserie in it, too.

Steve wanted to take this picture from our balcony of a "storm/dust" cloud moving in. The weather is supposed to get cooler in the evenings (low 90's) and with a chance of rain (1-2%)...

Since we are moving, internet will be sketchy but I can still receive emails on my phone...

Ramadan Day #1

Yesterday, was our first day of Ramadan. I waited with the kids in our flat for several deliveries while Steve was at work. Ramadan is the holiday where you fast during sunup hours and break the fast at sundown with Iftar. Most restaurants have buffets to celebrate this. Now during the day you cannot drink, eat, chew gum or smoke in public. This does not apply to children, pregnant women etc. Malls are dead and if the restaurant is open, they have curtains or shades so no one can see you eat. When the workmen were setting up and I was dying of thirst (obviously not really but u get the point). I didnt want to offend anybody so thank goodness they asked for some drinking water so I figured if they were going to it was ok. That night we ate at Finz, meditteranean cuisine, Steve and the boys ate the Iftar buffet and I had grilled fish. We should be completely moved in the next couple of days...
BTW if you have tried to text my phone the last couple of days it is not working, Steve is calling about it! TRACI, Good Luck with your delivery tomorrow and I will be thinking of you!!!!

Boys enjoying their Iftar buffet...Drew had his mouth full, of course!!
Now I ordered what was called the "Petite Trio" of desserts....these were all full size!!!! AND NO I didnt eat it all :)!

For those of you requesting gold, we made the attempt this weekend to go to the famous Gold Souk, after a total of 3 hours driving there and trying to find parking we gave up. We will try again, just not on the weekend!!!