Buh-Bye January, Hullo February!

Well a month has come and gone and so have our *extra* special visitors. Mom and Dad arrives in Dubai safe and sound and we had a glorious time with them. but first let's go back to the begining of January... if I can remember, that is.

So I started to see a nutritionalist and she's got me on a very tight food budget. So far it has been worth it, in January I lost 4.1 Kilos. Hopefully that is just the begining. The hardest part is eating everything alotted, some days are harder then others, but I have to keep going. After one of my nutrition appointments, I went to the beach for the first time, which was so nice and serene. Not at all what I expected. But regardless of the clear water and the beautiful weather, the sand was not the same. It left a 'dust' so it's not the kind of sand I can get used to. Despite that, the beach was a treasure trove of fantastic shells, all kinds of 'exotic' types I only wished I could have found back home. But this day, just happened to be the day after I John and I cleaned out the truck, so the extra bags we have on hand were nicely folded in a cupboard back home. So, I filled my pockets and then the 'belly' part of my shirt and I wanted to keep going but I just couldn't carry anymore at that point. So I turned, and went back to the truck where I had the interesting task of driving with full pockets and a packed shirt. I washed all the shells, and sorted through the 'junk' and came away with some really great finds.



John and I ventured out to Murshurif Park, which has a fantastic bike path, swimming pool, camel and horse riding, fair rides, and ampetheater, along with some cultural exhibits and picnic grounds. We spent a nice afternoon walking the park and exploring some new roads. We also took some photos of the city scape from the East side, which really gives some great perspective as to how big the city really is.



My creative side was explored with the completion of my first scrapbook page in Dubai, and also with the starting of several new paintings... which are waiting for my attention patiently.



John got a sunburn in Johannasburg, South Africa. He thought he wasn't tired, but he fell asleep by the pool, resulting in a one sided burn. I was so shocked to see him red on one side white on the other. Needless to say, he won't be doing that again any time soon.



Time moved very fast and before I knew it I was tracking my parents' flight from NY to Dubai and in no time at all we had them here with us. Thankfullly, they came in at night, and they were able to get some rest before we started them in on two weeks full of strange activities. We went all over the city showing them all the sites, and though they knew what to expect, they didn't really imagine the magnatude of construction that is going on here. I suppose I've gotten used to it, but they were able to express their first impressions of each and every site they saw. My dad found a spot in the corner of the living room, by the window, where he could watch the contruction going on in the immediate area. He observed each building and the progress they made each day with facination... and each morning he would make his predictions on what they would do for the rest of the day.



It was so good to have them here. We went out everyday, showing them a new place a new mall, church, friends, expeditions to the tailors and searching for the prefect pashminas for them to bring back home. But some of the best moments came as our friends were able to get to know my parents, which provided them a little insight to who I am. My friends also came away with some great memories provided by my father and forever we will call Nigel, Agelus... and Shiekh Maktoum is now known as Shiekh 'Monsoon'. Those of you who know my dad and how he will mispeak names and such, know how much laughter these little mistakes can bring! We also had a party one Friday night, where we gave all our friends a literal 'taste' of Mom's home cooking. It was sooo good to be together!



One day we went to the beach and I had John and Mom make some fun poses using the city as a prop. Great fun! We took them to one of our favorite Lebanese Restaurants and they had a chance to partake in the Swarma Special, a delightfully, delicious, and filling experience everyone must have when they come to the middle east. We went to both the Atlantis and Dubai Mall Aquariums, where we were able to compare fish sizes and overall ambiance. We posed in front of Ski Dubai, had steaks cooked on stones, bashed a few dunes, visited a kilometer long dragon, went global at Global Village, passed 2 hours at the Chinese State Circus and of course we indulged in a bit of gelato!

Dubai Mall Aquarium


Atlantis Aquarium








Mom had my camera, and that resulted in a mass amount of photos capturing all the randomness of contruction, giant billboards, enormous interchanges, metro stations, and local color. Palaces, road blocks, flag throwers, carnival rides, movies, souqs, Abu Dhabi, 'Roladex' watches, Satwa material shops, a birthday party, the palm, Ice Rinks... all things they were able to enjoy and capture in their Dubai experience.



















It was a wonderful time and it was all too short. But it was wonderful having them here to see what we see, first hand. They know where we are, who we know and what we do. I admit it may have been an overwhelming amount of activity, but now that is is all past, it feel like we didn't do enough. I look forward to when they will come again, one day down the road.

Now into February I go. In just three short weeks we will get to share Duabi with John's folks. I can't wait to see what we'll do!

I'll blog again at the end of February, so check back then!