15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and all about the weekend!

kenzo jungle!

l'eaupar kenzo and more sweets!

my new lucky earrings!

12, 13, 14 and more events!

schnapps!

more sweets!

more facial masks!

***

santa, baby!

there was a christmas tree lighting ceremony at the nearby rotana so the t family and nanny all marched to the hotel.

we came right in time as the choir was just starting to sing.

10, 11 and the uae national day!

a piece of chocolate and uh, a face paint kit? hee.

a lucky magnetic charm from ireland! baahhh

**

the uae celebrates its national every december 2. as it fell on a friday which is the official weekend in the uae, the government granted december 1 as a holiday.

7,8,9 and oma and opa's visit!

cucumber face mask!

a christmas ornament (my favorite item so far) to add to our family's ornament box!

parfum d'ete by kenzo!

**

oma and opa came a-visitin' for about 10 days. baby was very, very happy, surrounded by all these people who love her.it pays that she is already able to say "oma" and "opa."

6!

happy saint nicholas day!



i am definitely familiar with good ol' santa claus, but not with jolly ol' saint nicholas.in europe, he is more popular than santa. anyway, they both spread good tidings and cheer, so what's the difference, ey?

mr t tried hard to look for an old saint nick's chocolate, but he could not find one here in dubai so we will pretend that he is saint nicholas, ok?

what i find fascinating is this little creature called "krampusse."

he accompanies santa claus and frightens off kids who were naughty. he does look very, very scary so i'm not even posting an image of him here.just google him.

**

only 18 days to go...

i don't think i've ever gotten so excited for christmas like now. could it be because we will go to somewhere cold and very christmas-y? *wink*

and having a baby just triples the fun.oh how i wish she would enjoy her very first (hopefully) white christmas.

this is it!

it's december! yahoo!!! cartwheels!!!

and what's better, today is declared a holiday in celebration of the islamic new year and the uae national day which is officially celebrated on the second of december.

mr t is starting a tradition of having advent calendars at home. i am not quite familiar with this as i'm guessing it's mostly a european or german tradition, to be specific.

advent calendars are used as count downs in anticipation of christmas day. the one that we have has 24 cloth sheets with pockets that has to be filled in with chocolates or small gift items. ours is shaped like a (hostaged) bear.kyot!!!

since baby is still too young to appreciate the relevance of it, mr t is offering it to a very willing and captive audience member - me! hahaha.

it's hanging by our kitchen door...

today i took out my first treat, much to my delight! yes, i'm very easy to please, as you may know by now...

winner! hahaha. lovee eett!

thank you, mr t! dear friends, watch this space for daily updates of my advent treats! and lest we forget, christmas is not just about material gifts, ok? ok. just so we are clear.

p.s. oma and opa also brought an advent calendar from munich for baby. here it is, hanging by her cabinet:

weekend round-up

we set up our christmas tree last night. hopefully, the trimmings and the overall look of the tree will improve in the years to come, but for now, this is our christmas tree.and we are happy to see it all glittering and shimmering.baby even had a comment on it, "it's nice!"

fujairah lovin'

so this time around, mr t and i decided to spend our special day in fujairah.

fujairah is one of the seven emirates of the uae.it is about a two-hour drive from dubai.it's a popular getaway among residents because of its mountains and beaches.

hey mr t

this sweet poem which i wish i have written myself is all for you.

Having a coke with you… by Frank O’Hara

is even more fun than going to San Sebastian, Irún, Hendaye, Biarritz, Bayonne
or being sick to my stomach on the Travesera de Gracia in Barcelona
partly because in your orange shirt you look like a better happier St. Sebastian
partly because of my love for you, partly because of your love for yoghurt
partly because of the fluorescent orange tulips around the birches
partly because of the secrecy our smiles take on before people and statuary

it is hard to believe when I’m with you that there can be anything as still
as solemn as unpleasantly definitive as statuary when right in front of it
in the warm New York 4 o’clock light we are drifting back and forth
between each other like a tree breathing through its spectacles

and the portrait show seems to have no faces in it at all, just paint
you suddenly wonder why in the world anyone ever did them
I look
at you and I would rather look at you than all the portraits in the world
except possibly for the Polish Rider occasionally and anyway it’s in the Frick
which thank heavens you haven’t gone to yet so we can go together the first time

and the fact that you move so beautifully more or less takes care of Futurism
just as at home I never think of the Nude Descending a Staircase or
at a rehearsal a single drawing of Leonardo or Michelangelo that used to wow me
and what good does all the research of the Impressionists do them
when they never got the right person to stand near the tree when the sun sank

or for that matter Marino Marini when he didn’t pick the rider as carefully
as the horse
it seems they were all cheated of some marvelous experience
which is not going to go wasted on me which is why I am telling you about it

**

so thankful that you understand my definition of love - crazy, irrational, yet beautiful

because isn't love supposed to be like that?

**

here's to more wonderful, blessed years together! xoxo

summer!

*warning: video heavy.don't say i didn't warn you!

yes, the temperature is somewhere in the 40s. thank god for air conditioning.thank god for summer.contradictory much? heh. that's pretty much our life here.

and thank god for happy summer songs

things i'm grateful for: milestones

how time flies.as of now, baby can:

-say mama, papa, (her name),hi, dada, babye, hallo (aha! a german word), yaya, whatsthis, whatsthat, why
-eat finger food
-use fork and spoon when she feels like it!
-sign "keep quiet!" by putting her chubby fingers in her mouth
-"read" fliers (adorable!)
-walk forward and backward,(almost) run
-do "beautiful eyes," "close/open"
-kiss you when you tell her to
-point to her head/mouth/nose/ears when you ask her to
-recognize the names of her toys
-give you a book, ball, toys, if you ask her to
-pick up a mobile phone and say "hallo?" haha.mr t said he gave her a calculator once.she then picked it up, put it near her ear and said "hallo?" freakin' hilarious.
-dance! honestly.if there's music playing, she would shake her li'l booty.cutest thing ever.
-kick/throw balls
-scribble with crayons
-climb stairs(thank god we don't have stairs!)
-stack blocks

her favorite (non) toys are cotton buds, newspaper, toilet paper.hehe.and oh, she has six teeth now.

goodness gracious.we are so proud of this adorable li'l one.

good times!

http://www.boingboing.net/2011/02/24/five-seconds-of-ever.html

:-)

you're welcome.

out and about

as i'm typing this, mr t is somewhere up in the air , off to germany for a (well-deserved) skiing holiday! he's also going to meet some of his friends, including c and t, whom i have grown fond of as well.i might steal and pass them off as my friends, too! haha.hi c! hi j! hi t! it's so nice to be with people whom you have known since you were in knickers probably.hee.my own best friends are the ones i've known since we were in kindergarten or grade 1, i think.

as usual, i digress.

ramblings

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how remiss of me...

to not post about our holiday celebration.well, life happens.and now i'm posting so i won't forget.

christmas was an easy affair.we were like a family of gypsies the whole year round hopping from one place to another that we just wanted to be on our own in our own place and to celebrate our first christmas as well, just us...

they remind me of my high school best friends...

'cos in their own way they also spread some christmas cheer to those who need it the most.

made me tear up, actually...

the best things in life are free: film showings!

can i just say i love where we are now?

i just watched an open-air (free) film screening of "the king's speech" while laying on a bean bag with sea breeze breathing through my hair.the dubai film festival opened today, and part of the event was an open-air showing of this wonderful film.the venue was just a mere two-minute walk away from us, so i just have to go.

colin firth, i thought you will always be mr darcy.pwede din palang king george!

**

tokyo saga to be continued...

the best things in life are free: family outings!

it was a very good family weekend for our li'l family.we went out for our usual friday breakfast brunch, and passed by a closed ice cream shop.look at the reason why they're closed:





lol.

my friends

i'm going through e-mails from my high school friends and i'm just overwhelmed with nostalgia.i love these girls. some of us have known one another for more than twenty years (that shows our age.heehee).these are the people i trust and the ones i know i can rely on. we have been through a lot.boyfriends.schools.jobs.god, they were even there to help when i needed cash.haha!honestly, i'm not really a good friend.i disappear now and then (maybe all the time?)yet despite of all my shortcomings, they are always there.i wish you would also have the kind of friends that i have.i love them and i cannot wait to spend time again with these girls, ay women na pala!