how we spent 01-01-11

My mom told me that as much as possible, we shouldn’t spend for anything on the first day of the year, otherwise “tuloy-tuloy ang paglabas nyo ng pera sa buong taon”. I think it’s an old wives tale, but just to be sure, my family and I decided to enjoy January 1st as simple as possible to avoid bringing out money. So, we thought of going to the park which is just a short walking distance from our new apartment, and is open daily from morning to late at night.


Upon entering, we were welcomed with a playground of swings, slides, see-saws, rocking animals and jungle gyms full of children, which Caila definitely enjoyed.









There were picnic sheds available where we could bring food and share with friends...however, we opted to sit on the grass and enjoy being one with nature (since the sheds were all full).

Going around the park, we saw an area with an outdoor fitness system which could be used by exercise and health buffs.




Benches could be found, in covered areas or just around the park, so that people can simply sit and relax.

A parking area was available for bikes.

Following the path around the entire park, we covered 1,345m

Tennis courts, basketball courts, a volleyball court, and a soccer field can be used by the active people (this definitely caught hubby's interest).



There are also several wide open areas where you can play frisbee or badminton with your friends.
I like its accessibility from our place and there’s so many things to see and do for all ages. It’s very clean and well-maintained (except for the pond in the middle). But best of all, unlike the other parks here in Dubai, the entrance is free!

Anyway, by 6pm the skies had begun to darken and the wind became cooler, so we decided to head back home to get ready for church. This was our first time to attend an ordinary mass with Caila at 7pm on a Saturday, so I was a bit worried that we wouldn’t find seats or the Babies Room would be packed with fidgety and/or noisy kids. Fortunately, a screen and projector had been put up at the area outside the church (but still within the grounds), monobloc chairs were available to those who needed them, and we could hear the priest and readers through the speakers, so we decided not to go in the church and just attend mass outside. It was ok, but then midway through the celebration, we could hear the muezzin from the nearby mosque call the Muslims for prayer, and it was loud, almost drowning out what the priest was saying. It was difficult to concentrate, but we did our best (along with everyone else) to focus on Fr. Tom’s voice.

After mass, and after dropping off Caila and Ate Cel at the apartment, hubby and I went to Emarat because he had to have Piper refilled with radiator coolant and have her checked up because of I-don’t-know-what. I had asked him earlier if this could be done the next day on our way back home from work (because of Mama’s bilin), but he said that it would be risky; so off we went to the station. The guy who approached us was a Filipino, and once hubby explained everything to him, he went to work right away. Fortunately, no major repairs had to be done, and because of this, the guy told us we didn’t have to pay for anything. Hurray!

It was a simple but great day spent alone with my family (and God, of course). Plus, we were able to go the entire day without shelling out any money. I'm praying the rest of the year will be just as great (or better).

Happy New Year!