Touring the Emirates Aviation College with NaWie Sisses

I’m sure you’ve all heard of Emirates Airlines. It’s the largest airline in the Middle East and has received several accolades for their amazing products and services. And who can forget Jennifer Aniston’s commercials of the Emirates A380? ☺ If I had it my way, I would only travel on Emirates flights. Their in-flight entertainment is packed, the seats are comfortable, the crew are courteous and professional, and the food is delicious!

The Friendship of Tropang ET

On this day in 2007, the friendship of Tropang ET started.  And since it's our 9th year today, I'm sharing this poem that one of our friends made back in 2008 when it was just a few of us and we had just celebrated our barkadahan's 1st anniversary.

A Fun Kiddie Sleepover

Not counting the ones with family friends who my parents left me with, I think I experienced a typical sleepover only once during my childhood days in elementary. It was my friend’s birthday, and she had invited a bunch of us to spend the night over and try their new pool. It was only after I answered Papa’s long list of questions, gave him the names and number of my friend’s parents, and promised that I would behave and be polite did he reluctantly allow me to go. Although it happened only once, I recall we enjoyed ourselves immensely the entire time, wishing that I would get to do it again (I did, but that was after several years when I was in university, and again only after more questioning and when my friend’s mom assured Mama she would take care of us).

#GPinCanada: Get-Together with Friends, Krause Berry Farm, and Me-n-Ed’s

Another highlight of our Canada visit last July was reuniting with old friends.

On Friday, we borrowed my brother’s car and, using his trusty GPS navigator, we managed to find the Ohoy’s (the couple’s term of endearment to each other ☺) home in Surrey without any problems. JB flew in from Calgary for the weekend and was playing with the Ohoy’s new baby when we arrived. Jason, Jean and their 2 girls (whom we saw at Whistler a few days back) followed a bit later because Jean got off work a bit late.

with good friends who migrated from Dubai

Glimpses of My December

The last month of the year is always the fastest, in my opinion, and December 2015 was no exception. There were so many things to do, and so many parties to attend and prepare for, that the month just whizzed by. And before I knew it, we were welcoming the new year with anticipation of more exciting times ahead. The week of December 5th to the 12th was the busiest because every day, I had somewhere to go.

Anyway, I’ll photoblog a bit ok, so you won’t get bored with details ☺

Camping in the UAE Desert

Winter is here in Dubai! Don’t you just love the weather now? Cold weather means winter, which means Christmas and New Year...Hurray! I just love this season. Everyone (err, almost everyone) is so nice and friendly, and everything is just so…Christmassy ☺

Cold weather also means camping. Well, here in the Middle East, it is. The weather is simply perfect for a night outdoors and underneath the clear skies and stars with friends and family. Which is why, when the weather changed and the temperature went down early this month, we planned an overnight camping with our KFC family.

Girls' Night Out at Anne Curtis' This Is It Dubai! Concert

It’s been a while since I went on a night out with girl friends so when one of the KFC mom’s asked if any of us were interested to watch Anne Curtis’ upcoming show, I was one of the first to say “Yes!” Never mind if I wasn’t much of a fan; I simply wanted to spend a night with other mommies and have a good time.

We bought the tickets from our friend, and since he also happens to live near our place, I was appointed to gather the payments and collect the tickets.

Get-Together with My Original SFC Family at Intramuros

As I mentioned in my previous post, I had two consecutive dinners with friends early this week.

On Sunday, it was another dinner with Ivy, along with the rest of our original sisters and leader from SFC at Intramuros.

Just to backtrack a bit, Ivy and I belonged to the same original household when we joined Singles for Christ. Soon after ‘Nay Rose got married, some stayed active, some had to return to the Philippines, two also got married, while the rest lay low. When I became a leader, I “adopted” Ivy so that she could have a household again, which is why she was part of the dinners at Carluccio’s and Intramuros. Actually, she was the reason why we had the dinner at Intramuros…to celebrate her finally deciding to take the plunge.

That dinner was a very sudden plan. It’s a good thing most of us were able to make it, because usually when our group plans get-togethers, they either don’t push through or majority can’t attend because our schedules don’t jive.

Anyway, there were eight of us who came, including Ivy’s fiancé Barry, who met the others in our group for the first time that night.

At first we talked about what has been happening with each other’s lives, but when Barry left because he had to meet someone somewhere, that’s when we grilled Ivy about their relationship and the wedding preps. We all let loose and joked around and laughed…just like when we were still singles.

And of course before parting ways, we did what we always do…have our group pictures taken! =)

Germany Getaway: Lunch with Friends

Just a very brief background: Before our group visited them back in 2005, none or very few of the host families knew each other. But because of our visit and the group activities, some of them became good friends over the years. And friendships such as these include Mom and Dad.

We woke up on Sunday morning much later than usual, but with enough time for us to have a quick breakfast. We couldn’t laze around that much though, because guests were coming over for lunch. We were supposed to have a barbecue picnic at the back yard, but because the weather was so unpredictable since Thursday (it was raining one minute, and the sun would shine the next, and then it would rain again…every day!), we decided to have it indoors instead.

Slowly the guests started arriving. Daddy Luigi came first, then Daddy Jurgen and Mommy Agnes, then the newlyweds joined us, and Mommy Marlena arrived later in the afternoon.

It was a hearty lunch filled with yummy food (mostly leftovers from the party, but still delicious) and German, English and Tagalog conversations that were a mix of serious, touching, and funny.

It was really, really good to see them all again.


with Daddy Luigi

with Mommy Agnes and Daddy Jurgen (aka Santa Claus)

gone too soon

It was all so sudden. Thursday afternoon, his wife had posted a picture on Facebook of him on a gurney; however, the caption sounded light so we didn’t think it was too serious. Thursday night, we found out he had a mild heart attack. On Friday, we were informed that he was at the Philippine Heart Centre. And then yesterday morning, we received the shocking and devastating news that he was gone.

He was one of Hubby’s original members in the Batch 23 of the SFC Christian Life Program back in 2006, and continued to be his member until we got married and he became a Unit Leader for another Chapter in SFC.

 

Our friendship with him and his then girlfriend (now wife) grew when our ET barkada was formed in 2007.

taken last January 2013

He became one of Caila’s godfathers when she was baptized.

taken during their wedding in 2009

He was also very active in the Kids for Christ ministry in Dubai, serving from the time they were still Singles. Like Hubby and me, they were Chapter Heads in the ministry.

He was only 34 years old.

They had just celebrated their 4th wedding anniversary last December.

He was still young and full of life. There were still so many things that he could have done and so many more lives that he could have touched.

But then God probably decided that he had already accomplished his mission on earth, so He called him back to heaven.…where he could always look over his wife, his loved ones, his friends, and his favorite ministry in the community.

We still needed him here, but heaven needed another angel.

Thank you for all the wonderful memories, Archie. We will surely miss you.

Rest peacefully in paradise.

christmas eve with the fajarians

We didn’t prepare anything for Noche Buena last year. Instead, we headed to Deira to celebrate it with our friends who all stayed in the same building but in different apartments. It was a potluck dinner, so we all contributed something for the special meal.

After we enjoyed the sumptuous food, fun games were played. And no, I wasn’t the game master this time =) Ana asked us to pair up (husband and wife, obviously) and gave us a couple of pen and paper games which she got from the internet…both of which Hubby and I easily answered and won (kinareer talaga!).

winners of the first game

winners of the second game

And then we were grouped in two teams (men vs. women). The first game was Charades, and the next was Pinoy Henyo. We all found it difficult to win points because beforehand, each team thought of movies/songs/items for the other team to act out or guess. So for sure, pahirapan!

 

 

Finally, it was time for the exchanging of gifts. Kids and adults all received something that night, and we all had a good time until the wee hours of Christmas Day.

Yup, even the kids managed to stay awake all night until we all finally left to go to our homes. They must have enjoyed playing amongst themselves as much as we did.

salamat, Fajarians!

*photos taken from Oliver's fb page

friends from jeddah visit dubai

Good friends from my high school years visited Dubai during the Eid holidays, so of course we had to have a mini-reunion with all our other batchmates based in Dubai.

After enduring all the detours and heavy traffic leading to Dubai Mall on the 17th of October, Hubby, Caila and I met-up with the group at Ribs and Rumps in the Foodcourt. As usual, it was a get-together filled with laughter and reminiscing.

Although Kiomi and Francis’ son had fallen asleep, their daughter, Caila, and Sharon’s daughter had a good time as they played together. It was really cute that they got along, quickly overcoming their shyness from meeting for the first time.

Time passed by quickly and although it was getting pretty late, since our batchmates from Jeddah wanted to see the Dancing Fountain, we headed outdoors where we reached just in time to watch a show begin. Coming all the way from Al Ain, Love managed to meet up with us for a quick group picture and one last show of the Dancing Fountain before we left the mall.

middle east chapter reunion

The next day, my family and I took Kiomi out so that she could do a little souvenir-shopping. And on Sunday after work, I met up with her and Francis (and their kids) at Tim Horton’s in Deira City Centre. I also managed to meet fellow n@wie Gracie (behind the blog A Reality Bite) and her husband who were college pals of Francis.

Hubby and I had taken Francis around the sights of Dubai when he came for a quick stopover several years ago (2005 or 2006), and the last time I saw Kiomi was back in June 2010, so there was so much to catch up on. As always, it’s great to see good old friends again wherever and whenever our paths cross.

cronuts at mellow yellow

Up until last week, Hubby and I had no idea what a cronut was or that it even existed. Fortunately, we received an invitation from our friends to dinner in Uptown Mirdiff so we got the chance to sink our teeth into the latest pastry craze.

Upon entering Mellow Yellow, my first impression of the café was “cozy.” It would be a great place to sneak away to for some quiet me-time with a good book, or somewhere to hang out at to chat with close friends. I especially liked that they had a shelf full of books and games that could be borrowed by the diners to enjoy.

So anyway, when we asked for a menu of the food, there wasn’t any. Instead, our server pointed out to us the realistic-looking models of their dishes that were displayed. Since we were the only diners in the café, we didn’t have to wait too long for our orders to be served. I had the Turkey Wrap, Pia had the Chicken Quinoa Salad, and Hubby and Eugz each had the Roasted Chicken (or was it Turkey?) in Focaccia Bread. They were ok; nothing outstanding, but not disappointing either. What amazed us were the vegetable sides. Looking at them, I thought they were a serving of Pinakbet which is a Filipino dish that’s made up of lots of vegetables. But to my surprise, they tasted like air-fried vegetables that were really crunchy…parang chichirya. They were pretty tasty and I actually finished mine off.

Finally it was dessert time and our cronuts were served. Hubby had the one that had a cinnamon glaze and mango cream filling, while the rest of us each had the one glazed with chocolate and coffee cream filling.

Okay, we’ve never tasted a cronut before so we didn’t have anything to compare them to, but they were really delicious!  A flaky pastry oozing with glazes and fillings that were just right, making us bite into our cronuts practically nonstop.  Yummmmy!  According to our server, what made theirs different than the ones by Chef Dominique Ansel (the genius behind the croissant-donut hybrid) was that they bake their cronuts while the original ones are fried. However, being the pioneers (or are they still the only ones?) in Dubai to sell cronuts, you can expect the price isn’t too cheap. Imagine, they cost Dhs10 each!

All in all, it was an enjoyable evening filled with great conversations with our good friends. Mellow Yellow is definitely a place I’d love to visit again, and you can be sure I’ll order their cronuts when I do.

Mellow Yellow
Uptown Mirdiff
Phone: 04-2591500

bulong ni mama

Three years ago, during our vacation in the Philippines, our friends from Dubai who also happened to be vacationing at the same time spent the night at our home in Parañaque. That time, two of them (husband and wife) had been praying for a baby because months earlier, the wife had a laparoscopy due to an ectopic pregnancy. So, Mama joked that she would whisper to the wife’s tummy so that she would get pregnant soon...and amazingly, within a few weeks, the couple found out they were going to be parents soon!  Ann gave birth in February 2011.

When our family went to the Philippines for another vacation in 2011, my SFC baby who had left Dubai the year before visited me at home so that we could catch up. Ever since I knew her back in Dubai, her lovelife was always complicated and full of problems. So when Mama happened to listen in to our conversation and I mentioned to my SFC baby about Mama’s effective “bulong” to our friend last year, she asked Mama to do the same. But what she requested was for the perfect man to come into her life and that she would get married within 3 years. And, wouldn’t you know it...the wedding I attended last May was the result of that whisper.

On the 29th of July (just last month), we attended the birthday party of our friends’ daughter (not the one that Mama whispered for in 2010, though). While we were chatting with another of our couple friends, the wife was carrying (or playing with) Sophie and she wistfully mentioned that she would like to have a baby soon. Since Mama happened to be nearby, I told our friend about the two success stories of Mama’s powerful whispers and asked Mama to do the same. As you can probably guess, our friend is pregnant...she just found out today! Isn’t that great news?!

Honestly, I couldn’t believe it at first. When Dencio and Ann told us the good news, I thought it was a miraculous coincidence. Then when Gracie told me she was getting married and I remembered Mama’s whisper 2 years ago, I thought it was another funny coincidence. But this afternoon when I found out Pia’s condition, I couldn’t believe this was just another coincidence. There must really be some power in Mama’s voice when she whispers those words of hope and longing for those who asked. But when you come to think of it, this is just a perfect example of the effect and power of positive words, having faith, and simply believing.

pinas trip: ninang-bjorn bonding

To continue with my short trip to the Philippines, aside from visiting my father-in-law and attending the wedding (of course, that calls for a separate post), the only other people I was able to hang out with were the members of one family: Ate Marge, Jhe, Weng, and Bjorn. We agreed to have lunch somewhere in Glorietta on the 22nd of May, so that Wednesday found us meeting up at McDonald’s where I met my inaanak for the first time.

According to his parents (Jhe and Weng), it takes a while for Bjorn to warm up to people he just met, but fortunately for me, he warmed up to me right away and showed his cute bibo self. Ok, I admit, it helped that I had brought a bulldozer toy which instantly made his eyes light up when I gave it to him (pang-suhol ba).

bonding

Life’s simple pleasures of spending time with people who once used to be strangers, but are now very good friends.

Pinoy Mafia Christmas Party

Gutierrez Home

23 December 2012

Family, food, games, prizes, and exchanging gifts

my first grade teacher

After almost thirty years, I got the chance to see my grade school teacher from Papua New Guinea…right here in Dubai!

As most of you may know, I was born in PNG and I spent my elementary school years there. Rabaul International Primary School was where I studied Grade 1 and 2, and I remember liking both of my class advisers.  Mrs. Clayton (as how we called her then) was really, very nice; I don't recall her ever shouting at me or my classmates, considering majority of them were boys.

I'm the really small girl on the extreme right of the front row

posh weekend: the farm, al barari

A few weeks ago, we received an invitation from our friends Eugz and Pia to their Breakfast Engagement. Of course, since they’re part of our barkada and considering that we wouldn’t be able to go home to the Philippines for their wedding in December, Hubby and I just had to attend. Little did we know that the venue where it was going to be held was a beautiful place hidden in the outskirts of Dubai.

their blessing arrived...

Last year in January (after months of trying), our good friend Dhenzio and his wife Ann found out that they were going to be parents soon. Of course, they were overjoyed! But, unfortunately, their happiness was short-lived because it was an ectopic pregnancy, and they had no choice but for Ann to undergo laparoscopy. You can imagine what a painful experience it was for them. It was really devastating.

what happened during the weekend

Thursday night. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to apply for yaya’s visit visa because she is not my relative. I was really upset when the lady at Immigration immediately rejected our application without giving me the chance to explain. That’s our hard-earned Dhs720 down the drain! We were left with no other choice so hubby and I headed to the agency in Deira right away. We filled up the papers, gave the lady the documents and paid Dhs850. She told us that the visa would take approximately 3 to 5 working days to process, beginning Sunday. Once we get the visa, I’ll have to go to the Philippine Consulate for the darn authentication which will take up to 10 days (5 if I’m lucky, 20 if I’m not).

On our way to St. Mary’s Church, I kept fighting back my tears while thinking about my trip to the Philippines that has to be postponed. If only they hadn’t implemented this authentication rule, Caila would be with us on her 20th month-birthday (yes, we still celebrate it...coz it coincides with our wedding and boyfriend-girlfriend monthsary). Augh!

Trying to lift up my mood, Guchi said that there was a reason for what was happening. He recalled that when we had problems before with Yaya Cha-Cha, Our Lady of Guadalupe had visited us for a week, and then he received a good job offer. And now, we’re having problems again, and the Filipino Mission is all about Mama Mary. So definitely, things will work out in the end.

Anyway, once we arrived at the church, things started to perk up. We weren’t late (which was what I was worried about earlier) and we were able to sit at our regular pew. Then, Momsie, Popsie and his mom sat beside us, and they gave me and hubby two Dubai Mall movie passes as their thanks to us for hosting their daughter’s birthday last month. Before the final blessing, the congregation prayed the rosary which ended with the final blessing while everyone was holding candles around Mama Mary’s grotto. It was beautiful, and I remembered what hubby had told me earlier, so I just let everything go and lifted up all my worries and concerns to God and Mama Mary.

Almost the entire weekend was spent with friends. Thursday evening was our regular ET gathering. After the Filipino Mass on Friday, Lhen dropped by with Mike and Tesha, and we headed to Joel's apartment in International City. In the evening, Archie and Jenny arrived at our apartment with loads of food for his birthday dinner with the ET gang. As usual, our apartment was filled with laughter, conversations, and downloaded movies and tv shows, with a fun and hilarious game of Charades. Our friends stayed at the apartment until Saturday afternoon, when everyone had to leave because of their household chores or personal errands to run. I had my driving class at 4:30pm. After my 1-hour class, hubby and I rushed to Mirdif City Centre because it was my friend’s daughters’ joint birthday celebration. Fortunately, we arrived just in time (to eat!) because it was almost about to end. The good thing about it was I was able to see my SFC household sisters (Jhan, Ivy, Sheila, Jazz and of course ‘Nay Rose) with their families. It was good to be with them again after a long time and seeing how all of us have grown in our personal lives. Hopefully we’ll see each other again soon...most probably in December when Sheila’s baby boy celebrates his 1st birthday.

When we got home, Ann and Dhenzio were there. They had just arrived from her OB appointment and found out that they will be having a baby girl! Hurray...Caila will be having a playmate!