ramadan in uae

Ramadan has arrived!
This means that for Muslims everywhere, they need to devote time to prayer and spiritual reflection.
Non-Muslims need to be especially sensitive and respectful to the Muslims during the holiest month in the Islamic calendar.
Shorter working hours and fasting from dawn until sunset are usually the first things that come to mind when we think of Ramadan.
Although non-Muslims are not required to fast, we still need to show some consideration by not eating, drinking, smoking and chewing gum in public. Of course, there are those who are exempted like pregnant & breastfeeding women and people taking medications.
It may be difficult since we aren’t used to going the whole day without so much as a bite or sip, but sometimes companies allow their non-Muslim employees to take quick snacks in their office’s pantry. On the other hand, since the working hours are shorter, others usually wait to feed their hunger until they're in the privacy of their own homes.
Unfortunately, since most of the people don’t or can’t eat at their workplace, it becomes really dangerous to go out on the roads. It’s the time of day where the sun is scorching, the people are hungry, and they want to go home right away...which makes them really impatient and hot-tempered. You’ll see them driving so recklessly, especially on the major roads and highways. It would be better to either wait in the comfort of your office until the roads are safe and clear or take the metro or bus.
From another perspective, Ramadan is a good time as any to start shedding those unwanted pounds. Just don’t starve yourself the whole day and then wolf down mountains of food in the evening!
Ramadan Kareem everyone!

afritada ala pamela

Ever since I started learning how to cook, it's been a regular thing between hubby and me to prepare the meals together.
Well, last night, we decided to cook Chicken Afritada for dinner. He prepared all the ingredients (peeling, cutting, chopping) and I cooked. This time, he decided to leave the cooking entirely up to me; fortunately, I was able to get the help of my ever reliable recipe book which I followed very closely.
About half an hour later, Guchi sat down to eat...and he ate...and ate...and ate. He kept reaching for more!
Yaaay!!! I’m so happy! And so proud of myself for another successful dish!

another crab-by dinner

This time, good friends Eugz and Pia cooked, and Dhenzio and preggy Ann were there to enjoy the meal with us.
Again, we ate with our hands. Once again, the food was yummy. And of course, again, we had a great time!
Hmm...I wonder who’ll cook our dinner next weekend. Any takers, anyone? :)

e.t. anniversary celebration

We were complete.

The ones who didn’t come really couldn’t because they weren’t here. The Tripod (Jap, Edmun and Chris) had left the UAE a long time ago, and Caloy was somewhere else in the Middle East because of his mission. So technically, it was another perfect attendance for ET.

This rarely happens (due to other commitments or activities in SFC or CFC), but because it was our anniversary, everyone made sure to come.

It wasn’t grand or anything. We had the usual food, conversations and movies until the wee hours of the morning.

But what I really like about our group is that despite our differences, we can really count on each other.

We have our regular get-togethers every first Thursday of the month and usually not everyone is able to come during these times; but for special occasions or when help is needed, that’s when all of us make it a point to get together.

And that’s what is really important...that’s the true essence of ET.

Unforgettable lines of the evening:
“PAAAKKK!!!”
"galit ako sa ‘yo”

peace offering

Last Thursday evening, I became annoyed with hubby (details and reasons of which are not worth mentioning).

While we were waiting for our ET friends to arrive, he worked away on his laptop and I watched a movie on television. I was giving him the silent treatment the whole time.

After a while, and after many attempts of trying to be cute (to pacify my annoyance), he went out to buy the stuff for our share of the evening. Actually, he wanted us to go out together, but one of us had to stay at the apartment in case anyone arrived (plus, I was still annoyed at him).

He returned about 45 minutes later.

As soon as he put away the stuff he bought, he held out a small box to me (in a pa-cute way) which contained a slice of the Fleur de Lys cake from Paul Café (one of my favorites!).

Now how could I stay annoyed with him after that?

three years

Happy 3rd Anniversary, ET!
(Guchi & Pam, Dhenzio & Ann, Archie & Jenny, Joel & Lhen, Mike & Tesha, Caloy & Jeanette, Eugz, Pia, Edmun, Jap, Chris)
Thanks for the laughter, food, movies, gimiks, games, conversations...
Looking forward to more years of friendship with you guys!

let's do this again!

Friday morning, while hubby worked out at the gym, Ann and I went swimming at the rooftop pool. I swam a few laps while preggy Ann floated and swam a bit at the shallow area.

After our swim and showers, Ate Agnes arrived and she gave me a really good full body massage. It was sooo relaxing! When she was done, I was too lazy to get up. Of course I had to because it was time for lunch, but right after we ate and Ate Agnes had left, I immediately went back to bed and slept for 4½ hours with hubby. Nice Friday huh? :)

Yesterday, CFC Dubai held the Abba Father Conference at Shangri-La Hotel for all the husbands and dads of the community. Weeks before that day, we (the wives and families) were requested by the coordinators to prepare letters which would be given to them during the conference. In addition, we were informed to be at the venue in the afternoon as part of a surprise to our husbands/fathers.

Tita Elvie, Ann, Jenny, Malyn and I arrived at the hotel a few minutes before the requested time, and they kept all of us (wives and children) in the other ballroom so that the kids could play and make as much noise as they wanted without the men finding out. Finally, we were called in to the other room where the conference was being held…upon entering the ballroom, we could see all of the men smiling. They had just received and read our letters a few minutes before we showed up, which made many of them really emotional. It was really nice seeing all the kids and wives kissing and hugging their fathers and husbands. Hubby, as always, didn’t cry (he was controlling his tears)...I on the other hand, kept having to reach for tissues...but I could see that he was thoroughly enjoying himself and he really appreciated the letter and my presence there. It would have been better if Caila was with us, but of course that wasn’t possible.

All in all, it was a great event.


In the evening after the conference, Ann and Dhenzio went home to the apartment with us. After a while, Tesha arrived carrying food and ingredients, with Mike following a few minutes later with a saucepan and mineral water. We let them take charge of the kitchen and by 7:45pm, the six of us were enjoying a sumptuous dinner of alimasag (crabs) courtesy of the Koi Team.


Hubby and I are certainly going to call Ate Agnes again in the future for another massage session to loosen up our stressed bodies.

The dinner we had last night was just one of the many we usually have from time to time with the ET Barkada; for sure, we’ll be having another one this Thursday night with the whole gang.

And I’m pretty sure a similar conference to the Abba Father for the wives and mothers isn’t far behind, which all of us are definitely looking forward to.