Simple Indulgences

Last Thursday evening after work, hubby and I found ourselves having dinner at The Dome Cafe in the DIFC. Our stomachs were grumbling so loudly so we decided to indulge ourselves to our all-time favorite recipes: Grilled Garlic Prawns & Garlic Chicken plus a tall glass of Lemon Mint Juice (that hubby thoroughly enjoyed). Thereafter, we went to my favorite supermarket, Safestway, to buy some ingredients for his carrot cake and to stock up on some PX goods - Tostitos Restaurant Style Nachos, Tostitos Mild Cheese Salsa, Butterfinger, Reese's Peanut Buttercups with Caramel & Raisinets - that can't be easily found in other supermarkets in town.

But our favorite indulgence that night were these:

HIS - obviously (haha!)

HERS - i love bananas!

The moment the first spoonful touched my lips, it literally felt like heaven! I haven't had Chunky Monkey in a very long time. I always buy the Choco Chip Cookie Dough which is my all-time favorite but because it's too sweet, I decided to grab the Chunky Monkey tub instead.

How about you, what are your indulgences lately? 

New Nook

We’re moving flats next month! I am so happy! We’re finally getting a bigger 2-bedroom unit in anticipation of the little one. The building is brand new, nearer to our workplace & just right next to a shopping mall (scary for our pockets!). It’s accessible and more importantly, has a proper parking area. No need to worry about the car being parked at a barren lot. We chose the 2nd floor (which is technically the 6th floor) because we don’t want to go down many flights in case of an emergency.

I’m so excited to decorate the flat! I know it’s not advisable for pregnant women to move houses but heck, we are doing this for the baby. Our friends volunteered to lend a hand so I’m sure the move will be easier with more people doing the work. For now, we need to start sorting the things that we can give away, sell and throw. We also need to get a few boxes to put the stuff we need to transfer. And we also need to scout for a few pieces of furniture that will compliment the ones that we already have. There’s an ongoing sale everywhere so now’s a good time to buy. I wanna get a bigger dining set!

I hope after all the decorating gets done before my tummy gets a lot bigger. I’d need to focus on adorning the nursery, too, and as early as now, I’m already checking out stuff to be used by the baby. I never knew window shopping for babies can be so much fun!

Our 2008 Christmas Holiday

Would you believe ours was uneventful? Seriously. granted that the stork came to visit, we did not have any grand celebration during the holidays. Christmas and New Year came by but were spent quietly with family. Since I couldn’t go home on the 25th to see my family, they just visited us at my in-laws. They also dropped by on the day of my Dad’s flight which also happened to be our 3rd Civil wedding anniversary. our 2nd Church anniversary was spent at Rockwell lunching at Pepper Lunch and buying some sweets at Royce. I told you - nothing really fancy schmancy.

As I have been put to bed rest, all our planned trips and activities didn’t push through. We wanted to go to Tagaytay so badly but because I cannot go on a long trip, it was scrapped. We also wanted to find a property in the south that we can invest in but didn’t get a chance to. We wanted to dine at all the restaurants we have in our list but only managed to achieve less than half of what was listed. We wanted to watch a movie at the premier moviehouses in town but didn’t get to. Pregnancy got in the way BUT we really didn’t mind. There’s always a next time anyway. Baby comes FIRST...always.

Despite the restrictions I had, I was still able to see not just our relatives but also our friends. I met up with my ex-colleagues, had coffee (I didn’t know then that I was already preggy and I only had iced tea) with my ex-gym buddies, had dinner with highschool friends & college chums, had a belated Christmas party with my highschool barkada with their respective families and also met up with a few of Ryan’s sisses. We also attended 3 weddings in one day – a gradeschool friend, a highschool barkada and a college barkada, two days before I went to see the OB for the first time. Shame that I  didn't get a chance to take a pic of Ryan in his suit as he attended a separate wedding. It was a tiring day, but was so much fun!

coffee with my gym mates

dinner with my ex-colleagues & our Ninong

having dinner with my kumares & kumpare at G3

at Glenn & Olive's wedding reception

with gradeschool friend, Irene & her hubby at Drea's wedding

HS Barkada Christmas Party at Linden Suites

college friends at Murakami

my HS tormentors who love me to bits
at Bonifacio High Street

Before we left for Dubai, we went for some last minute shopping for pasalubong - glad that my team mates liked the otap (sugar biscuits) and polvoron I brought for them.I guess our 6 weeks in Manila wasn’t so bad. Some days it rained, but I honestly liked the cool weather. We spent a lot of time watching TV and updating ourselves with the news. I read books, too because of the extra time I had in my hands. and Ryan had time to play with Alexis, his beloved black Labrador Retriever.

I’m sure our next holiday in Manila will be quite different. But I bet that would be doubly fun! I'm already looking forward to it as early as now.

Infanticipating Updates

Finally, something about our little one growing in my tummy!

I'm on my 12th week this coming Saturday and so far, so good. My first check up with the OB was on the 22nd December. Proximity wise, we chose to go to Asian Hospital. We checked their website and found an OB who was available to see me that week as most doctors have already gone for their Christmas break. When we went to see the OB, she expressed concerned about the miscarriage I had last September at around 5 weeks so she had me go to PGH for several tests to see whether I have APAS. That was the reason why we had to extend our holiday for another week because the Medical Research Lab of PGH was closed from 22nd Dec and opened last 5th Jan only. Test results were due on the day of our flight so we had to move it a week later to give room for a couple more doctor's visit and another ultrasound.

Thank God the results were normal and I was negative of ANA! We were so relieved especially me. All I ever wanted was for the baby to be safe. When we saw our baby during the second ultrasound, we were ecstatic! Baby was moving from left to right and looked like it was punching something in the air (or more like water). I felt a tear trickle down my cheek when I saw how active baby was at 10 weeks. And the Daddy-to-be was thrilled, as well. After the ultrasound, hubby told me how surreal it felt for him, too. Everything was normal according to the doctor so I was given a go signal to travel (as if I had any other choice).

I am due for my next prenatal check up on the 31st Jan with an OB a pregnant friend recommended to me. By that time, I am done with my first trimester and would probably be showing a bigger baby bump. Icould now feel my belly getting rounder each day. I can still wear my jeans sans the button but with a belly band on top of it. I've begun buying flats and a few maternity clothes while on holiday so that I don't have to worry about shopping for my size while here in Dubai. There are not much choices of preggy clothes here so I bought some pieces that i could wear for work.

Let me leave you with a few pics of our precious little one at 7 weeks and 2 days and at 10 weeks and 3 days:

Back in Dubai

Our 6-week long holiday officially ended yesterday. In as much as we wanted to extend it a bit longer, we really can't anymore because we both needed to get back to our jobs.   

My choice of airline whenever I travel back home is Emirates. I like it that the flight is direct -- no stopovers, declared or otherwise.  And I know I made the right choice when once again, I've experienced their impressive service both in the ground and up in the air. We checked in online in the morning of the 14th, chose our seats and printed our receipts.  As advised by my cousin, we went for the tail end of the plane - the last three rows where there are only two seats on each window.  That was a good choice because we didn't have anybody else next to us and the loo was just a few steps away - perfect for preggy me!  Also, the cabin crew usually stay in the galley so whenever I needed something like a glass of water or a piece of fruit, they can easily get to me.  Or I can walk over to them to stretch my legs, too. 

Since we checked in online, we didn't have to queue with the rest of the passengers (I swear, the line was so loooonnngggg!) and just approached counter 12.  We submitted our travel docs, checked in our luggage and we were done in no time.  As always, checking in with Emirates is a breeze. I was impressed, too that they took care of us quite well as our names were marked in their list.  You see, a few days before our flight, I called their airport services and asked for their advise on how I'd carry the prescribed tubes of natural progesterone with me which all must be kept cool.  I spoke to Anne, who was very efficient and made sure my check in was hassle free. She advised us to use dry ice and put it in a cooler for check in. A few hours before we left home, she even called us to check on how the medications were packed and asked if we needed anything else. When we were checking in, another ground staff approached us too see if everything is ok because they said if I needed to carry one with me to use on board, they would advise the purser of the plane immediately so that I can be attended to promptly when it's time to use my Crinone during the flight. Wow, talk about customer service! I give them 5 stars for that!

Lucky for us, too because my cousin was a crew in our flight. During her breaks, she would come by our seats and check on how we're doing.  She even steamed a cup of milk for me to keep me warm and comfy!  Despite the flight being bumpy and the absence of a foot rest (cost cutting measures, you know), our flying experience was enjoyable! I didn't get any sleep as I have been munching on fruits and crackers and drinking loads of water, which made me go on a number of trips to the loo, so I just watched Eagle Eye, Wild Child and Get Smart to keep me entertained. 

When we landed in Dubai, it was freezing.  Temperature was about 19 degrees and it was rainy.  It felt like Manila in the evenings where the air was cool, especially when it rained. I'm starting to miss home again and I just got back :(

Anyway, still more stories to come so watch out after I settle down from our trip.  Stay tuned!