Change Of Venue

The other day, I posted that ryan & I heading off to Bab Al Shams Desert Resort for a spa treatment during my week-long holiday. But after speaking to Yvonne on the phone the other day, I found out that Fujeirah beach hotels are offering special summer packages so I decided to hold our horses and do a little research. My colleague Kwok also confirmed the same and suggested we check out the summer promos of the newly opened Hotel JAL Fujeirah Resort & Spa and Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort .

In my past visits to Fujeirah, I’ve seen the Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort, and even camped overnight right next to the property. I was curious how the kite-shaped building actually looks like inside, and what kind of amenities they offer since it’s become a popular destination here in UAE. So to satisfy my curiosity, I decided cancel our reservations at Bab Al Shams Desert Resort and opt to spend a night instead at Le Meridien in Fujeirah. It was easy to convince Ryan -- their summer offer is only AED 649 ($175) net for a superior room, with free buffet breakfast and dinner at their Views Restaurant. Not bad! Plus, it’s really cheaper than staying in the middle of the desert in a 5-star hotel style of camping.  At least there’s the beach, a huge pool (the biggest, they say, in the UAE) and a fairly large complex to lounge around. The weather's getting better these days so I guess it's safe to come outside & do some outdoor activity from 5:00 pm onwards.

Now what about the spa? Of course they have their own spa facilities to boast, and with the menu of services they have, I’m pretty sure we’ll enjoy our stay there. Good thing they have an available room on the 27th – just in time for our anniversary.

Yay, everything’s set for our little “celebration of love” next week (cheesy me talaga!). Now all I'm missing is a nice gift for hubby. I have to start coming up with a plan. Hmmm…methinks…. :)

T.G.I.T.

Today's Thursday – the last day of the working week, and the last working day before I officially go on holiday. Yipee!

As usual, the hours went by really fast. I had anticipated that it would be a hectic day, and I was right. my boss had just gotten back from his vacation so I spent almost an hour in the morning giving him an update on the goings-on while he was away. The rest of the work day was devoted to finishing up of several tasks because I didn’t want to leave piles of pending work while I’m gone.

I was pretty much in a good mood today – probably because half of me was already on a holiday mood. LOL! Ryan prepared my homemade Starbucks coffee this morning and borrowed Beth’s car to drive me for work, too (he recently got his driver’s license here in the UAE – hooray!!). Brightening up my day further were the Schengen Visas stamped on our passports handed over to me just before close of business. Just goes to prove that the cancellation of our summer holidays will not be futile, and it meant that we will be travelling together to a far better place than the original plan. It also meant that for the first time, my hubby will be able to accompany me on a business trip, which means no more tears and miss-you-like-crazy-nights-because-I’m-all-alone-in-this-room drama! :D

Since a lot of good things happened this week, I realized it needed a proper capping off. I decided to celebrate a little with Ryan and a couple of our buddies, and off we went to Romano's Macaroni Grill in Dubai Festival City. While waiting for our orders, we had an amusing time scribbling and writing down funny phrases on the table with the crayons they provided. K started to write Chinese characters, which kick-started Ryan into writing his name and some numbers in Chinese, too! I was totally astonished because I’ve never seen him write chinese before although I knew he attended a Chinese school in his childhood days. But that was ages ago! Well, one thing I've learnt about this minute discovery is that marriage will never cease to surprise you of the many things you find out about the other person as time goes by. And these surprises may come in the most casual occurrences of your life. I guess that makes marriage all the more exciting and challenging huh! :)

Halfway through our meal, a couple of chefs approached one of the tables in the restaurant. Someone must be celebrating his birthday in that corner, and the chefs were there to greet him. We were already expecting the usual happy birthday tune when one of the chefs belted out an Italian, almost “Pavarotti-like” happy birthday. I was so sure he was Italian until he turned his back and faced our way. OMG, he was Filipino! Our eyes scanned the entire resto and realized that every chef in the see-through glass kitchen is a Pinoy. They were all wearing happy smiles to cheer their mate. They don’t just serve fantastic food – they also feature great talents in a unique kind of way! Inside, I was beaming with pride. these people -- they have such gift…such happy disposition…such resilience to face up to life.

This Thursday was a special TGIT to me. It was a day of warm coffee made with TLC, of relief that the week is finally over, of good meal with good company, of laughter resonating in the car on the way home, of simple realizations, of silent prayers heard, and of quiet, personal time as I write this blog.

Deep down, I am happy, for I know I am blessed.

Changes

After the long wait, my official letter has finally come!  New title, new challenges, new opportunities.

Confidence girl…you got this!

Taking A Short Breather

My dear husband warned me a couple of weeks ago that I am so stressing myself on a lot of things that should slow down a bit more, otherwise, I'd kill myself for being such an OC person! My friend at work Nick made the same remark about me having an OCD for being too organized and much of a worry-wart about mundane things. He says I tend to forget to take things easy.

After much thought, I decided to take a week off from work. Yup, just a local leave. I'll probably spend some time at home, and might check-in on one of the nice hotels in the area for a much-deserved pause from the hustle and bustle of worklife. Initially, hubby & I wanted to explore Rome or Malaysia for our summer vacation but because of my immediate need to apply for a Schengen visa to France for a business trip, we had to scrap off the entire plan and just settle for a simple holiday around town. it's gonna be next week and I couldn't wait!

Just the thought of knowing that most people will be at work then, while I'm officially vacationing sounds exciting to me. I'll get to enjoy the malls to myself (hahaha! :D) and grocery shop without fuss from families squeezing in the aisles from all directions. And stay up late and sleep till almost noon. Wow! I'm still trying to think of other things to do that entire week. But here's a list of things I wanna accomplish, and I'm hell bent on completing at least 80% of it:

• Get a decent manicure/pedicure at my trusted salon
• Have my tresses trimmed for split ends
• Shop for dresses I need for my upcoming business trip
• Catch a movie…hmmm, I wonder what’s showing next week?
• Learn how to bake…well, oatmeal cookies at least (ahm, honey, can you help me here?)
• Finish choosing wedding pictures for the wedding album (yikes, this is soooo long overdue!!...lagot!)
• Redecorate our bedroom
• Play Monopoly and Scrabble with hubby

There’s obviously not much outdoor activities to do since it’s still 35 degrees outside, and it could go up to 40 degrees even at noon time. So you could imagine me spending most of my time indoors during this break unless I get loony with boredom and opt to punish myself slowly with the UV rays of the blazing sun.

But really, I can’t wait. I’ve begun counting down the days and my face is filled with total glee of anticipation.  And oh, did I forget that next week, we will be celebrating our 9th year anniversary as bestfriends? I would never miss an opportunity to spend quality time with "my man" on this very special occasion! I can already picture next week's gonna be really great :)

Useful, Trendy Girl Guide

Camilla Morton's “How to Walk in High Heels – A Girl’s Guide to Everything” is such a fascinating book. A must-have for every woman who values the art of knowing how to do things appropriately, but fashionably at the same time.

Being the blonde girl with the big blue eyes, Camilla is definitely not to be stereotyped as the typical dumb blonde. An English woman by heart and soul, she is not only known as a fashionista but a woman with substance and great sense of humor by the fashion industry. The book itself is as witty as it could get – a fabulous, user-friendly instruction manual that could pass as “How To Be A Real Lady For Dummies” book that females could actually refer to and learn from.

Not to mention that the foreword came from no less than John Galliano (Christian Dior), the book was compellingly supported by no less than the godfather of stiletto heels: Manolo Blahnik. the part where shoes were discussed was delightfully useful, especially for someone like me who loves wearing heels but values comfort and sturdiness above all.

The book touched upon all topics a woman can ever imagine – handbags, attire, attitude, gadgets and gizmos, cooking, dancing, playing chess and poker…the works! Made me realize how complicated a woman’s life could be with the many things she must to learn to keep up with the modern times. But still, it felt great to know with this book that women can also do things men can do – and wearing heels!

I'm not surprised this book was such a bestseller. Now I can’t wait to have a copy of Camilla’s next book, “A Girl for All Seasons – The Year in High Heels” when they hit the bookstore shelves.