Whirlwind

It is a goal of mine to be better about updating the blog. I really enjoy being able to look back on posts and take a moment to remember things that have passed and maybe revisit a memory that I have forgotten. 

That  being said, there are many things that have happened the past few months!

1. Barry Manilow came to Cedar Rapids on April 8th! Mom and I attended his concert and it was fantastic! We were given glow sticks upon entrance. Ha.

2. April 23rd we leased a 2016 Chevy Equinox. Our Mountaineer required about $2,500-$3,000 worth of work, and we decided instead of putting that money into an older vehicle, we would prefer to trade in for something we could rely on. We did a two year lease, so if we find we are drowning my 1st year in law school, we will be able to cut it loose. Let's hope that isn't the case! 

I named her Shelly.

3.   On April 30th, Ben and I went to a Garth Brooks concert. It was AMAZING. I have loved Garth since I was a little girl and have always dreamt of seeing him live! Garth was actually my first ever cassette tape. :)  If at any time Garth is within reasonable distance to my location, I will be going again. Ben thought it was really good and was a great sport in putting up with my obnoxious self. The tickets were randomly selected for you, so we ended up in one of the back balconies. No one around was standing/dancing/singing, but that didn't stop me! While I didn't stand, I danced from my seat and sang until I was blue in the face!

Waiting for Garth to start!

4.  Graduation. Did a post here. Here is a nice post did Ben on my last day of classes:

5.  May 27-30th Ben and I traveled to Lanesboro, MN to camp, kayak, bike, and enjoy the outdoors! It was our 2nd time to Lanesboro. We stopped at Aroma Pie Shoppe in Whalan, MN and enjoyed a couple slices of pie (BJ - raspberry cream; LJ - chocolate cashew) and coffee. 

1st time out on the new kayaks!!!

6. June 10th we took the puppies to a 5k Doggy Dash that raised money for the local animal shelter. It turned out to be a fairly warm day and both dogs were ready for naps after the event!

7. We spent Father's Day down in Ft. Madison with some of Ben's family.

8. June 24-26th we traveled to Omaha for a visit with our friends Joe and Julia. We got to meet their new cutie, Leo, and enjoy some time catching up. 

9. On July 2nd we traveled to Wisconsin to the Alpine Valley amphitheater with Johnna and Danny to go to our first Dave Matthews Band concert. Alpine Valley can hold 37,000 people and the concert was SOLD OUT. It was such a fun experience!! 

Johnna, Danny, Ben & me. 

That catches us up to this weekend, for the most part. 

Ben and I decided to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary this weekend because he will be leaving for Andy's bachelor party on our actual anniversary (July 14). Yesterday we decided to take the kayaks out to Lake Macbride and to try bringing the puppies. We've been wanting to take them camping with us, but we always worry about what we would do with them if we took the kayaks out or went on a bike ride. So we hit up Petco for a couple of doggie life vests and went to the lake! We packed a lunch and had a nice picnic prior to our voyage. 

After a nice picnic lunch, we unloaded the kayaks, got the dogs fitted for their life vests, and pushed off. Grover was completely fine in the kayak. He didn't appear to be nervous, but actually seemed to enjoy it! I think that in his seven years with me he has learned that I will fiercely protect him and not let any harm come his way. 

My sweet little copilot!

Odie was not quite as fond of the kayaks. Ben struggled to get him into the cockpit initially, but finally got pushed out into the lake. It wasn't very long before Odie jumped ship and tested out his personal flotation device! He swam around for about 20 seconds before he made his was close enough to be to grab the handle of his life vest and pull him back into the kayak. He then refused to move from Ben's lap and chest for at least 45 minutes. 

Calming down a bit, but still not totally impressed, I think.

I'm so glad we decided to try the dogs in the kayaks out on the lake instead of a river the first time. I think we will take them out a few more times on the lake before attempting a river. Side note: at some point Odie peed the boat. On Ben's lap. Once Ben dried I said my usual, "Something smells like piss."  It was Ben. Bahaha. 

After getting home from our kayaking adventure, we showered and went to supper at The Bluebird Cafe in North Liberty. We enjoyed breakfast for supper and then made our way to play putt putt. Ben thought up the idea for putt putt because I have mentioned several times that there is a neat course (neat for Iowa, that is) at one of the golf courses, but we have never gone. 

We also exchanged gifts yesterday. Ben gave me an absolutely gorgeous necklace and diamond earrings! He is awesome. I gifted him the complete series of Battlestar Gallactica  (which he happened to find earlier in the week in my secret hiding place - aka the back seat of the car. Oops) and a daily journal for a couple that spans 3 years. 

Now it is Sunday and while I initially had motivation to get things one, that has flown out the window. I wanted to pulls weeds around the house, but then it started raining at 10 a.m. and has been raining on and off since then. A day of reading, coffee, and laundry it is, then. 

FOREVER

Our beautiful wreath. . . that I made. :)

As the title of this particular post points out, I have not written a post in FOREVER.  Why? Because I'm friggin' busy, that's why. Although that is not really a great excuse because my sister-in-law is able to maintain her family blog regularly and she has 2 kids. But I digress. . . 

Ben & me at a friend's wedding.

Much has happened since my last post. . . like 9 months ago.  Ben has continued to do well at school and build the music program at Prairie. He has begun to take on singing gigs at weddings, which is really exciting! He first sang at our bff Marc's wedding in October of 2014 and has since been asked to play in about 3 or 4 others. I will be joining him in one coming up in the next year and a half or so. :):):) Ben has also begun to do a bit of research on where he may want to apply for Ph.D. programs and what it is that he really wants to do. If you want to know more, ask him. 

I was promoted at work at the beginning of this year from legal secretary to legal assistant which has been an excellent thing. The legal assistant position uses my skills and talents a lot more effectively and challenges me on a daily basis. I have to do a lot more legal research and analysis which is great prep work for law school! I continue to work on completing my bachelors and plan to graduate in Spring of 2016. I am SO EXCITED to be able to walk across that stage and get my diploma and be an OFFICIAL Hawkeye! :) It has been a huge uphill battle for me to get my bachelors, and it is going to be like gold to me! I am going to sign up for the LSAT in October and begin applying to law schools in the fall. Fingers crossed all goes well.

Precious prince. <3

Ben and I recently added a new puppy to our household. Grover loathed him at first, but I think that has changed into just "dislike". Growth. 

Here is our Odin:

Odin is 3 months and 2 days old as of today. We often call him "Odie" for short. He is doing well with potty training and has begun to sleep through the night.  

See - growth. 

As anyone who talks to me on a regular basis knows, Ben and I are traveling to Hawaii at the beginning of June for a 13 day vacation! We are going with Ben's parents, siblings, significant others, and nieces to celebrate Bill and Glenda's 40th wedding anniversary (which is today - April 12). That is such an amazing accomplishment and I am blessed to be able to celebrate with them.

Bill and Glenda on their wedding day. (Photo stolen from Jamie).

Ben and I commonly reflect on our time spent in Dubai and most of what we miss (besides the AMAZING people) is the food and experiences. This Friday I declared that we needed a date night and so we decided to try an Indian restaurant not far from our house. It was stinking delicious and the aroma of that place made me long for more days in Dubai!

Doesn't that photograph just make your mouth water?! We ordered samosas (which were promptly downed and therefore did not make the picture), naan, chicken biriyani, and butter chicken to share.  It was all delicious! We will be returning to Taste of India more regularly.

Other things we have done this year: 

We saw Phantom of the Opera, We Will Rock You, and Book of Mormon (BofM with Ma & Clif) at the Des Moines Civic Center. We will be attending Lion King in May

We saw Mannheim Steamroller at the US Cellular Center with Ben's parents.

We traveled to Lanesboro, MN where we camped, rode bikes, ate delicious pie, and went to see a play at the local theater. We did this as an anniversary trip.

We purchased 2 kayaks and are PUMPED to get to use them soon!

We've continued working on our house and are having carpet put in later this week. We've painted, decorated the guest bedroom, done yard work. . . 

We went to Spring Green in the fall last year and saw Much Ado About Nothing at the American Players Theater. We made our usual stop in Galena to pick up fine cheeses, meats, and wine for our picnic before the play. 

We traveled to Nebraska, Minnesota, and south to visit friends and family. (We are still working on getting out to Colorado to visit family. We never get to see Ben's brother Jon and his fiance, Bri. AND I've never actually met Ben's extended family.)

I found out I am fructose intolerant with a dairy sensitivity, so we have been eating a lot better than we used to in order to accommodate that.

. . . . . . . . . . . . 

We already have a busy summer ahead of us and are looking forward to what summer has to offer!

2 weeks - 1 post

It has been a couple weeks since my last post.  Since the 28th, we have had many things happen.  Some happy, like Ben completing his master's program, and some not so happy, like our transmission going out of our car. (Is that proper use of punctuation and sentence structure?  I don't care.  I'm too tired.)

As I mentioned, Ben has successfully completed his masters program and received an A on his final project or paper or presentation or whatever.  SO proud of him!!  To celebrate, we went for supper at R.G. Books in Cedar Rapids.  Ben ordered a 12 oz. steak and it was huge.  He was very excited.  He grudgingly allowed me a bite and it was delicious.  Otherwise, he ate the entire thing.  I was impressed. . . 

Continuing with education, my wonderful mother has completed her first year of college!! It is amazing to see how much she has grown and the confidence she has gained from this experience.  It is also amazing how quickly that year went by!  I always tells her to enjoy her time as a college student, because as soon as you are at a job 40 hours a week you really envy the freedom of the student life.  I would LOVE to go to the gym in the middle of the day for a couple hours, or sleep in until 8 a.m. and study with a cup of coffee.  Ben agrees, so I know I'm not alone in that thought.

And again with education: I am officially signed up for summer and fall classes at the University of Iowa!!!!  I have wanted to be able to say I have a bachelor's in something (anything!) as well as to be able to say that I'm a true Hawkeye and Iowa Alumni.  Insha'Allah, that will be a reality in the spring of 2016.  I'm excited and nervous for classes to start.  I keep having these dreams that I have skipped class the entire semester and am down to finals week and if I don't pass the class then I don't graduate.  I'm nervous to fail. 

Even when we have crazy schedules, we always try and fit in a "family dinner" at least one night a week.  Since it is finally warming up, we are breaking in the grill!  We had everyone over this week to make kabobs and socialize.  I also like to use the time for some baby lovins from my sweet Goddaughter:

Sweet nugget! :)

Aren't they precious?!

 Switching gears to Mother's Day, I was able to celebrate with my mother in Cedar Rapids.  She came up on Saturday and stayed through mid-day on Sunday.  We did a bit of light shopping and then went for a 5 mile ish bike ride.  Ben and I then took mom out to the Lincoln Wine Bar which is my absolute favorite place.  Ma has been wanting to try it and they had a cellist playing so we decided to go.  It was crowded, but comfortable and we enjoyed delicious food and quality music.  After supper, we went to a local ice cream place for some soft-serve and ended the night with a movie. 

On Sunday, we had a leisurely morning and ma went with me to grab some groceries. She had marinated salmon and brought it up, so we fixed that, asparagus and rice for lunch.  Absolutely amazing! Ben and I will be making that same dish in the near future.

I am so blessed to have such a truly wonderful mother.  I love her so much and always get a little down whenever she leaves or we have to leave her.  There really is never enough time.  

On a final note, I leave you with this picture of Ben.  We took a car full of large objects to the dump during city dump day and Ben had to practically sit on the steering wheel.  Not safe, really, but makes for a funny picture. :)

This week at the CR Jackson household. . . 1.0

What a week.  Upside: two free tickets to the Roughriders hockey game on Wednesday which meant an impromptu date with my permanent roommate.  We both enjoyed the mid-week break and the chance to do something fun for el-cheapo.  

@ the game!  We had AWESOME seats.

The rest of the week was down hill from there with over tiredness and work stress.  Ben picks me up after work each day and on Friday showed up with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers on the passenger seat.  They were a complete surprise and made me a little weepy.  Such a sweet husband, I have.

We went to happy hour with Johnna, Danny & Maelynn at the Irish Democrat where I indulged in a much wanted/needed key lime pie martini.  I always love spending time with that little family. :)

Ben and I did fairly well this week with maintaining a healthy diet and exercising.  Well, sort of.  We find that it is hard to balance social life with exercising.  Since we get home a little after 5 p.m. and we generally like to be in bed around 9 or 9:30 p.m. to read and unwind from the day, it is a bit of a crunch to try and fit in both the gym and an evening activity.  For example, we normally change to go to the gym, get there around 5:45 p.m. and leave about an hour later.  Then there is supper.  And if we were going to go somewhere we'd want to shower.  Then o poop, it's time we get in bed. . .  I refuse to sacrifice having a social life just to go to the gym, so we are working on figuring out a good balance.

Going along with all that jazz, I have also ordered a couple of books to start educating myself on nutrition so I can decide what is really best for me instead of following some guru's diet plan.  I'm looking forward to those arriving in the mail soon!  One is on health and nutrition, and the other is on essential oils.  I've read on other blogs about all of the homemade junk you can make using essential oils and other expensive crap, and I kind of want to give it a try.  It is better to go natural than continue to expose myself to all the chemicals in store bought things.  I.e. natural house cleaning products, hair products, etc.

To end this post, I will leave you with a couple of recipes that I used this week and L-O-V-E.  First is a smoothie that I threw together that satiated my "need" for something sweet AND it tastes like a Tootsie Pop. Awesome!  Second is a salad that I threw together because apples and avocados were on sale and I was in the mood for some greens.

Tootsie Pop Smoothie

You need:

Frozen mixed berries

Almond milk

OJ

1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder

4 or 5 ice cubes

1 T honey

To do:

Mix everything together in a blender or smoothie maker.  Serve right away. 

Apple &Avocado Salad (for 2 people)

You need:

1 Apple, diced

2 Avocados, diced

2 oven-baked chicken boobs

Spinach

Romaine Lettuce

Walnuts

Panera Bread Poppy Seed Fat-Free Salad Dressing

To do:

Toss spinach and lettuce together.  Grab what you want for your bowl.  Add all the other crap to your liking.  EAT!

NOTE:  Let's do a little comparison here just for fun. . .

Panera Poppy Seed Dressing:

2 T = 15 Calories, 0 from fat

0 g Fat

0 mg Cholesterol

150 mg Sodium

HyVee Buttermilk Ranch: 

2 T = 120 Calories, 110 from fat

12 g Fat; 2 g Saturated Fat

10mg Cholesterol

300mg Sodium

Peace out.

St. George's Day

As previously mentioned here, Ben and I added St. George's Day to our growing list of traditions we want to keep and follow.  We learned of St. George's Day from a Spanish friend.  He said that on said day you give the person you love a book and a single flower.  How wonderful! Since Ben and I both think that Valentine's Day is crap (you should show love to your spouse/significant other every day), and because we both LOVE to read, we penciled it in on the calendar.

Our sweet new reads and loverly flowers!

We decided to go to the book store together instead of purchasing a book beforehand.  We took about an hour looking through the books at Borders (for lack of a better option), and when we had made our decision on what to get the other we met at the cash register and showed each other our selections.  Ben chose When She Woke by Hillary Jordan, for me and I chose The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Impostor by Mark Seal, for him. Ben also grabbed a copy of Hamlet since we will be going to the American Players Theater this fall to see it.

After we selected our books we walked to Lime Tree which is one of our favorites here in Dubai.  They have delicious desserts, interesting eats and tasty smoothies and coffee.  I love, love, love going there for breakfast! We talked about our book selections and started to mentally prepare for our big move coming up.  

After finishing breakfast, we walked to the flower shop where we picked out two flowers to take home.  The guy working wrapped them up for us and we started quoting Love Actually between us and giggling because he was taking so long.  We didn't mind, though.

Our first St. George's Day was wonderful.  It isn't actually until the 23rd, so we celebrated a bit early.  We loved searching for a book for the other and taking time to slow down.  We are already looking forward to doing this again but will go to a used book store, if possible, to search for hidden treasures.  Pearl S. Buck is one of my favorite authors and I love finding old, old copies of her books.  Bonus if they still have a dust cover! Plus, older, used books have more character.  I blame our love for used book stores on our high school teacher, Mrs. Fahey.  :)   

Happy reading!

Sunset Camel Ride

It has been high on my to-do list of Dubai to ride some camels!! Since we decided to have a stay-cation over spring break, I thought it would be the perfect time to fit it in!

Ben and I made the hour or so drive out into the dessert to Al Sahra Desert Resort Equestrian Center.  Once we arrived, we followed the winding road to park and make our way to the camels.  Like with many things in Dubai, there weren't any signs or people around to really direct us and let us know where we were supposed to go.  It was a beautiful day and the place was very serene so we absolutely did not mind.  It was a very enjoyable walk.

When we made it to the camels, we were greeted by our two guides.  We were excited to learn that we were the only two on the sunset camel ride!! Woo hoo!! Our guides led one of the camels over so we could pet him and get in some pictures.  Ben and I both agreed that camel hair was more coarse than we thought it was going to be.  We learned some interesting facts about camels such as: 

-- Camels are able to swim while carrying things on their back.  Apparently, in some places in Egypt the camels are still used to transport goods and are made to swim across water. 

-- Camels can close their nostrils to keep out sand.  They can also continue to breathe with their nostrils closed. 

--  The whispy hair on the inside of their ears is to keep sand out.  They also have incredibly long eyelashes to do the same.

--  Camel's cannot walk on gravel.  Their feet are very soft and the gravel can hurt them, cause infection and in some cases lead to death.

--  A camel's hump is filled with fat.  Many people believe water.  That is false.

-- A camel's spine is straight.

-- Camels live between 30-50 years. 

-- When mating, the males can show they are enjoying themselves (or show dominance) by something that protrudes out of their mouth.  Apparently, it is quite appalling (according to one of our guides).

-- Camel milk is more nutritious than cows milk.  There is more iron and less cholesterol   We were able to taste some after our camel ride and it does taste different than cow's milk.  Camel milk is a bit more salty, has a stronger milk twang to it than cow's milk (if that makes sense) and is more rich.  Not bad, though.

--  Female camels mature faster than male camels by about 3 years. This is true of humans as well.  ;)

After our introduction and education it was time to ride!! Since we were the only two along for the ride we each got our own camel! Once we sat down, we had to lean back while the camel stood up because they lift their hind end first. Mine did it as soon as I was seated and scared the crap out of me, but I recovered quickly.  Then we were off!  We went on a 40 minute ride around the desert and were lucky enough to see a small gazelle and a desert hare (or fox, not really sure which).  Our legs and bums started to hurt after a bit since the sway of the camel and the way you are using your legs and back to steady yourself is something we are not used to.  

At the conclusion of our ride, we were able to taste camel's milk and play with a couple of miniature ponies before leaving.  We both agreed that we want to return and ride horses in the desert before leaving Dubai.

Prior to returning home, we stopped at the Mall of the Emirates to eat at the world's largest Cheesecake Factory.  

It was a truly memorable day/date!

Café Céramique Date!

It is my belief that even though you're married you should continue to date your spouse.  So for something fun, different and inexpensive, I suggested we paint pottery!   I found this cute little place called Café Céramique where you can go for a meal and artsy-fartsy time.  It was beautiful out when we went, so we took a seat outside.  Once we had ordered a bite to eat, we picked out what we wanted to paint.  We both chose mugs and decided to do a 'his and her' type thing. Ben had the awesome idea to put on the mug how we prefer our coffee - him: black; me: honey and milk. We drew our preliminary designs while waiting for our meal.  We worked with our waiter to select our paint colors, he gave us some tips, and we let the creativity flow! 

When we were finished,  we turned in our masterpieces to be dried and fired. It was a fun day spent with the hubs and we both enjoyed doing something out of the norm!

Excitement for the Future!

I have been feeling a lot like this lately. . .

 



 

so to shake my funk, I am going to share a few things coming up that I am excited for!

1.  I have had that picture (^) saved on my computer for nearly a month and I FINALLY found a way to drop it on the blog.  Woooo hooo!  It's just so funny. . . Seriously, look at it.  How are you not smiling at her pain?

2.  Ben's birthday!!  We are going to do something small with our little Dubai family for his big day, then treat ourselves to a day/night spent on the World Island's where we will camp, play games and enjoy the company of our co-workers/friends.  We will likely go to Cucina for supper on his bday which is our fave. You choose which dead fish looks good to you and they cook it.  FRESH dead fish.  It's delicious.

3.  For spring break we have decided to stay in the U.A.E.  Ben has two classes coming up and property taxes are due, so we are going to be responsible.  Boo.  BUT we are going to do some friggin' awesome things!  Most exciting? SKYDIVING OVER THE PALM! We'll also do a romantic date night by going on a dhow cruise, enjoy plenty of time on the beach and maybe throw in a dessert safari!

4.  Since figuring out that I luh being a paralegal, I have looked into what bachelor's program would be my best option.  I'm thinking that a bachelor's in criminal justice would make the most sense and have started looking into it.  I have been in contact with someone at Grand Canyon University and they are currently doing a degree eval so that I can figure out what I'll need to complete and how long it will take.  I think I should have all my gen eds done (I DO have 90+ credits. . . ) and hopefully can jump right into the fun stuff! I was looking at the course list and everything looked AMAZING.  I am excited to start classes in the fall (online)!

5.  Ben and I are going to paint pottery this weekend.  No need to steal one of his man cards. . . Painting pottery is manly.  AND he may be doing it just to humor me.  :)  Therefore, he is working hard on keeping his wife happy which really means he should get like a bajillion man cards.  He is my favorite. :)

6.  While we do not know where we will land in the States, I am excited to come home and settle in! I am a huge nester, so I am already looking into different apartments in the areas Ben has applied to, as well as homes for sale to get an idea of what kind of house we can expect to be able to afford in the future.  I get most excited thinking about when we DO have our own home and the things we will be able to do!  I can't wait to decorate together - painting, furniture, wall decor.  I am excited to host friends and family at our home and have cute food and drinks for everyone.  I am excited for a yard for Grovie to roam free in and for us to have a fire pit to cozy up around and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us.

7.  My friends are growing up.  One is having a baby (WHICH I'LL BE HOME FOR!!), one is getting married, another is close to getting married. . . SO much to be excited for!!

8.  124 days until I see my family, friends and Ma!

 
And so much more! 

 

2 dozen + 1

I have now been on this earth for a quarter of a century.  When the heck did I grow up?

It has been my goal the past couple of years to come up with birthday plans that are out of the ordinary and adventurous.  Last year I gathered a group of friends and we all returned to our teenie-bopper days and went roller skating!  This year I decided to take advantage of living somewhere warm and on the sea, and we all went crab hunting! 

Yes.  I said crab hunting!  We were picked up at our apartment at 4 p.m.  We then drove roughly an hour and a half to Umm Al Quwain where we were served sandwiches and pop.  After everyone who was going arrived, we were given life jackets and skater boy shoes to wear.  We boarded the boat and headed out to sea.  It was dark out by this time and we had no light aside from the moon and a flashlight the guy driving the boat was using to look into the water.  That seems safe.

I luh my life vest!

The water wasn't very deep from what I could tell and after about a 5-10 minute boat ride our skipper just jumped out of the boat.... We were all at a loss for what we were supposed to do, so some Russian guy just decided to jump into the water too.  Then we all did.  The water came up to about my hips and was semi-cold.  We grabbed spears off of the boat and they pulled out about 5 large flashlight things so we could look into the water.  The water was clear so you could see down to the bottom.  It was really interesting! There were sea cucumbers that would pee (or just deflate...) when you took them out of the water, star fish, I saw a sea horse, Ben saw a bottom feeder shark thing, and much more. 



Tom Hanks would be proud.

I ended up spearing 4 crabs! The trick was to hold your spear straight up and down to stab it - not at an angle.  I couldn't help but think of Castaway throughout the experience.  Ben caught one crab, but it got away.  Those suckers moved fast once they were spooked and then they spooked us humans.  What was WORSE than the creepy, crawly crabs were the fish that would jump across the water and smack into you.  Not. Kidding.  I was able to dodge them at the beginning of our hunt, but towards the end I went over to help Ben with one of the lights and got smacked twice.  The first time It hit me in the life vest and, being the girl that I am, I screamed and jumped around in the water because it scared me.  The second one hit me right below my chin.  I lost my cool even more....  Ben, of course, found this all very amusing and couldn't stop laughing.  Meanwhile I was almost crying and freaking out.  Traumatizing.  Although I'd definitely be laughing if the roles were reversed.  We later learned the fish were actually barracudas.  Awesome.

Say hello to my little friend.

It seemed not long after we started our hunt that it was over.  We made our way back to shore where we showered and got ready for supper.  They had a buffet waiting for us and took our crab away to cook so we could feast on it as well.  The food was lack luster, but the crab was pretty tasty.  We enjoyed wine and beers from the bar at the hotel.  We had to fight off stray cats, which was a bit annoying, but all-in-all we enjoyed the night.








This was an experience that I wouldn't mind having again.  It was fun to do something out of the ordinary and unique!  How many opportunities are you going to get to crab hunt?!



Ines, Rachael, me & David

Beach + Date = bliss!

This past weekend Ben and I had the pleasure of going to the beach with good friends.  We arrived around 1 p.m. with games and sunscreen.  Ben stayed on shore, but the rest of us (Naomi, Casey and David) ventured into the water and enjoyed the relief from the hot sun.  The water is still quite warm here, but is cooler than the heat of sitting on the beach.  Casey made his way back to shore and played mini bags with Ben, a gift from Ben's parents for Christmas last year. 

Casey & Ben playing mini bags.

 After enjoying the beach for a couple of hours, we made the decision to return home for some R&R.  Ben read as I watched Grey's Anatomy (my shameful new addiction. . . ) and crocheted.  At 7:30 p.m. we made our way to the Marriot in The Greens for supper at Cucina.  I had been craving fish and this place had the most fun way to fulfill that craving!  Our waiter escorted Ben and me to the front of the restaurant where they had fresh fish, lobster and prawns on display.  We were to select what we wanted, as much as we wanted, and they would weigh it, cook it and serve us.  Ben and I chose prawns and hammour.  For sauce Ben chose garlic butter goodness and I went with creamy herb.  For our sides Ben had new potatoes and I had steamed veggies.  The food was awesome, the chef was awesome and our waiter was awesome!  Ben and I both enjoyed a glass of wine with our supper, he drank red and I had chardonay, and indulged in creme brulee for dessert. 

Seafood!

Creme Brulee w/fresh strawberries

It is days like these that I feel incredibly lucky to live where I do now.  Ben and I will both leave with some pretty amazing memories of this place!

The Fountains & Candylicious!

Date night!

Our family  :)

This past week I asked Ben if we could pretty please have a husband and wife date night.  Being the wonderful, loving husband he is, Ben asked if I would do him the honor of accompanying him on a date Friday night.   Ben planned the night's activities and one of our friends here let us borrow his car.

We started off the night eating supper at home and then headed out to the Dubai Mall.  After about 35 minutes driving around to find parking, we finally made it in.  We did a bit of window shopping and stopped in Bloomingdale's for a new dish washer thingamajig.  Both Ben and I love the juice over here, it is all made from fresh fruit, so we made our way over to the Lemon Bar for refreshment.  Ben had a strawberry kiwi smoothie with ice cream and I had the "Good Morning" which included strawberries, banana, oats and frozen yogurt.  The whole purpose of going to the mall was to watch the fountains in front of the Burj Khalifa so we went to find a seat.  At some point I will have to record the fountains so you can get an idea of how gorgeous they are!  Obviously it wouldn't be as great on camera as it is in real life, so maybe you should just come here to watch them. . . ?  The fountains are the largest choreographed fountains in the world.  Truly breathtaking.



Waiting for the fountains to begin!

Sitting in front of the Burj Khalifa.

After the fountains we decided to find Candylicious and look around.  I had heard talk of how awesome it was so I really wanted to check it out!  We walked around for about half and hour drooling over all the delicious treats available and decided to grab a bag of Garrett's popcorn to munch on.  We left the mall, popcorn in hand, and made our way back home. 

Lollipop for me!

Jelly Belly's galore!

Lollipop tree @ Candylicious






Once home, we took Grover for a short walk and curled up in bed to watch The Mummy.  It was much needed sweet night out.  :)