Alabama Tornados

Hello all! Sorry I haven't posted anything for a few days. As most of you know Alabama is my home state; all 3 of my daughters, my mom and my sister and her family live in Huntsville. On 27 April Alabama suffered the worst tornado storms since 1935; the second worse in our history. Entire communties have been destroyed. To date 249 people were killed and thousands more injured. Thankfully my home in downtown Huntsville was spared any damage; that is where 2 of my daughters live. The community where my other daughter lives suffered significant damage; her home had a tree fall on it but it only clipped the edge. Some external repairs will have to be made but no interior damage. She went outside and the sky turned completely dark, it started to hail and she actually saw a very large tornado bearing down on her neighborhood. She ran inside, jumped in the tub and prayed. The tornado did not touch down but there was considerable wind damage. Because they have been without electricity, the grocery store shelves are nearly completely empty, no restaurants are open and they have had limited cell phone coverage the girls wisely elected to evacuate. Power is not expected to be restored until Wednesday. One went to north Tennesse with her boyfriend to stay with his family, one went to Pigeon Forge, Tn (may as well enjoy a mini vacation!) and the oldest went to a family lake house about an hour outside of Huntsville. I'm so very thankful they are all safe and sound. My mother is in her mid 70's and lives alone. She is staying in her home but my sister checks on her daily. Mom is able to drive to a nearby grocery store that has a generator. They are offering everyone free coffee so she can get her morning coffee. In her own words mom is sub human without her morning coffee! I'm glad she is ok but I hate that she must be so very bored and lonely with no television; good she has her pets to keep her company. Hang in there, mom!

It has been so very frustrating to be so far away and unable to provide direct support for my children and family. I'm a very hands on mom and even though the girls are grown young ladies they will always be my babies. I even feel guilty for living in  beautiful, sun drenched Dubai while they are having to do without electricity; a hot shower is a luxury. I can only say that when they have called we have answered- even at 2 a.m. We advised them of safety and household precautions and transferred money into thier account so they would have the means to attain whatever they needed; food, gas, etc. My heart has been with my Bamaland kin every moment. I sincerely hope the many friends and coworkers I also care for are safe and doing well. Please send me an update soonest!

Please keep those that lost thier lives, thier loved ones and thier homes in your prayers. The devastation is unimaginable and the stories of survival are heart wrenching. However the many accounts of strangers pulling together to help and provide for one another rekindle the belief in community spirit and brotherhood.

Remember to hold your loved ones close- you never know when disaster may strike. Blessings to all. J&M

Evening Cocktail

Anyone who knows me knows I thoroughly enjoy my evening cocktail. There is something about having a bit of a libation at the end of the day that just makes it complete. Like a ribbin on a gift; and every day is a gift. Some people meet with friends or coworkers after the days work and rehash the days events, the news of the day or thier own personal trials. Sometimes in revelry and bouisterous conversation while the beers flow; sometimes to support one another when hard times overwhelm. Good times and bad you can always count on the usual crowd and familiar faces at the local watering hole. Other people prefer to unwind from the days events in peace and quiet; in thier own home or other peaceful oasis. Those people find solace, and even comfort, in their own aloneness. 

When we decided to move to Dubai I quickly researched the alcohol laws. Absolutey do not drink and drive or appear drunk in public at all. You will be hard pressed to find an independant bar or pub in Dubai. But fear not, most hotels have bars and some have pretty impressive dancing facilities. Living on The Walk, across the street from the Hilton, with several more hotels easily within walking distance, means I can have a cocktail in that atmosphere at will. I, however, prefer to mix my own cocktail in the comfort of my own home. I have become quite proficient at making the perfect Cosmo; my drink of choice. If you choose to imbibe in Dubai I would highly recommend you buy as much alcohol as you can carry, or as much as they will allow in duty free at the airport. It is affordable and will be "ready when you are" after you arrive. Fortunately Jimmy has obtained a liqour liscence so we can purchase alcohol as needed.

So here we are a month after arrival, enjoying a lovely cocktail while enoying the view of the passers by along The Walk from our balcony. Life is good in Dubai. Love you all in Bamaland and other places! J&M

Language Barrier

When we decided to move here my first impulse was to learn the Arabic language. My mother immigrated to the US from Germany and even though she had a better than working knowledge of the English language she made every effort to learn it in depth. I felt I should do the same. A friend gave me a copy of Rosetta Stone and I did try but to no avail. I found it very difficult to understand the words and meanings. I was told that once I arrived I would find it much easier as I would be exposed to the language and would pick it up. Not so much! The problem is that living in a resort area means that I hear no less than 5 different languages every day- by lunch time! Even the "locals" aren't local. So many of the people working here are from somewhere else that they don't speak Arabic either. Our real estate agent is from Italy and has lived in Dubai 8 years doing business and does not speak Arabic. We were told that only 6% of the Dubai population are actual UAE natural citizens! I believe it. Most fortunately English is the universal language. It seems that no matter where someone originated from, most every one speaks at least some English. A lot of the people here speak English more proper than me- my mother calls it the "Kings English". So you will hear a waiter from Malasia or Egypt taking a meal order from people from Russia or Germany and they do it English. When I am walking down the street or in a mall the most prominent language I hear besides English is Arabic. So I will make another effort to learn some phrases and words. While I love where I live I am certain it is not an accurate reflection of the country as a whole and I want to be able to communicate at least minimally. Thanks for setting a good example, mom.

Visa Renewal & Beach Day!

Good afternoon all! I want to wish everyone a Happy Easter. Big bunny hops to my girls!

Friday we went to Oman to renew my visitors visa. It is typical for visitors to cross the boarder and come right back in order to renew for 30 more days. Hopefully I will be working soon so we won't have to do this again. We drove for a little over an hour when we came to a building on the side of the road offering Oman auto insurance. We had read it was a good idea to purchase it so for $100 AED we did. A little further down the road was the "Visa Hut". It is a trailor on the side of the road with a few windows that slide open; you line up outside an open window and when it is your turn you present your passport. The official border dude enters stuff into the computer and you are handed back your passport with the exit stamp. Go a little further down the road and there is a checkpoint; you present your exit stamped passports and are given a small piece of paper with an official stamp- don't lose it! You are now officially out of UAE. About 7 km further you come to a very nice immigration facility- welcome to Oman! Go inside, fill out a form and wait in line. Again you present your passport and pay $200 AED, show your proof of insurance and that small piece of paper and this dude enters more info into the computer and you are given your passport  with and Oman entrance stamp and new similar small piece of paper. If you don't have that piece of paper they make you go back out to your car and get it. That paper tells how many people are in each vehicle. Just a short way down the road is a checkpoint where you turn in the small piece of paper and they let you pass on through. We drove about 30 minutes into Oman and saw nothing but desert. We were pretty hungry by this point and because Friday is the holy day here almost nothing was open. We turned around to come back to the UAE border and stopped at a modest (very modest) convenience store. The best we could find were some chips and some drinks (slightly cooler than room temp) but we were grateful even for that! Same procedure in reverse- stop at the Oman immigration checkpoint to get an exit stamp (we didn't have to go inside); stop at the next checkpoint to get the small piece of paper; stop at the UAE immigration office (coming into UAE it is an actual building, not just the "Visa Hut") and get an entrance stamp; stop at the next checkpoint and turn in your small piece of paper. The whole process took 5 hours from when we left our apartment to when we got back. It was well worth it to know I am good to go for another 30 days and an interesting experience.

Saturday we finally made it to the beach! We took our new beach chairs, umbrella, cooler and towels. Sounds like a lot of gear but not really and we don't have to go that far. We set up a very comfortable beach camp. I can now say I have been swimming in the Arabian Gulf! SALTY! The water is crystal clear, a little cool but very refreshing after you have been in the sun for just a little while. It was a typical beach scene you would see anywhere, couples old and young, children running and splashing and playing in the sand and young adults playing soccer and water games and just enjoying the fun and sun. We sat under the umbrella for a bit then got in the water to cool off-did that about 3 times. We were on the beach for 2 hours and my legs got pretty burned; that was the only part of me not under the umbrella. Not too bad but they are red! Of course Jimmy didn't burn a bit.  Mercifully we had the good sense to know our limits and retreated to our apartment before things got too bad.

So here it is Sunday and the beach is finally cleared of the staduim that was built for the Red Bull event. It is wide open again.

Again, I want to wish everyone a very Blessed and Happy Easter. Much love, J&M

Beach Camp! Had it not been for the umbrella we bought we would have FRIED! It is a major life saver and made a big difference sitting in the shade versus being in the glaring sun.

Beach Camp- our building is in the background.

Eye candy for the girls!

And the guys!

Dressing in Dubai

I had never been to the mideast much less Dubai when we decided to move here so the only source of information I had to research what I could expect was the Internet. Because I live in a resort area that is very cosmopolitan my perspective may be a little skewed on what the actual customs are here but what I researched and what I see everyday are very different. My research told me that while Dubai is very progressive it is still a Muslim country and the customs should be respected.

Per my research I should have expected to cover my shoulders, show no cleavage and wear skirts and pants that are knee length. I should especially expect to be properly covered in public areas such as malls and shopping areas. To that end I purchased several Pashima's and capri length pants. I also made sure I had plenty of tops that would also meet the requirement. People here wear exactly what you would see in Alabama. Sometimes worse. On The Walk women wearing spaghetti strap tops, strapless tops and miniskirts/dresses and short shorts is common. On the beach bikinis are the norm even though some of the ladies should seriously reconsider that choice! Just like Bama. I saw one young lady with an amazing body wearing a thong bikini. If she didn't look so good in it it would have been much more noticeable. I also see muslim women in their bathing attire- a long sleeve, long legged one piece suit with a loose wrap over it so as not to reveal thier bodies actual form. Honestly, there is something alluring about not being able to see everything-less is not always more.

I have been to 3 malls to include the Mall of the Emerates. When you enter the malls there are signs posted to wear respectful clothing, no public displays of affection (holding hands, kissing) and a few other rules. Mostly it is more modest than on The Walk but still not nearly as strict as I had researched. Most women wear t-shirts or tank tops with capris or skirts or normal summer dresses. Not so many mini skirts but you will still them some. Very few women wear a pashima. The worst I saw was a large woman wearing a spagetti strap long dress but with a bra that was ridiculous. Because she needed a lot of support the straps were very wide and the back of the dress hung low enough to see the entire back of her bra-basically all you didn't see was the front. Worse yet was the french woman (I heard her speak). She had on a white gauzy mini dress that was very see through- her thongs and pathetic excuse for a bra were very visible. In the south we call that trashy. Maybe she was from south France. I'm not a prude and am grateful I don't have to be so covered up all the time -but come on people! This is a Muslim nation thier culture and religion are very much a part of thier life. How about showing some respect?  I'm not saying we should wear burqa's but would it be so hard to dress appropriately when you are in public? Just because you get away with something doesn't make it right.

I have been here almost a month now and have nothing but wonderful experiences with the people. They are warm and friendly and the most polite people I have ever encountered. Much nicer than most Europeans I have dealt with. Even the children seem better behaved here! Everyday I see women in burqa's, some with the full face covered so you can only see thier eyes, and they are beautiful and gracious. The men are also very respectful. I just have to wonder what they must think of the foreign visitors. I know  tourists spend a lot of money-that is why you build a tourist destination and you should expect a divergence of humanity. And I don't mean to say all the people here dress inappropriately and don't appreciate and respect the Muslim traditions.  But do the Muslims here resent the snub of thier culture? Do they feel thier customs are lost on a hoard of vacationers seeking only sunshine and self indulgence and missing the "other beauty" of thier society? Perhaps not; perhaps they just accept it.

Dollars and Dirhams- Eating Out on The Walk

We live on The Walk which is appr. 1.7 miles long. There a sooo many restaurants and cafes I couldn't begin to name them all. There are several chains- KFC, Subway, Chilis, Starbucks (3), Ruby Tuesday to name a few. We haven't eaten at the chains- not with so many other cool choices!The average cost for a meal can vary between $35- $65 AED = $9.52 - $17.69. The drink is usually around $9 AED = $2.45. The portions are very generous- we could split a meal if we could agree on what to order. I usually take half of my meal home and eat it for lunch the next day. Tipping is not expected but it is customary to leave 15-20%. The below pics were taken before the lunch crowd so the tables look pretty empty but it always picks up later. Dinner is especially busy. All the restaurants deliver to your door; you can even get groceries delivered! Hope ya'll find this interesting. Miss you and love you so very much! J&M

This is our parking space. It leads directly into the Starbucks outside sitting area. Because it is such a great location with access to The Walk we have had a major problem with people parking in it. We put up signs stating it is reserved but that didn't always work. Then we found a traffic cone to make it clear it is fricking reserved! Much better now.

This is a "you are here" directory of The Walk. It has 2 levels- ground and plaza. It is hard to see (double click for a better view) but there are many, many shops, etc.

Starbucks - ground level; 3 locations on The Walk

This is El Chico ground level just down from Starbucks. Very good mexican. We ate there last night and for two meals, 2 sodas and a guacamole dip appetizer the bill came to $ 130 AED= $35.39 plus $30 AED tip = $8.16. Not too bad and we have plenty for dinner tonight.

Italian and Chinese- two seperate restaurants that share the same seatting area and offer both menus. We had the chinese one night and it was great. Our bill that night was $150 AED = $40.83 (plus tip). Again- leftovers for lunch. This place has outdoor air conditioners- large fans with cool water resevoirs. It doesn't spray a mist-just cool air from the resevoir. It makes a big difference!

Haven't eaten here yet but the prices are about the same as the Italian/Chinese place.

Cone Street ice cream place. A small cup will cost about $9 AED = $2.45. Lots of different flavors and a welcome treat after strolling in the heat for awhile!

Upstairs to the plaza level- Bombay by the Beach Indian food. Haven't eaten here either but I checked out the menu and the the prices are still within the other ranges. Very cool seating and the view is overlooking the Gulf.

Figaros Pizza- open 24 hours. This is located right outside the front door to our building. You can eat there or they will make your pizza to go or you can take it unbaked and fix it up any way you want at home and bake it. Large pepperoni $46 AED = $12.52; lasagne $34 AED = $9.25; garden salad (lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber & olives) $14 AED = $3.81.

Subway- just around the corner from Figaros. 6" turkey breast, Subway Club and Roast Beef are each $15 AED =$4.08; to make any sandwich 12" ad $8 AED = $2.17.

Ruby Tuesday next to Subway. Prices about the same as the comparable restaurants.

There is a Virgin megastore across the way from Ruby Tuesdays. It doesn't open until 1pm so I couldn't go inside and check out CD costs. I'll get back to you on that.

Poster inside Virgin- Maroon 5 is playing in Dubai 21 April.

Dollars and Dirhams-Groceries

Good morning all! Today lets talk about money- dollars and dirhams and how much everyday items cost in UAE, availability, etc. The conversion rate today is $1 USD = $3.67 AED (Dirham) or
$1 AED = $.27 USD. The costs below are in USD.

Maxwell House coffee (11.5 oz can) $3.48
Del Monte tuna (med. sized can) $1.04
Hellmans Mayo (med. sized squeeze bottle) $3.52
Store brand ziploc sandwich baggies (30 in box) $3.66
Toilet paper (good brand- 12 rolls) $7.37
Ruffles potato chips (md. bag) $4.01
Iceburg lettuce (1 normal head) $1.36
Fritos (md. bag) $4.28
Bread (normal loaf) $.95
Pepsi's (1 six pack) $2.45
Splenda substitute (small jar) $6.80
Eggs (15 in a pkge) $2.31
Ground Beef ( 1 lbs; very low fat) $3.22
Vodka (Smirnoff md. bottle) $21.78

Comments- Because all the weights are in grams I have to use two conversion sites to calculate the weights and costs for meats/fruits/veggies-I could be off a little. I don't have the info to give more prices on fuits and veggies but I'll save it from my next trip. We have been able to find a lot of common brands here. Can't find Dale's sauce (for grilling) and Splenda (the Splenda substitute is expensive). The bread is OK; we found white bread that tastes good but it gets stale fast. Eggs are sold in either 6 packs or 15 and higher packs. Nothing between 6 and 15. The chips are more expensive here. I can't say enough wonderful things about the the fruits and vegetables. I make a fresh fruit bowl with grapes (white & red seedless), strawberries and bananas. It is like eating candy. The tomatoes and cucumbers are grown locally and have the best flavor! So overall the groceries here are rather inexpensive or at least comparable on most of the things we buy. Let me know if there is anything specific you would like for me to look into.

I'm going to do a seperate post later today with costs to dine out. Hope this has been interesting for ya'll!

I've been reading about the bad weather and tornados you have been having. Hope everyone faired well and is safe and warm and dry. I miss Bamaland and all that it holds dear to me. Much love- M

Red Bull X Fighters Motocross Event

The event was impressive. They opened the gates at 6 and the first ones in went to the standing area right next to the track. That area filled up first and quickest. I had my concerns when by 7:30 the stands were still only about half full but by 8 pm it was packed. The show didn't actually begin until about 8:20- the intro was camels and horses parading around the track. The 8 riders were dressed in black robes on the big sand jumping platform; when each one was introduced the took off their robe. Each rider was from a different country and the panel of judges was international as well. USA was represented by a dude from Nebraska. The MC was British I think and after he would speak another MC would say the same thing in Arabic. There were some slow parts but overall the event was pretty cool. The riding and stunts were impressive. The rider from Mexico scored the most points and USA came in third.

Taken at 6:30; an hour and a half before show time. A few people are in the stands but the standing area around the track is filling up first.

This is a close up (taken from our balcony!) of the camels and horses in their pens before the show.

This shot shows some boats with people on board that were watching from the water. We counted 13 boats total when the show began.

The crowd is slowly filtering in. Still lots of standing room and empty seats.

The show finally begins almost 20 minutes late with the rider introductions. The riders are in the black robes on the jumping dune and the horses and camels are facing them below.

The show is in full swing and it is packed! The grandstands and the standing area are full. I zoomed in on this shot.

Not zoomed in shot. The boats are in the background barely visible bit lit up.

Somewhere in this pic there is a biker doing something cool. We could see all the action very clearly but the cameras couldn't.

Zoomed and shot at the right time-finally! You can see two riders on the track and the crowd.



Red Bull Event

Good morning all! So, there is a pretty major Red Bull X Fighters Motocross event being held here tonight (Friday). This is the first stop of the world tour to include Brazil, Italy, Spain, Poland and Australia. They have been constructing a pretty impressive staging area for the past week; it will be removed next week. All this for a one day event! They are expecting an increase of 15,000 people on top of the normal crowd. I took these pics from our balcony so we will have a great view while we enjoy cocktails and steak and baked potatos! If you double click on the pic it will appear in full screen and can be seen better; just hit the back button to go back to the normal view of the blog. I can't help but think if Jacob and Jeremy and how much they would love this! I'll take some pics of the event tonight and post tomorrow morning. Otherwise we just have some household chores and errands to run as usual. Hope ya'll have a great day- we love you very much- J&M

We hung two clocks on the wall- RisonShine and Dubai time.

Closer view of RisonShine time- the daisy and the butterfly inset spins with the second hand. Too cute!

This was the view of the beach when we first moved in.

This is the view today! They have been constructing this for a week and it is quit impressive. There are 3 grandstands- seating for the larger one on the bottom of the pic is $245 Dhr = $67.00 USD; the stands to the far left and right are $49 USD; the area to the left with the white objects are white sofas with tables and is private priority seating. The two towers at the top and one at the bottom are major lighting and sound. The track is lit up all the way around with spot lights as well. They play very loud  rock and dance music which can be heard from our apartment like we are inside the speakers! We will have a great view of the event as you can see.

Closer view of the priority seating. I can't believe they used white sofas for a motocross event! You can double click and see the seating arrangement-fancy! There are also jumbotron screens on both ends of the side grandstands that show the bikers as they are on the track- they do flips and all kinds of stunts. We have been watching them practice for the past couple of days.

Double click on this one if you want to see some detail of the layout.

Feedback

I love getting comments- it lets me know someone out there is checking out the blog.

Carole- yes that is a Weber electric grill- good eye! I had never used an electric grill and was a bit skeptical but of course Jimmy had and he assured me it would be fine. As usual he is right. It cooked great, the temp is adjustable and the heat up time is instant. It has turned out to be a great solution to grilling safely in a small space. Everything is coming together better than we could have hoped.

Dara- thank God you were there to save sweet Oni! Glad you got her a life vest- you are a great mommy! Take of that sweet puppy and you and Brandon take care of each other-hope his ankle is getting better. We will talk more about when we can get you over here.

Tara- I couldn't find the screen to view the chat! Sorry, didn't mean to butt in on your study session. I'll figure this Skype technology stuff out someday!

All- I love you and miss you so very, very much. It's really great here and I love the lifestyle but missing my family and friends is really bad. I'll post more later-keep the comments coming! Love, love M&J

Balcony!

When Jimmy came home from work this afternoon we went to Ace Hardware and bought a new table and chairs for the balcony. It is a gorgeous set made of teak wood with four chairs. We only have room for the table and two chairs on the balcony and it is cosy but it is the perfect set. I orginally wanted bar height but the standard height is actually much better. We even got a plant for the table. We came home and I got my pedicure (happy toes!) while he had to bring everything up by himself. He had it all set up by the time I got back. We enjoyed a lovely dinner of hamburgers and a wonderful pasta salad I bought at the nearby grocery store this morning. The beef was from Ireland and is strictly grass fed and completely natural. The meat is so lean with almost zero fat- best burger ever! We even had candlelight! It was divine to sit outside and enjoy our meal while watching the activity on the beach and along The Walk. Life is good (except for missing my family and my precious babies).

New table and chairs on the balcony. The grill is in the background. Yes, that is the beach we look over every day!

I am standing in the doorway leading to the balcony. There is plenty of room to walk between the table and the sliding doors leading to the spare bedroom but not enough space for the two other chairs. Love the plant!

Our first balcony dinner. Yummy hamburgers with all the trimmings, wonderful pasta salad and even candle light!

Another pic of our dinner table.

Staying Busy

So cool to see my mom is now a follower! Thanks girls for hooking her up. Today Jimmy is at the office and I am home alone. Shout out to Christie for the music she burned for me- thanks so much sistah! Laundry is very different here. We bought a top of the line washer dryer - it is one unit that does both. The washing part is ok- must be VERY careful because the water is so hot it will run your colors in a nano second. The drying part takes quite a while. I can't complain though- it is better than what we had when we first moved in and it does a good job- just a little slower; like everything else in Dubai! I'm going to get a pedicure later- there is a full service salon in my building downstairs. The price for a pedi is 80 AED = $21.78. Not too bad. The pool for my building is very nice- water is temperate but no real deep end. Need to do some laps and keep exercising! We actually found an Ace Hardware store and bought a grill yesterday so Jimmy will grill for us when he gets home. There are a couple of grocery stores very near my building so picking up a few things for the day is easy and we always have fresh meats, fruits, veggies and bread. They also sell cigarettes for appr. $21.00 carton! They have Jimmys brand but not mine however I found a brand very close and for that price I am happy! We bought a little cart with wheels so we can bring our shopping items home; it's so cool. Well- off to get somethings for dinner, swim some laps and get my pedi. Hope all is well in Bamaland- I love you and miss you! M

Making a House Feel Like a Home



We have cleaned the apartment like it has never been cleaned before. We were finally able to get some of our family pics and a few other personal items out and displayed. It's those things that make it seem more homey and ours. We have more to set out but every day we do a little more. After a hard days work we cleaned ourselves up and had another fabulous meal on The Walk. People watching is uber cool because it is a high end resort area and is vey international and mutli cultural. There is an evening street fair a couple of days a week on The Walk- vendors set up very nice booths (no card tables here!) and sell everything from candles to clothes to art to childrens items. The cars cruising The Walk are pretty nice, too! I was too slow with the camera to get pics of the 2 Lamborghinis that passed as we were having dinner, damnit! Lots of high end UTV's and other luxury cars along with other "normal" cars but every car is very well maintained. You don't see banged up or even dirty cars very ofter  at all. I still can't believe we actually live here!

Today the cable/Internet gets installed and then off to shop! We have a list- patio furniture, grill, etc. Ya'll check in and let me know how things are at home. We love you and miss you- J&M

Entertainment Center with family pics

Coffe table- one of the glass panes comes up and we put random pics inside

Kitchen counter with my trivet Dara had made of the girls in San Fran last summer

Ever thoughtful Jimmy surprised me- he took the notes off of the RisonShine fridge and put them on
the apt. fridge. Love that guy!

Street fair on The Walk

More vendor booths at the street fair on The Walk

One more shot of the vendors on The Walk

Corvette cruising The Walk

Porche on The Walk

Some kind of high performance specialty car on The Walk

Another Porche (?) cruising The Walk

We spent the entire day yesterday cleaning. It took almost 6 hours to do the kitchen alone. We washed and scrubbed every surface inside and out and washed every piece of silverware, dishes, pot, pans, etc. It was worth it to know everything is spic and span and where we want it to be. The washer dryer is a single unit and doesn't work properly at all. We are going to buy a new one tomorrow- hopefully it will get delivered before I run out of clean drawers! Today we unloaded more boxes and cleaned the master bedroom and living room. Just making a pine sol solution and wiping every surface took several hours but again- the place is getting clean! Having soup and sandwiches for lunch and going to try to get the patio cleaned- major dirty out there but it will be lovely when we get it done. We also need to buy a small patio set but it needs to be bar table height so we can see past the balcony rail. That may take some shopping around but I'm sure we will find the perfect set. We also need to get a grill out there so we can enjoy Jimmy's cooking. Slowly but surely it's coming together. It's really hard to stay focused on cleaning and chores when every window is a view of the beautiful beach and people enjoying the sand and surf and strolling along The Walk. Because we are on the 21st floor it is surprisingly quiet considering all the activity outside. The walls are a concrete material and the windows are all tinted so that adds to the quietness and privacy. We don't ever have to close any of the curtains because no one can see in. We wake up to the view of the amazing beach every morning and have that view all day from every room in the apartment. I know we will be out there in just a couple more days so I keep trudging along with chores. I'll take some more pics and post soon. 

Congrats to Tara for being selected to study abroad! She will be going to Panama this summer and doing research. We are so very proud of her! Amy is also overseas with Jeremy visiting Greg so we are becoming quite the globe trottong family! Mom, Dara & Ash shoud get thier passports soon so we can bring them over for a visit. The problem is that it will be getting VERY HOT soon, 125 degrees in July, so we have to see what works best. We miss everyone and are looking forward to some major Skype sessions soon! I haven't seen my Angels face or my mom for way too long! Time to get back to work :(. Miss ya'll, love you bunches and bunches! J&M

Best Day!!

As I said earlier we have really had to overcome some pretty difficult challenges to get moved into our apartment. Today was a major success! When we got to the apartment the utilites and water were still not on and the access cards didn't work tolet us into our building. Not a good start however through much diliengence and patience we were able to get banking established, get utilities and water turned on, get our access cards to work, get an appointment for our cable, phone and Internet connections, have our FedEx boxes delivered tomorrow at noon and even set up an account to have laundry delivered and picked up to our door. We celebrated by having the best chinese food sitting outside on The Walk. The weather was perfect, the food was great and the atmosphere is unbelievable. After dinner we walked a short way and found a supermarket that has everything we need- even PORK and CIGARETTES (not our brands but hey, we can adjust)! We will have bacon and eggs and coffee for our first breakfast and have our leftover chinese for lunch. I will spend the day CLEANING- the apartment has been empty for awhile and desperately needs a major cleaning. Jimmy can unpack the boxes and get everything put away and organized. Things are finally going our way! Oh, we are using someone elses Internet connection so I am very happy to feel "connected"! Jimmy and I feel so blessed and fortunate. It has been a struggle but we hung in there and it has been so worth it. I hope everyone in Bamaland is doing well. Shout out to Diane and John-great to hear from ya'll and we hope you come to visit us! Jacob- you would love the beach here- I think of you often; thanks for your sweet comments. Off to bed- I'm exhausted and have a big day ahead of me tomorrow. Much love to my precious babies and my family- I hope we can Skype more soon. Miss you much. We love you- J&M

One Step Forward- Three Steps Back!

It is Tuesday morning and we are finally moving into our apartment. It has been a very frustrating process. The leasing agency requires so much documentation which is sometimes very difficult to acquire. We have been delayed for two days getting power because a letter from Jimmys company had to be provided and we gave it to them they wanted a specific sentence added.  So we are moving in with no water or electricity- just a wing and a prayer that the new letter will be accepted and sometime later today the power will come on. There was less paperwork, took less time and less signing of documents than when I bought RisonShine. Also, we could not get cable and Internet scheduled until we had a signed contract (lease) so today we hope to get that going. It takes 4-5 buisinessd days and Friday is Sunday here so if we get there this afternoon we may get hooked up Sunday. No Internet, no blooging :(! I'll get back on line if I get a chance but for now it doesn't look very promising. So take care all- I love and miss you very much. J&M

Home Sweet Away From Home

We did the walk through on the apt.today.Unfortunately we can't move in until Tuesday morning but at least we are moving in the righ direction! It is on the 21st floor. It needs major cleaning but I can handle that. We are still very happy with our selection and were pleasantly surprised that comes equipped with dishes and various other kitchen ware. One less expense! It is appr. 1300 square feet, 2 Br 2.5 bath with a smallbalcony just big enough for a grill and two chairs and a small table.


View of living area. The couch is 10 feet long plus, the view is the Arabian Gulf. The front door is to my right and the kitchen is behind me. The walls are painted a soft butter yellow and the sofa is green.

View of the dining area and the entertainment center taken from next to the window in the living area. Jimmy is checking out the equipment and Fabio is at the table going over the walk through papers. The dining area walls are LIME GREEN. The kitchen is in the left rear corner, the sofa is in the bottom left side.

View looking into the kitchen from the living area. The fridge on on the left, the cooker (stove/oven) is the white box facing front. The other white box to the right is the washer/dryer-yep I said washer/dryer. The sink is to the right of the washer dryer and the microwave is in the far corner facing front.

Dining table and door leading to the balcony. Kitchen is behind to the left and living area is behind.

Balcony-appr. 5' x 10'. The thing hangingon the wall is an outdoor dryer - won't get alot of use I assure you! The sliding door to the left leads into the spare (girls) room. The view is almost completely unobstructed of the beach. Truly beautiful.

View looking down the hallway. The kitchen, living & dining area are behind me. First door on the left is the guest halfbath, second door on the left is the guest full bath. Door on the far right is the guest (girls) bedroom; straight ahead open door is the master bedroom.

Guest half bath. Potty, sink- just the basics but still very nice.

Guest bath.

Guest (girls) bedroom. The doors on the right is a built in "wadrobe" (closet). The sliding door to the balcony is on the left hence the sun pouring in across the bed. The walls are painted a lilac color.

Another view of the guest (girls) bedroom showing the sliding door leading to the balcony. Again. the view of the beach is incredible.

Master bedroom. The window in front of the bed is the amazing beach. What a sight to wake up to every morning! Jimmy is going to put a "salon center" to apply cosmetics and do my hair in the empty corner on the left (table,chair and mirror). The door to the hallway is to the right and the master bath is behind me.  

View 1 of the masterbath. Sink and shower and lots of sunshine streaming in. Jimmy is going to put shower curtain for me.

View 2 of the master bath. Potty and bidet. I love the bidet!! The shower is behind me.

So this conlcudes the tour of our apartment. We look forward to hosting guests so if you find yourself needing a break from the 9-5 ho-hum you have a place to stay in fabulous Dubai! Much love- J&M