first love never dies...

During my teens up to my early twenties, I would wake up reaching for the TV's remote control first before doing anything else...that's how attached i was to my tv set! But a couple of years ago, I realized I could totally ditch watching tv in favor of browsing the net. I am online 7 days a week and in most of my waking hours (especially when you're living in a foreign land, unemployed and usually stuck at home, hehe).

I haven't been spending a lot of time online for the past few days..because i have been reunited with my first love (the real one) - reading.. =)

 

I bought and read this book two years ago and i'm rereading it now.. as they say, reading something the second time around is way better than the first, and i totally agree! I haven't read Picoult's My Sister's Keeper (the one which was turned into a movie) yet but i'm planning to get it on my next trip to the bookstore.

I realized I could never ever turn my back  to something which has been with me during the crucial stages of my teenage life.. =)

**I had a collection of  Sweet Dreams and R.L. Stein and i even placed a number to each of them (around a hundred soft bound pocketbooks) and i lost them all! I left them at my grandparents' house when I got married and when they had the house renovated they were gone..sigh...

 

trip to the zoo

The Hajj holiday, where muslims make a pilgrimage to the city of Meccah, has just ended.  And while most of our friends enjoyed a week-long vacation and some fun in the Baher Villas, our family was stuck at home with the usual daily routines since my husband needed to work overtime (but with holiday pay, of course).

the following pictures (grabbed from a friend) show where we're supposed to have gone for the holidays with our friends...

The Baher Villa (baher means seashore)  is a 5 hour drive away from the city of Riyadh where the temperature remains humid just like in the city of Jeddah.  During this autumn season when you could very much feel the onset of the winter breeze here in Riyadh, isn't it fun to soak in the sun? anyway, there's always the next time...

We didn't want to disappoint the kids so we had a trip to Riyadh Zoo instead. We actually enjoyed the afternoon running around  and eating ice cream =)

The kids' fave were the elephants and the monkeys but if you ask me, i love the flamingos the most =)

everything's a mess...

We're in the process of moving house and we have been transporting our stuff to our new flat for 3 days now.  It's quite a tedious work since we only use the car for the small stuffs.  We hired the service of a moving truck plus 2 helpers for the heavy stuff like the beds, cabinets and others.  I can't stand a messy house but i had to let it be since it will be a waste of effort and energy to try to beautify since we will be out of here tonight. I hope this will all be over soon..it's very stressing. I am quite excited to decorate our new place though. =)

Below are some pics of our unruly nest..

happy (yet no) halloween!

HALLOWEEN GREETINGS from Bugs, Tom & Jerry!

          Although there's no trick or treating tradition here in Saudi Arabia, we can still feel it's spirit...

TSK..TSK..

Last week, on our way home from an errand, we witnessed a bus collide with a car thus crashing the latter's bumper and hood within seconds..it was right in front of us and it was just like watching a movie. All i could utter was "oh my God!" because i knew the crash was already inevitable..the creepy thing is while we're passing through, we saw that there's a little boy inside the car. Good thing nothing happend to him and to his dad (who was driving).
lesson of the story: DO NOT EVER BEAT THE RED LIGHT! yup! it's the car's fault...

Do you know that in Saudi Arabia:

• SR 13 billion loss of properties.
• 9 million traffic violations annually.
• 18 deaths per day.
• One death case every one and a half hours.
• Injury or disabled every quarter of an hour.
• The number of traffic accidents last year reached 485931 accidents.
• The number of deaths last year reached 6458 people, i.e. there were  13 deaths per 1000 accidents.
• Value of material loss estimated at SR. 13 billion a year.

source:   http://therealsaudi.com/?cat=26

Quoting a Saudi Comedian I once saw on tv, he said,
     "Saudi Arabia has the highest rate of road accidents in the world, and we manage to do that without alcohol!"

I laughed when I heard it...but i'm not laughing now, especially since I saw an accident right in front of me..
When will they learn to be careful? they always seem to be in a hurry...

Be safe everyone!

edit: the Saudi comedian was performing on a stage somewhere in the U.S.A in front of fellow arabs (liberated ones, i guess)..

octoberfest II

we attended 2 birthday parties last thursday (different locations)..one for a 3 year old boy and another one for a 7 year old boy..we were partying and having lots of fun from 5pm thurday to 3am the following day..

i'll let the pictures(lots of them) do the talking..

 i just wanna say, i love what i was wearing that day (shame on me! lol).. i got the top from H&M for only 9 riyals (a little over 2 dollars) and the red flats from Payless (by Predictions) for 65 riyals (17 dollars)..the good thing about the shoes is that they had a store promo when i bought them so i got another pair (in pewter) for free..teehee!

10-10-10

i feel like i should really flood myself with a lot of things that i should be thankful for in order for me to move past all the negativity and hurt and pain that i have wallowed into...while it's true that what's important is the present, i find it hard to just forget the past (for now..maybe because i'm still hurting)..but i also always remind myself that i have so much blessings in my life so who am i to complain...

note to self:  these are blessings enough...
1.  I have a family full of love for each other.
2.  The simple laughter we share
3.  My children learning the importance of prayer and living with it everyday
4.  Holding a weekly family prayer (i know it should be every night..we're working on that)
5.  A car which makes it easier for us to go from one place to another
6.  Good health for all of us
7.  Friends  which make my life meaningful and fun
8.  A good job for my husband which allows me to just stay at home and take care  of the whole family
9.  our supportive family back home (in the Philippines)
10.  Food on the table everyday

maybe i should print this and post it somewhere i could see it often..  =)

start of Octoberfest...

 Yesterday, October 1, we attended ANGCOP/Gawad Kalinga's Family Day held at the Philippine Embassy's Multi-purpose court..the color yellow was assigned to our group. in the pic: my husband and i while watching a presentation which turned out to be a mini concert..they were sooo good!

 I think it's pretty much the tail of the summer season here in Riyadh and the temperature yesterday was a scorching 40 degrees celsius! we tried to be under the shades as much as we can but the heat is really killing us..this is the only photo i have where the kids are in it..they kept on running around..i can't blame them though..even hubby and i can't stay put with the heat..

                    with our HouseHold Head, tito Raf and tita Grace with their son Gab...

 Enan and I right before we decided to go home because the kids are already becoming uncontrollable..they were irritated already, hehe...we left the event before 1pm..

                            me right in front of the Philippine Embassy building..

At around 4pm, we met up with some of our group mates again for a rehearsal for an upcoming presentation and they greeted us with a surprise..they told us our names were announced as one of the winners in the raffle draw which was held later in the afternoon but since we were no longer around, the prize was given to another participant..we were supposed to have taken home a microwave oven *sigh...*

*I entitled the post as such because this October, we will be attending grand activites, celebrations and other get-together week after week..i bet it'll be a fun-filled month.. =)

overload...

a lot of things have been going on around here for us for the past couple of weeks yet i still don't know how to relate everything to others up to this time..it's a rollercoaster of events and happenings..all i can say is we haven't rested well for almost half a month now....

tonight we went out to accompany a relative..here were the boys with a cousin while waiting just outside the Director General's office of the Ministry of Health in Riyadh, KSA. My  husband and his aunt were inside talking about organ donation..details of which i would relate as soon as i'm comfortable blogging about it... =(



 

thrift finds

i have always wanted to go thrift shopping in the Philippines yet i don't know where to go to and who to tag along..so i find it funny that i was able to do that here in Saudi Arabia..in HARAJ! the place is huge and you can find almost anything..and i mean anything, in it..from clothes, to shoes, bags, appliances, furnitures, accessories..they have second hand stuff as well as brand new items..too bad we weren't able to get some pictures of the place..one whole day is not enough to explore it..

i'm not that happy with my loots though, because i thought i could have gotten better items if only we weren't in a hurry..plus my husband kept on sneezing, i was beginning to feel embarrassed, lol...

i love the skirts i scored and i'm excited to wear the  black and white floral one as a tube dress on our upcoming anniversary..i also love the A/X armani exchange sweat shirt i got for hubby and the miss sixty bag..
i also bought lots of stuff for the kids..all in all we were able to take home 8 bags for roughly 60 saudi riyals or 16 US dollars! =)

God wants you to know...

... that to love is to be vulnerable. Love is the opening of the heart, the welcoming of your beloved. Loving is not secure, authentic loving is risky. Security lies behind the walls of a closed heart. You either invite the union by opening in love, or you secure the isolation by closing down.

 saw this on facebook and i find it very true...for there is no greater feeling than love..from it every good thing stems out! =)

  have a loving day everyone!

children's DOs and DONTs for parents

i got this from a blog i visit daily (see link below) and I feel like every parent should know this and live it by heart...  =)

1. Don't spoil me. I know quite well that I ought not to have all I ask for. I'm only testing you.

2. Don't be afraid to be firm with me. I prefer it, it makes me feel secure.

3. Don't let me form bad habits. I have to rely on you to detect them in the early stages.

4. Don't make me feel smaller than I am. It only makes me behave stupidly "big".

5. Don't correct me in front of people if you can help it. I'll take much more notice if you talk quietly with me in private.

6. Don't make me feel that my mistakes are sins. It upsets my sense of values.

7. Don't protect me from consequences. I need to learn the painful way sometimes.

8. Don't be too upset when I say "I hate you". Sometimes it isn't you I hate but your power to thwart me.

9. Don't take too much notice of my small ailments. Sometimes they get me the attention I need.

10. Don't nag. If you do, I shall have to protect myself by appearing deaf.

11. Don't forget that I cannot explain myself as well as I should like. That is why I am not always accurate.

12. Don't put me off when I ask questions. If you do, you will find that I stop asking and seek my information elsewhere.

13. Don't be inconsistent. That completely confuses me and makes me lose faith in you.

14. Don't tell me my fears are silly. They are terribly real and you can do much to reassure me if you try to understand.

15. Don't ever suggest that you are perfect or infallible. It gives me too great a shock when I discover that you are neither.

16. Don't ever think that it is beneath your dignity to apologize to me. An honest apology makes me feel surprisingly warm towards you.

17. Don't forget I love experimenting. I couldn't get along without it, so please put up with it.

18. Don't forget how quickly I am growing up. It must be very difficult for you to keep pace with me, but please do try.

19. Don't forget that I don't thrive without lots of love and understanding, but I don't need to tell you, do I?

20. Please keep yourself fit and healthy. I need you.

it's not that bad after all!

"When not-so-good things happen, you can only give praise and thanksgiving to God that nothing worst occured.  It makes you feel a bit better!"

That's what i posted in facebook today...

Earlier, we discovered that our car window was broken and that our car stereo was stolen...it would have been a really bad day except that since we joined this certain community, our perspective about things have been gradually changing..and i'm thankful for that. So instead of wallowing and having our day ruined, we just look at the positive side of things and be grateful that after all, it's just a minor thing if you think about it..

Anyway, i have finished another DIY project..it involves hubby's old shirts (again) and transformed them into my very own shirt dresses, haha..

they used to be hubby's office shirts

i used only back stitches for the sides and the arm hole edges..

i finished handsewing it on thursday night and by friday i was already wearing one of them..  a couple of friends noticed it and were surprised to find out it's DIY. It makes me happy that they find the idea interesting and told me they're gonna try it on their hubby's clothes (old clothes, that is! haha). =)

the boys and i...

Have a great day everyone!

crazy (in a good way) week...

My brother-in-law who has been working in Qurayat (also in Saudi Arabia but it's almost near Jordan) came for a visit and stayed with us for a week. It was nice to have someone, especially a family, in the house to bond with the kids. Since he's too far away from us, we maximized his stay here in Riyadh doing some dining out and shopping.  For 10 days now we have been going out a lot, getting home at past midnight and sleeping at around 2 am. Though tiring, it's all worth it since we don't get to do this all the time.  It was also during the past week that we had to make some practices for our culminating presentation for the CLP we have been attending every Friday for the past 8 weeks. We had a blast and it was truly an experience of a lifetime to be part of that community. Now we can say we already have an extended family here in the kingdom..we will never be alone and bored anymore, hehe..

family pic with Jay-Jay

with hubby and brother-in-law's uncle and aunt with their youngest son

dined out at Kruathai (a Filipino-Thailander resto)

brothers

dined out for pizza

hubby and i

our adorable boys (especially when they're all sleeping, lol...)

a photo after the culminating activity for a community we just joined in

We still have loads of activities this week and we're looking forward to all of them. =)