BC Bloggers Meme: 5 Things You Want To Do Before You Get Old

When you are asked "what are the 5 things you want to do before you get old?" you'd probably stop and wonder, how old is old?  For me, 85 is still young.  My grandfather left this world at the age of 105 and his cousin is around 103 and still kicking her grandson's behind in beer drinking.  So how do I go about answering this question?

Does old mean you can't jump and run anymore?  Or you travel with one bag full of medicines or with an oxygen tank.  I'm still a bit far from that category.  I had a hard time thinking about the 5 things I want to do.  I suddenly feel like I'm losing purpose in life because I can't even name at least 5 things I want to do.  Anyway, after some thinking here is my list:

First on the list and the only thing I didn't have to think before answering and that is to reproduce.  Reproduce as in "go and multiply" kind of thing.  We actually had been trying for almost 2 years now.  Aparently, the stork got stuck somewhere else.  So we just have to wait more and pray harder that the stork will finally knock on our door.

Next is to visit at least five countries in my travel list.  Top on the list is Russia! I don't know why I would so love to visit this country.  Stare at St. Basil's Cathedral, visit museums and be a stranger to a cold place.  My husband always discouraged me about the place.  Still, I am so enthralled with the history of this country.

So while I visit countries with winter, I mean the real winter.  I would really like to play in the snow and make a snowman.  Hubby once took me to Mall of Emirates because they have this huge in-door ski resort called Ski Dubai.  They have snow, or ice, whatever they want to call it.  Still its not the real deal.

I have always wanted to learn a new language, but I always get bored and discontinue researching.  So before I grow old and my memory will not be as good as now, I'd like to learn a new language. Maybe I should sign up with free learning sessions in the city.  Who knows, if I did sign-up, I'll not get bored.  This makes up my list number 4.

Lastly, I'd like to learn how to dance. Yes.  I do.  Seriously, I could sway, I could move but I just want to dance like I am actually dancing not like a vibrating sack of rice.

I bet there are better list than what I have here.  Who knows? I guess its time to stalk other BC Bloggers they might give me new ideas to add on my what to do list. 

Cuppies for the Tired Soul

Just because I'm feeling blue and too stressed out, my husband decided to take me out on a surprise dinner date.  After a month of too much overtime, my payoff came with a question by hubby, "so where do you want to eat?"  The most beautiful question I have heard the entire day.  That definitely put a smile on my face.  I had the entire day of thinking of ways not to think of this one thing.  It's confusing I know, don't ask anyway.

Hubby knows I've been meaning to test the cupcake I have been spying for weeks now.  I've been stalking cafes and bakeries for that perfect cuppies.  And so far I have discovered four delectable indulgences here in Abu Dhabi.

How do you like this?

Yes, it is something.  This is one of the ladies of Bloomsbury.  Set in the middle of Al Wahda Mall, this cupcake stall gives you the classy and elegant feel of a English cafe.  You can choose from one delicately decorated cuppies to another.  All of them looks too good to be eaten.  You'd rather have them serve in a plate and stare at it dreamily.  Their cuppies have two categories, red cards cost AED 12.00 while the black card cuppies cost AED16.00.  This on the picture is one of the black card member and its called raspberry temptation.  The cupcake was a bit dry for my liking, but the jam compensated the lack of moist in it.  The icing was too much as I have expected and the fresh raspberries are a welcome delight with the sweetness of the icing.

Next on the list is Kitsch cupcakes in Central Market.  It was a bit difficult to locate because if you check the floor plan of the building, the stall looks like its inside the mall.  Anyway, turned out its the bakery outside the mall next to cafes.  The location would have been a perfect spot for a cup of joe and a cuppy.  Unfortunately, its summer, so anywhere with A/C is more preferable.  Kitsch reminds me so much of Lachi's and Baby Cakes in Davao city.  It was difficult to choose from a wide array of delicious cupcakes.  Good thing they have small portions that only costs AED 6.00 per piece.  The regular size costs AED 15.00 and they even have the Giant size that serves 5-6 people which costs AED 159.00 a piece.  Too bad all their giant size is already sold.  Not that I would be buying one, I'd just like to take a picture.

 Anyway, we got the lemon twist, double choco and the red V.  The lemon icing was refreshing.  The tanginess of the lemon complements the sponge cake and mildly sweet icing.  The double choco was okay.  Their red V was also good, the icing and the cake tastes like what you would expect from a red velvet cuppy.  Again, their cake was too crumbly for me.  I like my cuppies moist and savory.  Even stands alone without the icing.  These I found in the red velvet cupcake of Cinnabons.  As well as mini cupcakes from Spinney's.

If I have to eat cupcakes for the entire day, I think I'll choose Cinnabons.  Light and airy but still has that moist that leaves a luxurious feel to your tongue.  I must say this is too much advertisement for Cinnabons already.  I should get a free red velvet for this one.

BC Bloggers Meme: The Things That Make Me Happy

And so I got home late and decided to be a bum for the entire night till the next day since I will be working on a rest day. Booo to my boss! He who spends most of his time shouting impossible outputs, drinking Turkish coffee and smoking like a dragon. Enough about my rant. So I was curious about this meme thing. So BC Bloggers Meme open this opportunity to write about different topics. I like it that way, I mean sometimes a given subject makes a more interesting piece.

About the topic. Things that make me happy...(sad to say I'd probably end up writing the same things as my sister, hehe)

 To go on, first on my list is probably baking and cooking. I discovered the fun in baking way back in elementary. My nanay used to bake simple cakes for our merienda. When I was brave enough to hold the knife, I started baking and cooking myself. The best thing about baking and cooking for family is that they eat it with gusto like it was the most heavenly thing they have ever tasted. That's happiness number 1.

 Next, as you guess it, is traveling. Discovering places, tasting their food, smelling their scents and buying souvenirs for the wall - it never stops to enthrall me. Happiness number2.

Third on my list is - tadah! books! I have discovered books the same time i discovered the joy of baking. When I'm not baking I'm tending our bakery while studying or reading a book. I could spend the entire day reading. I love the smell of old books, its like I'm taken into the time when the book was in the hand of the previous owner. I think that's romantic and its my happiness number 3.

Then, comes the fourth, which is music. What would be the world like without music? I think it would be very very sad. Music helps me sleep and keeps me company at night. Music calms my nerves and takes away my stress. Music helps me sharpen my memory. Music just makes the world go round. That's happiness number 4.

Who could live without these people? As the adage go, no man is an island. My life won't be perfect and happy without these people. These people who watches me while I gain and lose weight (not at the same time!). These people who will call anytime and anywhere just to sing me happy birthday. These people who shops for me because I can't seem to force myself to buy stuff for myself alone. These people who would listen to me rant about this and that, he or she. Happiness number 5 - husband, family, and friends.

 Wow, I was not expecting writing most of this in one sitting with one of my hand stuck inside a Cheetos snack. So those were my top five, what about yours?

 If you want to read more interesting stories and know more interesting people join BC Bloggers. Tons of activities to discover at http://www.mommydiary.net/join-bc-bloggers-here

North East Bound

With the summer activities geared up for launching, Dubai initiated it with surprises for the whole family.  One big event lined up is their Dubai Summer Surprises 2012.  So how does an expatriate like me celebrate this occasion?  what else? Head to Dubai and shop ...or not.

Like DSF, the Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) is a month long celebration of activities for the family.  For most families who will be staying in the country for the entire duration of summer vacation, most malls offer great great discounts on most of its stores and plenty of activities for the kids.  At least that's what the news says.  To prove if it does offer great discounts, we head north east and visit engaging Dubai.

Hubby have always wanted to visit Mall of Emirates since the last time we went there, unfortunately, when we entered the parking area he made a wrong turn and we ended up going out of the mall again, since the streets of Dubai is always confusing for the bother of us we ended up in Dubai Mall.  However, this time he came prepared, no, not with a mall map, he was just careful on the turns.  Officially our first stop is Mall of Emirates.

We had no particular item to be purchased our purpose to enter the mall is just the window shop.  Anyway, it didn't end up that way.  When we saw the huge sign of the word sale up to 70% at Home Center no second thoughts, we breeze in.  My husband plan was not to take a basket or cart while doing window shop inside the store so we don't have to buy beyond what we can carry.  Again, that didn't work either.  We went out of the store using the cart. *wink*wink*

The discount sale was not yet in full blast, but the discount were already good.  The sale would run until July 14, 2012.  We have a few more days to save up and shop before this festival closes.  

Another Shabu Session

It was a year ago when I first discovered shabu-shabu here in Abu Dhabi.  I even promised to sample the other resto in the next few days, unfortunately I was not able to fulfill it.

But the other night, we finally got the chance to sample the "other" shabu-shabu in town.  I'm sorry to say but I didn't get the name of the restaurant.  Because its in Chinese character.  My Chinese knowledge is limited to numbers and a few bad words (courtesy of my Chinese lessons way back in elementary days, oh but the bad words i learned it in high school, just so we're clear.)

Anyhoo, the location of the restaurant is a bit seedy.  It is at the top of Philippine House Restaurant in Najda St.  A door that leads inside has two non-working escalators, so you have to climb up manually.  Once at the mezannine floor turn left and another left, you'll see a door with bead curtains and blinking lights in Chinese characters.  Since its the only restaurant on that floor, we hesistantly went inside.  Once you get pass the cashier's counter, you'll see a buffet table.  Table is not for the food, it is actually for the condiments and sauces you create for your own hot pot. 

 
We were ushered to a table near the glass window with small Chinese lanterns hanging overhead.  I will give this restaurant an A for ambiance.  It sure does feel like I'm inside an Asian restaurant.  So were given this A3 size sheet which serves as the menu.  The waiter explained that there single serving hot pots and there is also the big one that can cater to 2-3 person.  We chose the medium size with one basic soup and one spicy soup.  An electric induction stove.  While our soup simmers, our ordered ingredients arrived, we had chicken, beef, frozed fried tofu, chicken balls, crab sticks, chinese cabbage, bok choy, carrots, potato and cauliflower.  Plus noodles and rice, we started dunking the ingredients. and stirred while it is being cooked.

What I love about this shabu-shabu is the sauce and dips that you can mix and match.  We were not able to finish off everything.  So we had it packed to take home.  All in all, the dinner was pretty filling and lip smacking the chili was enough to keep my lips burning for an hour.  We are definitely coming back and will be trying the single hot pot instead of the big one.  Total dinner damage was AED 164.00. Stiff? Oh yes!  But we were able to bring home some stuff and the dinner was super filling. *burp* 

Here Comes the Shams!

While summer season here in the UAE is just warming up.  Abu Dhabi and Dubai have already started the activities to keep everyone in the family busy.

One of the few activities of ADNEC for this season is the Shams Festival 2012.  Shams as I've asked around means the sun.  If the Chinese have their moon festival the Arabs have their sun festival.

Shams Festival is held at ADNEC from May 31 - June 09, 2012 at halls 3 and 4.  It was bit difficult going there, since the parking area is from the tower and not right in front of the building.  So we had to take 2 wrong turns before we got the right entrance to parking A.  A toll gate with a automatic ticket booth will provide you your parking card. 

After we found a space, we headed into halls 3 and 4.  As I've read online, the exhibition is for public, which I assumed is no entrance, big surprise when we got there an entrance fee of AED 10 per head was asked.  When we got inside, the overwhelming smell of incense filled the hall.  Stalls after stalls displayed different styles of dresses commonly worn by the local women.  So I was pretty devastated because I was expecting more stuff will be sold at a low cost.  Jewelries, incense, perfumes, and abayas are the majority commodity being sold.  There are a few Korean stalls selling clothes and toys which I usually see at 168 and Divisoria.  One particular stall caught our attention.  It is a Turkish tea and coffee set.  The elaborate design of the sets are eye candies, but its quite expensive.  A silver tea set costs around AED 250.  This was already discounted since its original prices was AED 570.  Since I'm not ready to splurge that much, we have to decline. 

We didn't stay long since  there's not much to buy in the place.  We left the place like after an hour.  We paid our parking fee at the machine near the lift going back to the parking area. I was disappointed, I guess I didn't research much on this event.  The only thing we got from the place that made us smile was the information the kabayan usher told us, Coco Martin will be having a concert next week on ADNEC.  *wink*

That's Probably Amore!

On one of those unscheduled outing on a weekday, we were invited to dine out with some good friends.  And for that night, our theme was simply Italian.  It was recommended to visit Pizza Amore in Tourist Club Area.

We reached the place around 8 pm.  Good thing parking is not a problem in the area, we were able to get right in front of the main door. Once inside, we went straight to the second floor of the restuarant.  It was empty so we sort of have the place on our own.  Which was pretty neat because we could talk as loud as we want (not that we are a boisterous crowd.  We just love to laugh (loudly - if that helps justifying).  Anyway, the place is a a cozy italian restaurant.

The setting gives you the feel of being somewhere in Italy.  Not exactly the center but somewhere hidden. An aquarium is set in the middle and a big screen is blasting    forgetting sarah marshall. the table is set with romantic candle holders. Unfortunately all tea candle is already used up. so we ordered up and had two types of pizza and two types of pasta. one seafood and one non-seafood. of course the non-sesfood was only ordered for me (i know i know i'm missing a lot) oh but i don't have any plans of rushing to the hospital any time soon.

To my surprise one of the pizza has caviar on it. My my my.  This is one classy pizza.  But per husband, its the ordinary caviar.  It was ok, not that spectacular but still how often do you come across a pizza with caviar on it?!.  We also had some aflredo pasta which i love because it was spicy. 

We ordered milkshake and avocado shakes for drinks. All in all it was a great filling meal.. Pizza + Pasta + Italian music crooning in the background.  It was one good night out.

BC Bloggers

After a short hiatus with writing, that's like a week, I saw the decline of viewers visiting my blog. It saddens me. A bit. Anyway, my blog consultant a.k.a. my sister, adviced me to join this community where I can increase my viewers. Since at the moment, number of hits on my blog is one of my sources of heart pumping moments, I signed up and joined BC Bloggers.

My blog is like my baby. I nurture it with constant checking and a healthy content posting. I try to make it more easy read while being informative. I want to share to the world what I have experienced in places I have been to and if I earned a bit of moolah along the way, better. But for now, I am contented with sharing my thoughts and hopefully the excitement of every road trips, city happenings or a simple trip around the city where I am living at. To read more about my blogs and more interesting blogs, join the community where similar thoughts and new discoveries come together. Join us at www.mommydiary.net.