Top 6 of 2011

Last year I did a top ten and that's just taking liberties with top lists... if you have too many then they aren't really "top", are they?

Here's my top 6 memories:

6. Visitors- Aunt Louyse, Hannah and Cheryl all coming to see me in just one year!

5. Christine becoming Mrs. Emery and all the fun that came with it!

4. Running the Lowell half marathon with these ladies.

3. Afghanistan- an adventurous and memorable trip, because sometimes ignorance really is bliss.

2. Moments with friends from here when I'm reminded that the same things make us all come alive.

1. Becoming an Aunt to J.J.

And yes, we made it pool side!

We did spend a few days at the pool while Cheryl was here. It's one of my favorite places in Al Ain!

A bunch of snicker snackers from Christmas

Here's some random christmasy things that Cheryl and I did while she was here.

We went out for shwarma with Ahalam (my arabic teacher), Latifah (her sister) and Shiny (my co-worker).

We hosted Christmas brunch at Trey and Jessie's for some single ladies. (Yes, we played Beyonce's All the Single Ladies throughout the whole meal.)

We hosted Christmas Eve dinner for my church!

The three wisemen came to the hospital as in Oasis Hospital tradition. The Bible story of the 3 magi arriving with gifts for baby Jesus is read on Christmas Day!

That was Christmas in the desert this year and I am so happy that I had Cheryl to do all of these things with. Some things are just better when you are with friends!

A much merrier Christmas

This year I can say I am having a much merrier christmas than I was last year. Last year, my Aunt was suppose to come but, was on a flight that was cancelled because of the snow in England. We ended up celebrating Christmas in February with her instead. This year Cheryl is here and she made it without any problems at all. Cheryl and I have been baking, cooking and even mall shopping!

Cheryl brought some mint extract for me- I had been craving peppermint hot chocolate so, here's to a much merrier Christmas than last year!

It's Christmas Time in City

My friend Cheryl made it and we are having a good time enjoying the "cold" weather. It's been in the high 80's in the afternoon and in the 60's in the evenings.

We went to Abu Dhabi this weekend and it really is christmas time in the city especially at the Emirates Palace. The Emirates Palace is a fancy schmancy hotel that costs way too much for girls like us to be sleeping in. It's about $1,500 for a modest room for one night but, walking tours are free.

The man at the gate told us we needed a reservation for a tour and I told him that I was going back to Al Ain that night and that meant my guest from America wouldn't see the hotel. We smiled, Cheryl flipped her blonde hair and walah, like magic he waved us through. (ok maybe she didn't flip her hair but, I couldn't see her when I was facing the man talking to him so she could have been flipping her blonde hair).

Finally, after some smiles and maybe some hair flipping we got to see the gorgeous, sort of tacky and super expensive Christmas Tree in the lobby! (capitalization of Christmas Tree is necessary for a tree of this sorts)

She's from Boston

Well... She's sort of from Boston. Cheryl (the one in the blue shirt... the one in the blue shirt with blonde hair) will be coming for Christmas in the UAE! I am so excited to go pick Cheryl up at the airport on Thursday night. She will get in after church on Thursday and I just can't wait to go get her and have some girly-girl time while she is here. We have pedicures sceduled first thing Friday morning and plenty of time for the pool!

"Time to Make the Bread"

In the UAE the traditional bread that the bedouins or the native people of the UAE make is a paper thin crusty bread that you eat with most traditional meals. The only people who make it are the older women. It is made on a hot metal plate over an open flame. Last week a woman was making it and I had a chance to get some pictures of her. The pictures are sort of in reverse order and I couldn't get my blog to work for me so... just scroll up!

The Spirit of the Union- the UAE Celebrates 40 Years

December 2nd is National Day for the UAE. This year they are celebrating 40 years of national history. It's strange to think that a country is younger than my parents and has come so far in such a short time. It's also a little funny that the hosptial where I work is celebrating 51 years of history this year- do the math, we have been her 11 years longer!

Around here it means it's time to adorn everything you can with red, white, green and black the colors of the Emirati flag. People even give you pretty hair bows like this one for National Day... doesn't get much better!

There are celebrations happening all over the city and we get to a part of a few of them. The boys above are throwing rifles (fake ones) into the air as part of a traditional Emirati dance.

We even hosted a small celebration at the hospital!

Complete with face painting by Jessie and a few other women in our office!

Things that make me smile

On Monday night we were invited to our Ear, Nose and Throat doctor's house for dinner. He and his wife are from Hungary and they have 2 kids, Dhelma who is 8 and Adam who is 4. They are very cute kids and they are still learning English (doing very well at it!).

Adam likes to swim when his sister takes swim lessons once a week and the other days he "scuba dives" off of their living room couch into a pile of pillows. He decided to show us how he does this when we were there.

I had to take this picture, it just made me laugh to see him walking around the living room all ready to swim. Things like this just make me smile!

Another one bites the dust

Megan Thompson is off the market! Meg got engaged so her dating life bites the dust but, the marriage part of her life hasn't even started.

Meg and I were college roommates my final semester at Gordon. The day we signed our paperwork to move into that apartment we showed up wearing the exact same outfit to sign the papers... a tad embarrassing at the time. It was necessary then to move in together, that way we would see what the other person was wearing and then change before leaving the room.

I only got to live with Meg for 4 short months but they were amazing and they helped to seal the deal on this friendship thing we got going on.

Love this girl and I am so happy for her! Good choice Mike, you know how to pick 'em!

Love you Meg! (that's her on the left)

Thankful in 2011

1. For this clan I get to be part of (forever and ever):

Note: Dad is missing but, I am thankful for him too!

2. This addition to the clan:

If babies just slept like this forever I think people would have more of them, that's why God makes them cry and poop, to control the population.

3. These 2:

Don't be confused by the mexican props, that's just Trey and Jessie, doing what they do best- having a good time. That's why I am thankful for them, we never have a boring day here.

4. This dry, hot desert that I get to live in.

And all the new things it has brought me; friendships, opportunities, absence from home (which makes the heart grow fonder) and endless days in the sunshine with tan skin!

Man and Wife

Mr. and Mrs. Taylor and Christine Emery

These two got married when I was home. That was just a part of the reason I went home last month.

That and this guy:

J.J. Gonzalez

Christine, over the past 6 years has become a friend to treasure. I have now known Christine longer with Taylor in her life than without him in her life. That's a good thing, I like Taylor in Christine's life and I hope he likes me in her life too. I have no plans of going much further away than I currently am and we haven't seem to miss a beat yet. I had a blast taking in the fall colors and being a part of such a fun bridal party:

I had the best time being an Aunt! J.J. was just perfect when he fell asleep in my arms... and that was almost every time I held him.

J.J. Gonzalez, stop growing now and just stay small enough for me to hold forever.

Eid Mubarak!

Today was the second day of Eid Al Adha which is the second Eid of the year.

Here's a little Wikipedia for you on this Eid:

Eid al-Adha or "Festival of Sacrifice" or "Greater Eid" is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Abraham (Ibrahim) to sacrifice his sonIshmael (Isma'il) as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened to provide him with a sheep— to sacrifice instead.

In the Christian Bible we believe that it was Isaac not Ishmael that was going to be sacrificed by Abraham. But the story is similar to the one in the Quran. The point of the story being that God intervenes with a lamb or animal to sacrifice instead of Abraham sacrificing his son. At Eid they are celebrating the substitute for Ishmael and giving thanks to Allah for this.

As Christians, we see this Old Testament account of God providing a sacrifice in the place of Abraham sacrificing his son as preparation for the ultimate sacrifice that was to come. While animals in the Old Testament were sacrificed as offering to cover over sins, this time Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son. God in the end, intervened and provided a lamb to sacrifice instead. In the New Testament, Jesus is brought to the cross and killed as an eternal sacrifice for the sins of man. In the book of John we are told that Jesus is the "Lamb of God" who will take away the sins of the world and anyone who will believe in him will not perish but have everlasting life.

During this Eid we visited over 15 homes and shared in this special holiday with our friends. While we see the story slightly differently and we certainly see the story having a different meaning it is nice to see our friends and celebrate with them. They know that we will soon celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas and holidays are a great time to learn about one another's cultures, traditions and religions.

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mom's birthday! And unfortunately I will not be there to celebrate it with her. But, I hear my dad made some pretty awesome plans for the two of them. They are going to the Princess Diana exhibit at Foxwoods!

She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
"Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all."
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Proverbs 31

She has been a wonderful mother and she will make an even better grandmother to JJ!

Happy Birthday Mom! I wish I could be at home with you in Massachusetts, without power and with lots of snow!

"Return of the Mac You Know that I'll Be Back"

And it took me a while but here I am! I am back in commission after a rowdy trip home and 2 weeks of the worst jet lag of my entire life. I am HERE.

Today I will post about my first weekend home and I will give you more of home as the week goes on.

Weekend One: Christine's AMAZING Bachelorette Party with some of the most fun girls I know at a beautiful cabin in New Hampshire!

The view from the cabin known as the Martinelli Memory Maker! A Gordon connection helped us get the weekend here!

Meg got her boyfriend to drive her up from Philly for just 2 nights! What a man, what a man... feel free to break into the rest of the song if you know it.

At Stonegate Vineyard Winery run by Jane and her husband Peter. If you are ever in the area you should visit it's such a fun afternoon!

Just hanging out at the house!

It's been a long time

Hey! I am coming home in just a few short days and my eyes have been set on this for a while now! Christine is getting married and I couldn't think of a more exciting reason to get to Boston in the Fall.
I wanted to share some exciting news. Recently a gentlemen in Al Ain offered to help fundraise for Oasis Hospital by running the Gobi March, a 250km race over 7 days in the hottest part of China. It's really exciting and I am so happy to be part of the team that will help him raise money for Oasis Hospital and CURE International. Check it out! Most of you know I worked in Development when I was in Boston and I think I will get to use some of my fundraising skills to help him make the most of his race. It feels good to be doing something familiar again!

Football You Say?

Last night the Oasis Hospital Football Club (that's right we are playing by European language rules over here... football, like the EU kind not the American kind) played NYU Abu Dhabi in a friendly match. A group of us ladies went to cheer them on. Abu Dhabi is on the water and while it's technically cooler than Al Ain it was so humid we were all sticky the minute we got out of the air conditioned cars and onto the pitch (another very European word, just makes me feel like I was going to a real match).

It was strange because on my way there, driving a mini-van full of girls I felt for a minute like I was driving my mom's mini-van to a highschool football game. The scene was right, we were all a bit chilly (from the AC being on too high in the car), the sun was going down and it was getting dark, we had some snacks for the game and we were decked out in our teams colors. Then, we got out of the car and BAM reality hit, I was shiny and sticky in about 3.4 seconds.

We had a great time watching the boys play (we won't tell you the score) and cheering them on.

This is Mohammed and his son. He was a cranky baby last night, probably because it was hot but, the second he was on his dad's shoulders he was content.

"I wanna be a millionaire"

I am linking my blog to a "Show us Your Life" from Kelly's Korner. It is "Show Us Your Favorite Blogs" and I thought it was a great opportunity to give Jessie a shout out!

And no, I don't actually want to be a millionaire but, one day I do want to own an Inn with this girl:

www.treyandjessie.blogspot.com.

My sister-in-law would be a wonderful partner in a business. We would love to one day own an Inn on the North Shore somewhere, sort of Gilmore Girlsish. Minus the daughter out of wedlock and minus the overbearing mother.

Clothes Fit For a King or a Princess

This week I went shopping with Cheryl, she is a nurse here at the hospital. We went shopping for a "local" dress aka long to the floor with long sleeves. Cheryl and her husband were invited to an Iftar dinner by one of her patients. It's a good idea when you are a guest at a local person's house to be dressed appropriately aka cover all arms and legs!

Before we went shopping Cheryl and her husband, Ty had me over for dinner. Ty was the chef that evening and I was quite impressed by his chicken stir-fry!

While we were out shopping for Cheryl I found this one super fancy dress that I couldn't resist trying on. The thing is that all the dresses for women here tend to look a bit more like you are a princess than a woman getting dressed for a dinner party. Well... did you ever think just once as a little girl that you wished you could have a dress like Princess Jasmin? Well, I did!

And in this country they essentially make princess clothes for women (just a bit, ok a lot more conservative)!

Check me out- I felt like I was wearing a princess dress!

Guilty Pleasures and some not so guilty pleasures

1. TV Shows- so in this hot, hot summer weather I am watching more tv than I have watched in a very long time. Most recently this has been Friday Night Lights reruns and Rookie Blue (I blame Christine for this Rookie Blue addiction)- I watch them both on Hulu. I am sort of vicariously living through the characters on these shows. I would definitely want to be Julie Taylor, who doesn't want their Dad to be the most successful varsity football coach in the state of Texas?! Just kidding Dad! I NEVER want to live in Texas.

2. Frozen Watermelon- again in this hot, hot summer weather, I have started freezing pieces of watermelon to eat as a snack. So refreshing!

3. The pool- like I said some pleasures not so guilty! But, in this hot, hot summer weather, there hasn't been a day this week that I haven't been to the pool.

4. Cold Brewed Iced Coffee- Need I remind you of the hot, hot... I think you get it! I made this recipe from the Pioneer Woman's blog and she calls it liquid gold, there is no better way to describe it than that! The sweetened condensed milk version is amazing but, I did say that I have been at the pool a lot and bathing suits and unnecessary extra calo

ries don't go together so, I stick to skim milk and still it's such a rich cup of iced coffee.

5. This granola! It's my friend from college, Andi's recipe. Or actually it's her mother-in-laws. And, I have not had this since I lived with Andi in college and it is TO-DIE-FOR. Other granola recipes can not compete- expensive organic brands like Naked Granola would go out of business if we started packaging and selling this stuff! We posted the recipe on Jesssie's blog this week. Check it out and turn those ovens on- it's only August, what? is it hot at home? I am so sure it's not as hot as my hot, hot summer weather!