One More Blog

I just got an e-mail from a friend wondering if everything is OK? I haven't blogged in awhile. I guess I did not keep my promise to myself that I would blog more often. Sorry about that for all of you who are looking for updates. Then when I checked the blog I saw how far behind I am in what has been going on. Well, nothing much to be honest. It seems like since Alison and Alex were here, we have been Dubai'd out and took a much needed break.
Last Friday we went to a souke at Wafi City. One of the malls here. It was really nice. WE had lunch in the outdoor restaurant there and then shopped most of the afternoon. I did some haggling over a pashmina scarf and Ed said I was doing really well. I eventually didn't buy it, but it was fun trying to get the guy down in price. Saturday morning while the boys slept in, Ed and I went to the beach to get some sun. It is starting to get hot and the beach is awesome this time of year. Then in the late afternoon we went to Ibn Battuta Mall and had our picture taken for a glass piece that I have wanted since we came here last year. It will be a really nice souvenier of our time here in Dubai. It is a picture of all four of us in 3D inside a glass block with a picture of the Burj Al Arab and the words Dubai 2007 to 2009. I can't wait to pick it up and see how it turned out. After dinner there at the mall, we came home and got ready for another busy week.
It has been busy too. I worked two full days this week along with 3 half days (I know I am really spoiled!). But when I work long days, till I get home, do dinner for the guys and get ready for the next day, it is time for bed. Ed traveled all week. Tonight it is Thursday evening and Ed and I have been asleep on the sofa since about 8 PM. WE are getting so old.
Tomorrow we are going back to the beach and soak up some more sun and then I am not sure about the rest of the weekend. We will see. But I promise to blog more. WE are all excited about the move back to NY and it is coming fast - only seven more weeks. But who is counting.

HELLOOOOO!

Its time for the...
Saturday Morning Alex
issue#5

this weeks topic is....
nothing really

yeah, you read right. nothing...
apologies for not making one last week, but I had broke my left arm 2 days before i was scheduled to release another one of these amazing Blog posts.

WHY did i do this???
WHY did i make a Saturday Morning Alex???

i DID this BECAUSE
I wanted to show that this was not Wham's site, and that I could do as just as a good job as she can!
I also do this to amuse myself.
I have been taking a llllooooooonnnnnnnnnnnggggggggg break from AW.com
and now I'm ready to go back and re-develop it.
expect AW.com to be up and running in two weeks from now (May 5th @5:55PM)

so even tough my arm is broken.. i find that i can still play my guitar (which is a thumbs up)
So as i sit here multi-tasking my homework and my blog post

I think 1 thing...

How many people even read my posts???
I know that we got a crap-load of views...
but.....a lot of em' are my views
but heck. I don't know.
but i WOULD like to know how many people actually read my posts
so do me a favor and post a comment below.
most appreciated...


so there is not that much else to say..
as a thank you I have prepared a secret page with a couple of cool nick-nacks on it.
click here for your thank you present..


welp,if you excuse me...I have paperwork to attend to,


thanks for joining me in....

The Saturday Morning Alex

I Found a New Hair Stylist YEAH!!!!

Anyone who follows my blog probably knows about my problems with trying to find someone who can fix my hair the way that I like it. I have been dealing with my hair while in Dubai and when I go to NY, I have MY stylist take care of it and hope it lasts as long as possible. Well, my December fix was getting a bit shaggy and I was determined to find someone who would take care of it for me. I have a friend at work who has a really nice haircut and I asked who cuts her hair. She gave me his name and I made an appointment. Well, Leda is from Iran and has a very heavy accent. I love talking with her but sometimes have to ask her to repeat something for me. She was telling me how to get to this beauty shop and I thought she was saying Dubai Marine. Yesterday, I went to Dubai Marine which is all the way at one end of Beach Road. When I could not find the shop, I called and they told me they are in Dubai MarinA, which is all the way at the other end of Beach Road and I had to be there in 15 minutes. Not possible. So, when I made the call I was standing in front of a shop in a hotel - I walked in and said I need a hair cut. A very cute young man said he has time and asked me to have a seat. I was a bit anxious as I did not know anyone there and worried that I would walk out with all my hair standing on end. But I was pleasantly surprised. This guy spoke very good English - he is from Jordan and when I sat down he said - you need some volume on the top. I knew then that he was going to be able to fix my hair the way I wanted. I also enjoyed our conversation as Alex has just been to Jordan and we could talk about the places he visited. Of course when I walked out, it was with a style that I could never do myself but I think even Ed liked it last night so I knew I was successful. When I left he said he hoped to see me again and not by mistake the next time. It just goes to show that sometimes you are in the right place at the right time.

Hello!

Just a quick update to all....

I hope that you have all been enjoying the Saturday Morning Alex
But due to technical difficulties (my arm getting busted)
I will not be able to write another great Saturday Morning Alex this week because I cannot type as awesomely as I can with one hand. apologies.
I would also like to note that the next Saturday Morning Alex will be my last unfortunately.
The main cause is Homework and my new site that will be released in May.

So once again. i apologize and hope you have a nice day without a Saturday Morning Alex.
Now if you excuse me, I have a video game to attend to...
Yours Truly,
-Alεχ

Moopen Group is 21 Years Old

Who is the Moopen Group? you will ask...... Dr. Moopen is the man who owns the hospital where I work. 21 years ago he started his first business venture in India and it has mushroomed from there and he is a very rich man. Last night we attended his anniversary party at ZaBeel park here in Dubai. It was attended by all employees and families of his hospital (Medcare), clinics and pharmacies. I think there was probably close to 1000 people there. The night started with a ceremony and cake cutting, then the show started. For weeks the nurses and staff at the hospital have been busy preparing a "show/dance number" for this night. I was thinking a nice little dance and we could go home after dinner. Well when we arrived the dance numbers had started but I knew our hospital wasn't performing until later. The dance programs were awesome. There was a great sound system, lighting and everything was very professional. Not what I had thought at all. All the performers had costumes made by tailers here in Dubai which are quick. I do remember the staff going for fittings a few weeks ago and leaving their duty for a short time. The result of this was an eventual winner for the evening among all of Dr. Moopen's clinics etc. Our hospital did a very nice show and I was very proud and overwhelmed at how professional they looked. I did take some pictures and they will be posted soon. The night was beautiful with warm weather and the area was very nice. It is a pretty park with lots of parking and space to walk around. All in all it was a great night. The only problem was - my guys did not want to eat before we went there, and it was late. The show didn't finish until 10:15 and the food was not out yet. We decided not to wait around for the food but go to a restaurant for dinner. WE ended up at TGI Friday's and were able to sit outside. I really enjoy that right now. There are no bugs like in NY and the evening temperatures are really balmy and nice. So even though the night was very long it was fun and I am glad we had the opportunity to go. I think we WERE the only American family there. Quite a different feeling when you are used to the opposite.

Happy Easter

It is Easter morning and Ed and I are the only ones awake . It used to be that the kids got up early and looked for their baskets and were a bit "eggscited". I guess those days are over until more grandchildren arrive. Anyway, we did get to church. We decided to go to mass last evening totally forgetting about Easter Vigil. When we checked the mass timings, they were quoted as their normal times (we usually go to 5:30PM). I suggested to the guys that we go early as last year we had to park away from the church and be bussed in. Well this year there were no busses,no security and the drive was like a normal Saturday evening church drive. WE were seated by 5:15 and the church was not overly full. But mass did not start at 5:30 and the later it got the more people arrived. At 6:00 when it did start, we realized that the Easter Vigil was starting and we were there for the long haul. Not only were there all 7 readings but then the regular mass started. I though Greg and Alex were going to explode and I even started to feel like I was being tortured. It was very hot in church and we decided that after communion - we would disappear - something my husband NEVER likes to do. Just ask Greg and Alex, they are constantly asking if we can leave before the last prayer. But last night we left early, well if 3 hours in our seats is early...........
After church we decided to find a place to eat and have our Easter dinner out. We ended up at the Westin Hotel in their Blue/Orange restaurant which is buffet and has everything you can think of to eat. WE decided to just spend the rest of the night eating and enjoying the place. When we got home we were all happy and tired and glad that church was over and we did not have to get up early. Hence, the reason for the beginning of this post.

GET READY FOR...

The Saturday Morning Alex
issue #4

This weeks topic is...
How homework kills spring break!


Homework on a daily basis already sucks! So some teachers decide to play cruel and give us HW on the only week we have off...Spring Break! I don't mind reading a couple of chapters out of To Kill A Mocking Bird No...not at all! But when I have worksheet assignments for my Language class....that really throws me off my game! Especially when you find out on the second to last day of spring break that the assignment is not in the workbook...but that you decided to be more organized and to put the hw in your language BINDER! and that BINDER is in my LOCKER! which is in a dark...locked up...school building....
Me and Wham are ganna venture down into the school later today to retrieve the deamon paper...

I would also like to note. That I have been working on my new website and have a testing home page. This page is the opening page for when you type in Wollyung.synthasite.com, Kinda like Ali's. so click HERE if you wanna see it in all its glory. The picture on the page will be a link to the sites blog, but that piece of the site is not done yet.

Well on that happy note........Stay Blue!





This has been another exciting episode of..

The Saturday Morning Alex

Our Last Easter in Dubai

Boy, I guess I should have been posting a lot more since we have had a lot of "lasts" lately, but celebrating Easter in Dubai is an experience I don't think I will miss too much. In fact all of our religious holidays seem to leave something to be desired. I really miss the feeling that everyone is celebrating with me - because they are not. Today (Thursday) I went to work and gave Easter Eggs to my Arab friends - they were cute little painted eggs that I found in a shop. They were so appreciative but I found myself wondering what they were thinking. Probably something like "what am I going to do with this". But some of them have admitted to celebraing Easter when they lived in other countries. And my friends at the hospital are so polite and nice I hope they will keep the eggs and remember me when Easter rolls around.
It is not too hard to find ham here at all. Most grocery stores have an area in the back that sells all pork products and the area is labeled NO MUSLIMS. They sell all the ham, bacon, and sausage that you could ever want. Also, anything that has pork or pork products in it is sold there.
Ed and I are off until Monday and I look forward to a few days of not much to do and enjoying each others company. The boys have been off from school all week and Ed has been away most of the week and I worked extra hours so having a few days off is just what we need. Today I think we are going to catch a movie and have dinner out somewhere. That is one of our favorite things to do. There are soooooo many restaurants here that all we have to do is decide what type of food we want to eat and go to that restaurant. I think when we get home I will miss Lebanese food the most. And when we got here that was my least favorite food. I also would like to go to the beach, but they are having a problem with Red Tide here and warning people to "watch out " for it????? Doesn't make me want to run into the water. WE may take the boys and go souk shopping. Down by the Creek there are a lot of souks and shops and the things are really really cheap. It is fun just to go there and walk around and see what you can pick up. We have to start the souvenir shopping for everyone at home and it would be a great place to do that.

Guess what time it is???

It's The Saturday Morning Alex
Issue #3

This weeks topic is......
nothing

Yes, there is not topic for this week...
do you want to know why? well, so would I!

I guess i can basically say what Ive been up to...
well....um......I have been-NO wait..... that was the movie..... HMMMMMM.....
ahhhhhh....soooo....nachos???

AH! I can think of anything!!! I have like a mental Bloggers-block
...did i just create a word???
AWESOME!! thats ganna be my new word for when i have nothing to say!!!
"bloggers-block"...yeah... it sounds.....catchy

well im going to play online tonight with my new game Animal Crossing for the Wii...
apparently you have to exchange friend codes in order to play with other people online, which does kida suck.

But I was watching some videos of the online play....it actually looks fun
I saw a videos of people playing tag in the Town Museum in the game. and with the wii speak thingy. we and my friend can talk as we play...

So I have been anticipating for this for a couple of days now. I hope the game doesn't freeze up when its online like my other game Super Smash Brothers did...

Hey, i just wrote a story....
SO, I, Alex have just broke thru the Bloggers-Block!
And in the proccess, i have made issue #3 of My exciting posts....

so thats all for now...stay sour!

This has been the...

Ssturday Morning Alex

Forgotten Posts

During the day sometimes I think about things I want to post and then in the routine of dinner, laundry etc I forget to sit down and write it. Well, today is the catch up day.
First I want to write about the fact that our palm trees are disappearing around the Meadows. When Ed picked this area to live in it was because of all the green grass, trees and flowers. It is a very pretty area with lakes to walk around and very well maintained. Somebody decided to put in six lane highways right outside of our beautiful areas and they are ripping up all the nice green islands, taking out the trees and digging up the flowers, getting ready to put down roads. Ed commented that the trees are just "rentals". It is very sad to see. Thankfully, we won't be here to see the end result as we will probably have moved home by then. But the construction is a hard thing to live with, all the dust, huge equipment etc. When the big vehicles move around, you can actually feel the house shake. I am glad I do not own this home as I don't think it will be worth very much in the end. They are literally destroying the Meadows.
The weather is also a major discussion almost everywhere I go right now. WE have had wicked dust storms for two weeks now and the worst thunder and ligthtening I have ever seen with 7-8 strikes at once. It is amazing. Then when it rains, it literally pours buckets. Theses houses are not built to withstand constant rain and many of them leak during a rainstorm. We have been very lucky. Only a few areas of "wet" ceiling but no dripping. I hope I am not jinxing us because they are expecting more thunder storms today until tomorrow afternoon.
We had a really great visit with Ali and Alex. Ed and I were talking and said we both feel like we have seen and done just about everything we wanted to do here in Dubai. I think the kids feel like they have "seen it all" as well. I did post pictures from the past few months. I will be working on captions a little every day so keep checking back.
The only other thing on my mind is moving back home and leaving my job here in Dubai. It will be REALLY SAD for me to leave all my friends here but I am getting anxious to move back and reclaim the house and get re-settled. We are taking one last vacation on Hilton Head with JJ and family on our way back. We are spending a week there and I really am looking forward to that. I think it will be fun to just hang around with the kids and have a good time. It will probably be my last vacation for awhile. I am hoping all the kids will be able to join us for a mini Wollyung family reunion. We don't get to see JJ and his family enough.
My sister donated my father's American Flag from his casket to the Fort Indiantown Gap Cemetary to fly in the Avenue of Flags. I had mixed emotions about this but in the end, the flag is better "serving the country" then in a box gathering dust I guess. I think the idea of the flag and thinking about my dad made me sad for a time but in the end all his memories are with me and the flag is just a thing. One of the things I have to learn when I get home is that some "things" are better thrown out or donated as our house is getting too small to keep everything that has sentimental value. I will have lots of time in the late summer and fall to go through a lot of saved boxes etc. before our belongings arrive from Dubai. I don't know how long it will take to get to NY, but I will try to use that time to make room for all the new things we have accumulated while we were here. I guess that is all for now, unless I think of something else during the day, I will add. I see to have time on my hands today...........