Yet another star...

the little (big) girl is on a roll...

I decided to pick her up today from school since I needed to talk to her teacher about her upcoming birthday(!). I was delightfully surprised to see what greeted me...

Vivian shouting, 'Mommy!!' with such gusto - the scream was half meant for her surprise I picked her up (coz I usually don't) and half was meant for her glee to be able to tell her mommy the good news...! She was (again) the Star of the Day. She last got the award about two months ago.

I asked Mrs. Ellman-Brown about the Star. It was a recognition for Vivian's focus on her work and that one can really see it on the results of her school work particularly in numeracy and reading. The message was that so long as Vivian really applies herself and focuses, she can really continue to do well.

--->> Mrs. Brown also congratulated her as she recently moved up from the green tagged books to gray tags. This basically means her reading books have gone up a grade.

Wahiba Sands

Wednesday was declared a holiday, we therefore had a long weekend. The Talabis troupe invited us and the Velarde cast to stay overnight at the Al Areesh Camp, Wahiba Sands. We left Muscat around noon that wednesday bringing along our 4WDs (our Sportage and their Fortuners) and arrived about 2.5 hours after at the camp.
Our first test was the steep uphill climb right after the camp entrance. It took me three tries before I got up and over the climb. Disheartening as that was, I still had fun with the afternoon adventure...a ride around Wahiba Sands until sunset. The sand dunes were amazing and then Thess and Vivian were literally rolling around the sand...the fine orange sand. Our 4WD however got stuck (along with 2 other vehicles) and we weren't able to complete our trip. The other vehicle (where the wives and the kids were) finished the entire desert route. We had to content ourselves with the serenity of the desert, the fresh air and amazing sunset.
After getting pulled out by another vehicle, we drove back to the camp for a heavy buffet meal and an evening of non-stop kwentuhan. The morning after... we had breakfast (it wasn't as great as dinner but filling nonetheless). We spent some minutes at the traditional shops before leaving the camp. The girls

had some intricate henna tattoos done on their hands. After that, a quick visit with local (not so) wild-life camel...he was tranquil enough for some pictures.
Before driving back to Muscat, we allowed ourselves one last run through the desert sand. Might not have been a good decision as it definitely left me wanting more of the offroading treat.

our new place (update)

It's been more than a month since we moved to our new place . Changes and adjustments have been made according to the needs and size of the apartment. We, and - note- that includes Vivian, decided to sell a lot of our stuff to loosen up the apartment and fund the stuff we needed to buy.

Our living room has more space when we sold the center and console table and decided to put a carpet rug and big pillows to be more inviting and comfortable.

We also bought our new space saving dining table, cabinets for our shoes and kitchen stuff. Our dining table folds down and occupies only a sliver of space when unused. The cabinets kept the narrow hallway organized, so I was able to remove all that clutter.

The not-so-little girl's room underwent a little bit of an upgrade. She agreed to let go of her Little Tykes table-and-chair set and aquarium which we then replaced by the big desk with a pink chair and a carpet rug for her play area. The desk and pink chair were courtesy of IKEA from our recent Dubai spree.

The Tree!

Amazing what a Christmas tree can do... one fine day, I came home to find our tree set up. It was the ultimate mood swinger. Although I knew December was coming up and Christmas was just around the corner, the idea never really sunk in until the tree was up. It seemed the same for the wife and the little girl - Christmas is here!

Mom's birthday '08

I had wanted to extend the Dubai excursion another day so we could wake up to Thess' birthday and celebrate in Dubai. However, practicality set in and we celebrated instead back in Oman in one of her favorite restaurants, Biella. We usually have a wonderful pizza and pasta combo but instead tried a pizza with one of their Risotto Marinara. Biella is a bit pricey but the food is quite delicious. Happy Birthday!!

Note: Thank you very much for all the gifts, cards, greetings and wishes. - thess

Dubai Class

Before November, I hadn't attended any courses or conferences which at first felt odd as it always seemed I would get chances to fly out on business trips for whatever reason well into the early months of the year. Although, the need was there to take some courses, however, getting to actually attend the class(es) was challenging, what with work schedule conflicts and class schedules getting postponed and cancelled. But then, finally, things clicked into place and I drove out to Dubai Nov 15th for a week's training (Cisco).

The final 'click' was that I got to bring the mag-ina along. Needless to say, they were beaming with excitement the entire four-hour drive across the border. I attended the class with a colleague and very good friend of mine, Sadiq, who had then just cleared his CCIE Security lab exam. According to unconfirmed reports, and I truly believe this to be true, he is the very first Omani CCIE (at least, the first homegrown). He also brought along his family to celebrate with him. So, early on, you could already tell it was going to be an enjoyable trip.
So, then, while my friend and I proceed daily to slave away at the Cisco class, Thess and Vivian proceed to each and every popular mall in Dubai. They had a list...one mall a day. They take a cab from our hotel (Holiday Inn Express in Internet City) to whichever mall that's planned for that day. If it wasn't obvious yet, shopping was on top of girls' list. After our class, I drive over (through Dubai's darn rush hour traffic, mind) to whichever mall and proceed to load bags, boxes and whatever onto Scabber's rear.

Our last visit to Dubai already made us believers of how truly amazing this city really is. After this trip, it has made us long for the urban lifestyles ten times over. One particularly memorable experience was the Dubai Aquarium, inside the newly-opened Dubai Mall. As expected, the Aquarium was a big hit with the little girl... eyes swirling around trying to see all she can around this gigantic fishtank... note - it's inside a friggin' mall. The exterior of the tank is clearly visible to passersby and that alone is amazing in itself. If you still crave for more though, you can pay to enter and pass through this glass tunnel that takes you inside the gigantic fishtank....and, yes, it's inside a commercial mall. The selection of marine life ranges from the big schools of small fishes, to sharks and rays. After the tunnel, you can opt to visit (with additional fee of course) the Discovery Center which is another long stretch of tanks of other marine life including Vivian's favorites... seals and penguins.

I never though it possible, not in a million years... kung may magtanong sa kin, 'kamusta dre, san kayo nanggaling?' sagot ko (in a highly nasal tone), 'ah pare, dyan lang.... nag-mall hopping lang kami sa Dubai....'

interesting note: you know that SUV feature where you can get more cargo space by folding the back seats. I had to fold one of the back seats by the first night alone. and again, I really have to keep saying this, I thank the powers-that-be for whoever thunk up GPS and Nokia for my N95. :)

International Day (2)

Each year, BSM celebrates Oman's National Day. Last year, Viv's class went to school in the traditional Omani dress. This year, the entire school had a common event. On Nov. 12, each student went to school in their own country's national costumes. Viv and the other Filipino gals all looked very pretty in their traditional baro't saya. The school held a program showcasing various songs and dances from the different countries. Filipino's, unfortunately, are a minority in BSM and so, except for being part of the parade of countries, no Filipino's went onstage to perform. O well, maybe next year's...?

Naturally of course, the wife made sure Vivian looked her best. What with the couture dress, pearls... Vivian wowed them all.

Thanks Mum!!

fantasy books....

About a year ago, I wrote about the Deverry saga I had started reading. I've finished off its thirteenth book, Spirit Stone (thanks to Erik!) and am trying find a way to get the fourteenth, Shadow Isle. Unfortunately, I am having a difficult time getting it - need to find someone who'll buy me one off of a UK rack. So, while I am awaiting the 'final' book, I've decided to branch out.

I've now started on the World of Time saga, by Robert Jordan, per Chaz' recommendations. Twelve books in all and I am just on the second book, The Great Hunt. Stark contrasts, different storytelling styles, a few similarities in references used and worldly (or non-worldly) concepts. Simply put, I am enjoying it. I am amazed by the books and I am in awe (and envy) of people who can write like this. Sigh....

Taking care of our (not so) hot bodies

Some months ago, I had decided to try and make an effort to exercise. I decided to buy a couple of dumb bells. I ended up buying the fixed, rubberized kind - for some reason, Oman sports shops weren't selling the modular bar and individual plates. They usually have these weights by the set and I wasn't really planning to start lifting cars anytime in the future. In any case, I made do with it and it was a good starting point anyway.

Sometime after, me and a pinoy buddy found out about BSM's after school open badminton sessions - open meaning open to anyone and everyone; kids and adults. Needless to say my first night of play (after several years of not) was a lesson in breathing or lack thereof. After a few weeks, I was able to slowly get back on track -which just means I am back to how I was playing years ago, which wasn't so great to begin with but at least now I don't get winded as fast as before.

The timing of all this was great since as you may have read previously, we recently moved apartments. The new apartment was now on the third floor. By noon of moving day, I had lost count of the number of times I went up and down those stairs. It was a tiring day but it was good exercise. About a week after moving in, the whole family agreed to spending some time in the evening for walk around the neighborhood after dinner. The previous apartment's location wasn't so conducive.... especially during the night.

So slowly but surely... we're getting into a groove of consciously making an effort to exercise. The wife does a lot of physical stuff, what with chores and stuff at home, but a routine exercise has its own reward. She recently bought an exercise mat for herself - which I haven't actually seen her use yet but I think she's secretly doing her routines during the mornings while she has the house to herself... I was surprised to see several pilates videos saved on one of our thumbdrives (which we use for watching in the home theatre system)