Abu Dhabi International

Next and final hop... off to Manila

Muscat International

first hop...off to Abu Dhabi....

cafe ceramique super bowls

We got our super bowls!


We used them for dinner-- beef teriyaki rice!

wacky!

This is actually just a test mobile post.

cafe ceramique

Located at Al Araimi complex in Qurum, its a Cafe restaurant and art studio in one. We decided to have breakfast there last friday after church and although, we planned to just pick-up one ceramic that we painted some time back, we ended up painting our own bowls... for about four hours.

The food and service are great, most of the staff are "kabayans". We were very much into our painting. We ate our food a little bit faster than we normally do and proceeded to continue on our art work. We each got our individual bowls. Spent a few minutes deciding which paint colors to request for then wiped our bowls clean with a wet sponge. Deciding on a base color to work with, we started brushing along. After several coats of our base surfaces, we proceeded to contemplate what designs to use. Hubby chose on his fave hero...big surprise. Vivian and I settled on more time-tested patterns and designs... like butterflies, leaves and even zen patterns.

Once done, we paid our dues and left our bowls in the studio's care. They submerge it in a tub of glaze and then 'fire up' the ceramics in an 'oven' to give it the fine glossy finish. The one-week wait is quite worth it. Can't wait to use them on a rice bowl meal.

movie time: Wall-E

Wall-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter-Earth Class) is a cleaner robot.


The movie started with how the robot piles up all the compacted waste and returns to his home to watch an old film. One day a spaceship lands and leaves behind a white, oval-shaped robot, EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator). For the first 30 minutes or so, you will not hear any dialogue, other than electronic sounds between two robots calling each other's name - “Eeeeva!” says one, then the other responds, “Wall-eeeee! Until they are in Axiom where they meet some friends and how Wall-E became a hero, leading the people back to earth.

While we were watching, the little girl said, "is that earth? that's so sad". Then she was giggling-reacting to the two robots liking each other. A family movie, kids no doubt will enjoy it. Still having hang over with the movie, we were talking like the voice of Wall-E and Eve and hubby said Wall-E reminded him of the movie "Short Circuit". For us, however, the first half was quite dragging and hubby even fell asleep at several parts. The second half picked up the pace and was funnier.

So long crocodiles

"No more classes, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks".

Reception class RM, aka the crocodiles, sees the end to another school year! The few weeks leading into the last day of school... the perpetual question goes...'so what're your plans for the summer?' it's either staying around Muscat - which leads to a subsequent discussion of possible playtime schedules OR flying out to native country or vacationing somewhere a bit (or a lot) cooler.

Vivian will still see the same crocs next year... they stay green...but they change breeds - as come Year 1, they become frogs. So, it wasn't really goodbye-GoodBye - except for maybe 1 or 2 who were moving to some other country. Teachers' are changing of course; as will the classrooms - and maybe even the baggage accessories. Year One(rs) are also now allowed to try out/participate in after-school-activities ie sports, choir, etc.

So as Vivian says goodbye to her teacher and welcomes the summer vacation, the daddy is also smiling -we can all wake up a little later than usual now.

mark one year!!

We recently attended a birthday party for one of Vivian's British classmates. I had a chance to chat with the celebrants dad. They've been here for quite some time...almost four years. We suddenly realized that Thess and Vivian have been here for a year already. Time really passes by fast when you're really active and busy all the time. Vivian's first year in BSM really just flew by. Apart from Thess' knee mishap, the past year was truly enjoyable.

The year wasn't without any major setbacks or challenges but I guess its all just part of life. There were occasions family activities had to take a back seat behind work priorities. Thess and Viv were real troopers during these times. A lot of weeks this year, I had to spend out in the desert for work. Or on weekends, I'd spend a few hours in the night on-site for a customer. Last December, for the very first time, I skipped a school event of Viv's because of work - it wasn't a good feeling. But, of course, as the old saying goes... We work to live; not live to work. So I really try to keep the balance.

Thess has gotten her own sets of friends around the city now. During the periods I would be out of town for work, I'd be comforted knowing that she's out and busy with friends. She has kept herself busy with taking care of the two of us but she also has her own 'mini' projects keeping her busy - her plants, her baking, her stage-mother-ness during Viv's activities (hehe) and we've had several dinner parties at home for our Filipino friends and their families.

Vivian has had the best time amongst all of us I think, what with school activities, making a lot of friends in and out of class, going to parties, attending ballet. She's definitely grown up a lot - not just in terms of the physical - but also socially and academically. She's really a great reader now. She's appears to have a liking to books now; my and Thess' constant book reading hopefully is rubbing off. She's not the best in math yet but she can count up to a 100 now without missing a beat. She's all set for her next term in Year 1 starting September.

We have had great times together here in Muscat in just this one year. Exploring the city, swimming in the nearby beaches/hotels, shopping in the souqs and malls, movies here and there. One can really feel that the city businesses are on its way to building up more of itself, new malls expectedly opening up soon, more shops, more restaurants. Much like the time they first arrived last year, the family energy is still quite there for this place...

movie time: kung fu panda

Vivian never stopped laughing until it ended. I was also laughing (out loud, mind) both from the movie and her reactions to some of the funny scenes. The story was predictable, no surprises but it more than made up for it with the hilarious scenes and the funny panda. We kept teasing the little girl that this was her first come-out movie; her new nickname these days is 'Po'. This family friendly film will surely entertain the kids and kids at heart. Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman were just the perfect fit.

movie time: the chronicles of narnia: prince caspian

Two movies are out from this timeless fantasy by C.S. Lewis, now I'm planning to read the series. I enjoyed the movie but for the little girl she was covering her eyes on some battle scenes. For the most part though, we all enjoyed it. The little girl didn't shout Lion King! anymore when Azlan comes out unlike during the first one. As discussed with my husband after the movie, it was a kid's film but would've been a little better if they made the battle scenes a bit more kid friendlier. This is from the point of view of a parent of a 5 year old.