Week 52 and a bit - Project 365

I must sort out my date for posting each week so I only have 52 weeks next year. You can read Week 52 here.

Sunday hubby said he wanted some help trimming back the tree and not to bother showering until afterwards. I didn't shower and get dressed until 7pm and headed off out for a coffee. Hubby got distracted by rising a lock and having to go out to purchase a new lock, fix the bikes ready for a bike ride this afternoon, he never went, although the bikes did get fixed. So while I waited for him to tackle the tree I went back to bed, watched the soaps, wrote thank you letters, blogged and sorted photographs. We snacked on chocolate and sweets during the day and the teen emerged from his bedroom around 5pm to join us for dinner which was a salad with breads and cheeses. When I finally got outside I asked what day it was and he said Sunday. I had no idea, so I snapped a picture for My Sunday Photo. 

This means I only have 6 more days off before I start my new job teaching at a local school and although all my planning is done, I still have prep to do and a million and one other things to get on with.

Day 361 ‪#‎onedailypositive‬ ‪#‎WhereIAteAMealToday‬ ‪#‎fmsphotoaday‬ ‪#‎sleep‬‪ #‎snaphappybritmums‬ ‪#‎project365‬ apart from a bit of gardening I've spent the day in bed, writing thank you letters and catching up with the soaps

Monday we took the car for a service and went looking for a new car for me, the rent/lease costs per month add up to a new car by the end of the first year, so we've decided to buy a 2nd hand car to run around back and forth to work in. The public transport doesn't start early enough to get me into work on time every day. I spent the rest of the day sorting through paperwork updating our postal address and writing thank you cards and letters. We walked back to collect the car, the other side of Sheik Zayed Road. It's only 1km from our house but a 4km walk, using Noor Bank station to cross the road or a 15km drive.

Day 362 #onedailypositive #SomethingAwesome#fmsphotoaday #stripes #snaphappybritmums#project365 my box of awesome, goodies to send back to the UK from Dubai with the #teen to my niece, great nephews and adult children.

Tuesday morning was spent in the desert with Bob, hubby says 'enough photo's' as they all look the same, week in, week out. Hubby had a few work calls while I did the washing and watched my soaps. Then we headed off to Severn Sands at The Beach for a late lunch using up one of the vouchers I won back in July on an Instagram competition. Child 3 of 5 set off from Manchester for his first visit to Dubai arriving on Thursday morning.

Day 363 #onedailypositive #sparkly #fmsphotoaday#8am #snaphappybritmums #project365 the lakes at Al Qudra this morning.

Wednesday started with collecting Jamie from the airport, we drove home along Sheikh Zayed Road for his first view of Dubai. After he unpacked and took a shower we all went to Dubai Mall, had lunch, did a bit of shopping, watched the fountains at the Burj khalifa and scouted the beach for the best place to set up tomorrow night to watch the fireworks. We had dinner, spent some time in the garden, I ironed, the teen played on his computer and hubby and Jamie fell asleep on the sofas. I'm also spending my week writing Thank You Letters, it's important to me to keep the doors of communication open when you live as an expat.

Day 364 #onedailypositive #TheWeatherToday #fmsphotoaday #new #snaphappybritmums #projectthere will be a million people here tomorrow to see in the New Year. @burjkhalifa @atthetopburjkhalifa We won't be part of it, we're watching from the beach, there's no way I'd cope with that many people around me.

Thursday and the last day of 2015. It's been a strange year, our first year completed living in Dubai. I'm now in full time work, something I never saw happening after 5 years of living abroad, I didn't hunk I'd ever pick up my career again. I'm not a huge fan of Dubai in general. It's expensive, over crowed, noisy, looks like building site, too many tourists, but we do feel at home living in our villa near the beach, we know a few neighbours, we have friends, have routines etc. We visited the desert with Bob, Jamie and the teen (he who cannot be named or photographed) in the evening we settled in on the beach at the bottom of our road, to watch the fireworks go off at the Burj Khalifa, the Burj Al Arab, the Atlantis and an amazing display over the sea. I don't have New Years Resolutions as such, I have a list of 'things I want to cut down on' instead. 

Day 365 ‪#‎onedailypositive‬ ‪#‎celebration‬ ‪#‎fmsphotoaday‬ ‪#‎clink‬‪#‎snaphappybritmums‬ ‪#‎project365‬ well I've come full circle. My first photo prompts were Sky and One and I posted a picture of the @burjkhalifa lit up against the night sky. This is where we are ending 2015 on the beach watching the fireworks. Children 3 & 5 of 5 are with us. I've enjoyed Project 365 and loved the two photo prompts from FMSPhotoADay and SnapHappyBritMums, linking both the prompts into one photo hasn't been easy some days and has required a lot of imagination and effort. For 2016 I am continuing with the prompts but running them separately, there will still be a weekly round up but it will be with photos that document my actual week rather than the prompts.

I've also loved My Sunday Photo and I'm joining in with Darren's new project on Instagram this year, with a weekly photo prompt. I'm continuing with FMS and SHBM prompts. Visit FMS over on face book you don't have to join the group to see the photo prompts and SHBM at Britmums but as separate photos on instagram and this year I'm going to focus more on my One Daily Positive. 

I've also scheduled through January and into February, posts for HDYGG and Animal Tales and I've got a few travel posts lined up from my trips to the UK, Canada and South Africa this year. There is no international travel planned for 2016, we are both so over travelling after this year, me for pleasure and hubby for work, but who knows?

Week 52 - Project 365

Sunday started off with everyone at home. Hubby won't be travelling again until mid January, the teen goes back on Jan 8th and child 3 of 5 arrives on Dec 29th until Jan 13th. He's taking time off work to be with the kids as I return to work on Jan 3rd. I need transport to get to work, we have one car and I've been using it while hubby is away, he works at one end of Dubai, I work at the other and we live in the middle. The train doesn't start early enough for me to get across the city and leaves hubby with a long walk the other end, so I set off along Sheikh Zayed Road to enquire about a car lease, but I was thwarted by not having a credit card. For My Sunday Photo I took a picture of one of the many Christmas trees i've seen while I've been out and about.

I've been having a lot of fun with #ElfOnTheShelf alternative, so much so, I'm now doing the 12 Days of Christmas alternative.

Day 354 #onedailypositive #ILoveDoingThis #fmsphotoaday #young #snaphappybritmums#project I love walking and I love exploring anywhere and everywhere. I asked hubby to drop me at Noor Bank Station so I could cross Sheikh Zayed Road (all 14 lanes) so I could walk to Oasis Mall for a coffee and some Christmas shopping.

Monday, hubby dropped me at The Madinat at 8am, the stalls didn't open till 9am so I had a wander around, visited the turtles and took lots of photos of the christmas decorations and had a coffee while catching up with writing blog posts, reading and commenting. I had a lovely walk along the beach, a snack at the fishing village and an appointment for an MRI on my ankle after cracking a bone 2 weeks ago, the teen had an appointment for blood tests and we had a quiet night at home and early to bed.

Day 355 #onedailypositive #joy #fmsphotoaday #green #snaphappybritmums #project365 I've spent the past week photographing Christmas trees and decorations in Dubai. It's brought me a lot of happiness and colour in the desert.

Tuesday was a lovely day of doing nothing, hubby woke me at 6am with a cup of tea before work and the next thing I knew it was 10am, I had a tidy round, made dinner, ironed, watched You Tube, ate donuts, sorted out christmas day lunch and a few trips while the boys are here. I read magazines, drank tea, painted my nails and blogged and organised photographs on the lap top. Hubby came home with a pile of post, we bought some wine and watched a movie. There was no animal tales linky this week, so here's the post for when Bob met Santa. Hubby and I had a long chat about whether our next trip to the UK, we've decided to pack away our suitcases for a while and have a staycation next year.

Day 356 #onedailypositive #tree #fmsphotoaday #inside #snaphappybritmums #project365

Wednesday I got hubby to drop me at Dubai Marina Mall, it's the last big mall to visit to photograph for Christmas. I get asked all the time if christmas is celebrated in Dubai. I also decided I really ought to do the food shopping so I caught the train to Ibn Battuta Mall, took more photo's and hubby collected me on his way home from work. In the evening we went down to the beach for dinner at a fish restaurant.

Day 357 #onedailypositive #decoration #fmsphotoaday #outside #snaphappybritmums #project365

Thursday and a public holiday, not because it is christmas but because it is Prophet Muhammad's Birthday. The date is decided each year by the lunar calendar, meaning this is the 2nd time this has occurred this year. Hubby was at home for the day and after a trip into the desert with Bob and a leisurely afternoon, we wandered off to Global Village for dinner and a stroll around enjoying the christmas festivities, drinking arabic coffee and tea, eating ice creams and just spending time together. There was no HDYGG post this week, so I added all the lovely photos of the decorations I've been photographing, to last weeks post, Christmas in Dubai.

Day 358 #onedailypositive #lights #fmsphotoaday #santa #snaphappybritmums #project365 

Friday and Happy Christmas to you all. MIL phoned at 8am, waking the teen up, we opened presents, had breakfast and lazed around till midday, then headed off in a taxi for an all we could eat and drink (house beverages only) to the Sheraton Hotel on the beach, we spent the afternoon there and really enjoyed the day, in the evening we chilled out, watched movies and drunk wine. 

Day 359 #onedailypositive #MakesMeFeelMerry #fmsphotoaday #present #snaphappybritmums #project365

Saturday was boxing day and the teen wanted to have a Christmas dinner at home, hubby and I were out having coffee, it was raining and quite windy, we decided it was very much British weather as it put plans to us eating outside, the teen and I started the dinner at 4.30pm, chicken, roast spuds, veg, yorkshire puds and gravy. By 7pm we'd eaten and washed up and by 7.30pm we were at friends enjoying a couple of christmas drinks and I ate all their chocolate....I have no shame.

Day 360 ‪#‎onedailypositive‬ ‪#‎BestBitOfMyWeek‬ ‪#‎fmsphotoaday‬ ‪#‎together‬‪#‎snaphappybritmums‬ ‪#‎project365‬ after a full year of travel and with our children living in the UK it so nice to have our youngest out for the holidays, we spent the afternoon cooking our Christmas dinner together.

I know there's no linky this week and there are still a few day left of this year to go, I need to start planning for next years Project 365 posts and decide what day of the week I'm going to publish, regardless of the day the linky is run. I'm going to continue with snaphappybritmums and fmsphotoaday as and when and where I can, but next years weekly update will reflect what I've actually done for the week rather than the photo prompts, same amount of pictures and hopefully less words.

Project 365 - Week 51

This week just raced by. I had my first full week in the class that I'm taking over in January. The teen is here, holed up in his room, although we have gone out a few times in the evening, mainly to the Doctors (his story to tell, not mine) and for me with my bad foot, that turns out has been a cracked bone in my heel. It rained a couple of times in the week and the temperatures are much lower. The new evening routine is feed the cat and dog, walk the dog, make pack lunch, cook dinner, wash up and bed, but with the teen here and his weird body clock, I've not been getting to be till 11pm, as the evenings are the only time we get to spend together.

Sunday is a day of work, hubby arrived home around 2am, I had no idea he was back until the alarm went off at 5.15am. He's been in South Africa for almost 3 weeks. After work I had to take the teen to the Doctors, we were there for almost 2 hours. This weeks My Sunday Photo was Bob's visit to see Santa.

Day 347 ‪#‎onedailypositive‬ ‪#‎noon‬ ‪#‎fmsphotoaday‬ ‪#‎baby‬‪#‎snaphappybritmums‬ ‪#‎project‬ An Arabic baby name for a girl. Noon meaning Sword Blade.

Monday after a work, a colleague dropped me at Deira City Centre so I could catch the train home. In the evening we all went to Jumeria Beach Residence, near Dubai Marina and had a meal at Butcha, I won vouchers back in July and we had two meals with expiry dates, we were treated to a fantastic Christmas show in the square, which lasted 45 minutes and we had a wonderful view from our table.

Day 348 #onedailypositive #time #fmsphotoaday#bed #snaphappybritmums #project365 after a day at work then a meal out with hubby and the #teen it's time for bed. My side of the bed always looks like this.

Tuesday after work I called in at Mirdif City Centre Mall, where I did a bit more christmas shopping, hubby flew out to Germany and is home on Saturday. This weeks #AnimalTales was all about Hippo's.

Day 349 #onedailypositive #accessory #fmsphotoaday #home #snaphappybritmums#project365 this penguin will make the perfect accessory for my home this Christmas.

Wednesday evening after work I caught the bus to Tim Hortons for a quick coffee and I took my giant cuddly hippo with me for my Elf on the Shelf alternative photographs. Then the teen and I went to Mercarto mall for dinner and a wander around the shops, dropping hints to pass on to hubby for my christmas present. It would seem that everyone I know is 'going home for Christmas, we're not and you can read about why we choose to stay in Dubai for the holidays.

Day 350 ‪#‎onedailypositive‬ ‪#‎cuddly‬ ‪#‎fmsphotoaday‬ ‪#‎sweet‬‪#‎snaphappybritmums‬ ‪#‎project365‬ My sweet and cuddly hippopotamus and I have been out to @timhortonsgcc for a ‪#‎TimTreats‬ on bus for today's alternative ‪#‎ElfOnTheShelf‬ photo. Tomorrow the hippo is part of my costume for 'growing' theme at school.

Thursday and the last day of the school term, it's only been 3 weeks and I'm shattered, it was dress up day reflecting the terms subject of 'growing' I wore my onsie, carried my hippo and went as a baby. By mid morning it was too warm so I took the onsie off, however I forgot to take my pony tails out and walked round school all day with my hair in bunches, no one said a word. When I got home, I fell asleep for a couple of hours. Today's #HDYGG post is Christmas Trees in Dubai, you'd be surprised at how may and how large they are.

Day 351 ‪#‎onedailypositive‬ ‪#‎yellow‬ ‪#‎fmsphotoaday‬ ‪#‎clean‬‪#‎snaphappybritmums‬ ‪#‎project‬. This is all I've managed to do this week, 1 load of washing. Someone please tell me how I managed a full time job, 5 kids and a house? I've been back working for 3 weeks after a 5 year break and I'm shattered.

Friday was the weekly trip into the desert with Bob, I met a family who were fussing around Bob then asked where was Bob's owner? I said it was me and they wanted to know where the man was who usually walks him. After bathing Bob and giving the house the briefest of cleans, the teen and I went to Dubai Mall to spend his Christmas money, he had a pair of Nike Air trainers and a new camera tripod, he has a few gifts under the tree for next week. I left home at midnight to collect hubby from the airport and calculated that in the past 3 months we've only spent 2 fragmented weeks together, with both of us travelling so much. it's been a year today since we moved to Dubai, it's a wonderful city but there are things about it that I don't like about living in Dubai, same as everywhere else I suppose.

Day 352 ‪#‎onedailypositive‬ ‪#‎steps‬ ‪#‎fmsphotoaday‬ ‪#‎light‬‪#‎snaphappybritmums‬ ‪#‎project365‬

Saturday we had a lazy morning and ate egg on toast in bed while watching the Penguins of Madagascar, before a trip to the post office and then onto Festival Mall where hubby bought my christmas presents. After dinner, I headed out for a couple of hours with my laptop for a coffee while hubby watched Man Utd lose.

Project 365 - Week 50 - A week of beige

It's been a rather boring week, I spent most of it on my own and developed a sad little routine that consisted of 5.15am alarm, kettle on, feed pets, let pets out, return to bed with a cup of tea, check social media, dress, make up, hair, breakfast, clean teeth, take lunch box out of fridge, put dog out, put rubbish out and drive to work.

Now work has been interesting, it's in a school and that's about all I can and will say about it, I really don't want to jeapodise my future with a silly comment, made in jest, online that could damage my career. I'm teaching at an Arabic school so things that I might say normally are more culturally sensitive so I really don't want to link my private and personal life in any way.

Anyway back to my routine. When I get home from work, anything between 4.15pm and 6pm depending on the traffic in Dubai as I travel almost from one end to the other, I feed the pets, put the hot water on, walk the dog, get changed, make dinner and tomorrows packed lunch, while checking social media, have a bath and read a couple of chapters of my book, wash up and pick one task/job for the evening and go to bed around 9pm, via making a cup of tea and getting my breakfast out for the morning to remind me to eat it and watch something on youtube while maybe writing a blog post or uploading some photos, checking bank accounts and replying to the day's emails.

I injured my foot at some point on Friday/Saturday, walking has been very painful and I also have quite a nasty cough and have felt a bit flu like in the evenings, but that's probably because I'm not used to being in work and I'm over tired.

Sunday is a work day for me and the rest of Dubai, I've been spending some time actually using the living room and enjoying the christmas decorations before hubby comes home and the teen arrives for the holidays. I spent the evening as above as well as wrapping the presents.

Day 340 #onedailypositive #ISpy #fmsphotoaday#mytown #snaphappybritmums #project365 I spy from everywhere in Dubai, the Burj Khalifa from my front garden.

Monday I stopped off on my way home at Tesco to do the food shop.

Day 341 #onedailypositive #landscape #fmsphotoaday#YoureWelcome #snaphappybritmums #project365 A photo from last week at Safa Park where the final stages of the new canal developments are underway in Dubai. There will be hotels, restaurants and housing and I'm hoping for some amazing landscaping of parks, gardens on the waterfront.

Tuesday I cooked meals for myself for the rest of the week.

Day 342 #onedailypositive #organised #fmsphotoaday#red #snaphappybritmums #project365 all my essentials in my new @fossil purse.

Wednesday I was in so much agony with my foot that I lasted an hour at work and 20 minutes of that was spent with the nurse. I went to the hospital but as I have no Emirates ID card (new one being issued) I couldn't prove my ID with the medical aid and decided it was too much of a fluff with paying then trying to claim back, so I went to my doctors who diagnosed achilles tendonitis, they've prescribed medication and instructed I rest for the rest of the day. The doctor explained that it has probably been caused by the fact I am back at work and on my feet all day and over time I'll adjust. I blogged in the afternoon, sorted out some photos and carried out some research for my new job in January, which was followed by an early night.

Day 343 #onedailypositive #family #fmsphotoaday#smile #snaphappybritmums #project365 It's just me and the dog and cat here at the moment, but the #teenis at Heathrow waiting for the plane to Dubai as I type, hubby returns from South Africa on Sunday, but then flies to Germany Monday till Friday and then child 3 of 5 arrives for the New Year. As #expats we are isolated from our family, I've just had an hours skype call with my mum and dad in the UK, but had to wait 45 mins before my sister arrived at their house to show turn the camera on, on my mum's phone, so I could see them.

Thursday was an early start and I collected the teen from the airport at 4am before retracing my steps and going back the same route to work, I ironed in the evening in the bedroom as the teen has taken the living room over. It also involved a very early night.

Day 344 #onedailypositive #toy #fmsphotoaday#SimplerXmas #snaphappybritmums #project365money all round this year for the 5 kids and a few small presents. Only the #teen is with us for Xmas, the rest are in the UK.

Friday I was out early in the desert with Bob for a walk, after giving Bob a bath the teen and I went to Mall of Emirates to buy more clothes as he grows every time I see him. I spent the evening cooking for the rest of the week.
Some very good friends are getting married today in South Africa, hubby is at the wedding, I am not, so I kept a close eye on Social Media today in an attempt to be part of the event. We managed a Skype call after the ceremony.

Day 345 #onedailypositive #FreeChoice#fmsphotoaday #promise #snaphappybritmums#project365 I know free choice means anything we want to photograph, but my son needed new clothes and shoes as he's grown so much since his last visit, so he was set a budget and given a free choice for his new clothes and shoes and made to promise he won't ask for anything else.

Saturday morning after putting the washing machine on, the teen had a Dr's appointment and I had an X-ray on my foot. We then went to the beach for breakfast, a slice of cake from Hummingbird Bakery and drinks from Tim Hortons, we watched some of the World Air Games, but the teen got bored early on.  I took Bob to see Santa in the afternoon, that's a blog post in itself that i'll share at a later date.

Hubby is due back into Dubai around midnight, so I'm having an early night as I have work tomorrow and I know he'll disturb me when he comes in, but that's ok with me, I haven't seen him for over 2 weeks.

Day 346 #onedailypositive #exercise #fmsphotoaday#decoration #snaphappybritmums #project365 Bob at his Christmas party at Dog Walk, Dubai.