One Daily Positive Week 52 Goodbye to 2017 Hello to 2018

Like I've said before, 2017 hasn't all been bad and in many ways I really don't want to see the back of it, as 2017 was the last time I got to see my father.

I guess there are some people who are thinking and wondering why I talk so much about him, why I grieve like I do, some will be people who have yet to loose a parent. Some will be thinking 'it'll be ok, you'll get there' as they will have lost a parent 25 years ago like my husband did and others will be thinking ' I know exactly what you're going through' as they are going through exactly what I'm going through.

I have no expectations for 2018, I'm not a believer that a New Year marks a new me, the clock is forever ticking, life just goes on. It's rare for us to have events/set dates to plan for. Birthdays, anniversary's etc get marked/acknowledged and we try to make sure we're in the UK or the the right child is with us for big occasions, such as child 5's 18th birthday and Peter's 60th this year, we got everyone together for the teen and those that were available for the 60th. But for 2018 we have set events we need to plan our travels around, rather than just visiting when the weather is too hot in Dubai or the plane tickets are super cheap or sadly as is often the case, because someone has died and we're attending a funeral. (as I've done in 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017)

Apart from child 4 and 4a due to visit in march/April, there are no other visitors booked to come out. Child 3 and 3a will be leaving Australia in June to travel Asia and will be back in the UK in October till January 2019. I'm really hoping we'll get to see them sometime in 2018 as I haven't seen them since July 2017. I'd love to get out to South Africa also as I haven't been there since July 2016 and I'm missing my friends, although some of them have travelled here to stay.

Well I best return to what I'm here for. My week in pictures:

358 Sunday Santa
Up early, decorated cakes, ironed, dusted and swept up outside. Off to Dubai Marina Mall and a walk on the Beach, came home and swept and mopped the house. Out for the evenings with friends for dinner.

359 Monday Rest
A lie in, breakfast and got ready for Brunch at JW Marriott Hotel, the afternoon spent slummed in front of the TV.

360 Tuesday Sleeping
Back to work for Peter, Christmas isn't a holiday here, unless you choose to take it as one. I sorted the water/electricity refund and called in at the Mall of Emirates for a coffee and see what was on offer at the sales. Another leak in the hot water tank and the plumber arrived at 7pm to fix it.

361 Wednesday Smile
Peter and I visited Bollywood Park, I had a free ticket, he wasn't keen to come at first, but we both had a lovely day out, the evening was spent in front of Netflix, eating crap and an early night.

362 Thursday Me
Peter was back in work today and I caught up with the washing and some blogging before meeting a new friend for coffee at the local mall and exchanged a memory stick I bought for an android phone instead of the iPhone for Peter and did a food shop, checking out the sales as I walked the length of the mall.

363 Friday Door
A lazy day and a coffee out while Peter did a food shop. A quick tidy round (swept the sand out the house as I do daily) and prepped dinner for friends coming round for the evening. The afternoon was spent watching TV, writing letters and surfing the net.

364 Saturday Night Sky
We drove to Dragon Mart to buy some fencing so we can let Bob stay out in the garden on his own, at the moment I'm worried he could jump the fence especially as there are stray cats on the other side of the road that catch his attention. In the evening we explored a bit more of the estate we've moved to with Bob and we're really enjoying the winter weather here in Dubai while it lasts.

365 Sunday Celebration
New Year gets bigger every year in Dubai, but so does the traffic and the number of people at the venues, so this year we've opted to stay at home, with beans on toast, a mug of tea, movie and left over Christmas crackers.

I'll be back tomorrow with Day 1 of Year 4. The only difference will be I won't be using photo prompts anymore as Britmums have decided to stop doing them and just use the hashtag #snaphappybritmums as it's become a large community and they feel the prompts don't always reflect on people's days. This is a shame for 2 reasons 1) the prompts for me encouraged me to get out and about and 2) It was my reason to keep me going when we first moved to Dubai 3 years ago. However, I've not found the community to be that good, with little interaction from Britmums themselves, so I'll just continue with my hashtag #OneDailyPositive and if you're in the mood, feel free to use it yourself.

My Sunday Photo - More of Christmas in Dubai
Days out with the kids - A visit to Bollywood Park with Dubai Parks and Resorts

One Daily Positive - Week 51

Almost at the end of year 3. I started One daily Positive when we moved to Dubai as I was unhappy about leaving South Africa and needed a reason to get out and about every day and look for the good things in the move and in life in general.

I'm still not that happy about being in Dubai. I'm not unhappy, I'd just rather be back in the UK now where I could return to my career and be nearer to my family, but that's not going to happen for another 2-3 years and although I can work here, it's just not viable for me as I don't have the flexibility when working to travel freely back to the UK. By the time we do return I'll be nearing 50 and I'm not sure a career will be on the cards anymore, a job will be and when Peter retires, I will be going back to work in some form or another.

This year has been mixed emotionally, we had a good start with a trip to Egypt and Hong Kong and I'd planned time in the UK to spend with the 3 youngest children as they set off on new adventures. Child 3 to Australia, Child 4 to the Middle East with a military posting and child 5 leaving boarding school and transiting into the world of work. All this still happened but it was tinged with an even greater sadness with the death of my father in July. Despite this, some happy times were still had and I got to spend more time with the boys than I would've done had this event not occurred. Some good news though at the end of 2017 as child 2 announced he was getting married in mid June 2018, so something positive to look forward to.

351 Sunday Clouds (some rain this week, but by UK standards you'd not even bother bringing your washing in)
Rain and storms were forecast for today, but it came to nothing. I had to visit several banks to sort out change of address and obtain a refund, but I achieved nothing other leaving the customer happiness centres in floods of tears. This is one side of Dubai I really dislike, there's an assumption that we all have maids who clean up after us and can wait in all day for deliveries and that we have drivers who can pop to another branch to collect documents. We went out in the evening with a colleague of Peter's and his wife for dinner.

352 Monday Friends (this little fella popped in to say hi while I was having a coffee)
Bob went to day care, Pushkins to the vets for her annual jabs and me to the Doctors about this recurring hip pain. I also visited DEWA to obtain a refund on a payment I made on someone else account after they gave me the wrong account number and the afternoon was spent with some last minute cleaning before our visitors arrived in the morning. Peter was out in the evening from work and I was left unsupervised with a tin of Quality Street.

353 Tuesday Green (lack of)
Off early to the airport to collect friends, home briefly so they could shower, change and grab something to eat then off to Dubai Mall for a trip up the Burj Khalifa. I used this time to grab Peter's Christmas present and have a coffee, we stayed out for dinner over looking the fountains and Peter joined us. I was really disappointed with the decorations at Dubai Mall, rather bland and boring compared to the other malls.

354 Wednesday Future(istic)
Breakfast at home of bacon butty and fruit, yes you can buy bacon in Dubai, a taxi to the Marina and the ferry to the Creek to explore the Souks, we got the metro to Mall of the Emirates and Peter joined us for an early dinner at the Souk Madinat.

355 Thursday Red
Up early to the airport, caught up with washing, ironing and yet more UK paperwork and bills, it never stops. Always on a downer after visitors go, so Peter recognising this came home early, took me out for a coffee, cooked dinner and let me select a movie. We watched Elf, neither of us had ever seen it. We were asleep by 9pm.

356 Friday Play
Up early and off to the Mall of the Emirates, it must be only a few days before Christmas as I'm all wrapped and under the tree and Peter has asked me to wander around the shops with him pointing things out, then retreating to a coffee shop where I can blog and he can make purchases. Spent the rest of our day sweeping up sand, it'll all be unswept by the morning and back in the house, we really must get round to putting down some grass and block paving in the sandpit/garden.

357 Saturday Food
Woke in a sea of fog with visibility down to 160m's. Wanted to see Murder on the Orient Express but when we got to the cinema at Dubai Marina Mall, it wasn't on, so we watched Paddington instead, we were the only adults there without kids....lol. Afternoon spent watching TV and a walk to the local shops with Bob to collect something for our tea.

On the blog this week:

MySundayPhoto More Christmas in Dubai
TriumphantTales Managing grief 5 months on. It's not all sad, 2017 has brought some happy times also.

One Daily Positive Week 50

It's strange watching the UK wind down for the Christmas holidays. Although we have Christmas here, it's not a holiday. It just happens and you can choose to celebrate it or not. Peter has the actual day off and we'll go out for brunch. If he wanted he could take leave for 2 weeks, like many people do. I love Christmas in Dubai, it's really quiet as a lot of expats go home back mainly to Europe or Asia, often for their one and only trip of the year. The weather is perfect here right now and we've even had some rain.

Although everything was unpacked after moving house last week, I've found plenty of jobs to do, mainly sorting and rearranging things and getting rid of a lot of stuff we've lugged around the world. Just a full clean left to do now before our first lot of visitors next week.

344 Sunday New (tasks)
The day was spent trying to get a refund from the utility company. I visited the Happiness Centre and left in tears. I know Dubai is progressive, but I really didn't want to speak to a robot that followed me around asking me why I didn't want to be spoken to at chest height and have to stoop over to speak to it, while staff stood on smiling at how wonderful it was. I spent the afternoon sorting through the kids keep sake boxes that we've lugged around the world, chucking tonnes of stuff out and now everyone has one box each plus a shared box of baby clothes and favourite toys ready for when they have homes and kids of their own.

345 Monday Sport
I intended to take a bike ride to the local shopping centre, but all the tyres on the bikes were flat. The main purpose being a) I like my coffee out and it's a chance to meet people b) I had a final photo to take for the fashion blog post and c) todays photo prompt was sport. Peter flew out to Saudi in the afternoon and I spent the evening batch cooking and sweeping 10ft of sand out the house while our water tank was refilled.

346 Tuesday I'm proud Of (me)
I spent the day with my friend and her parents at Miracle Gardens. This has been a tough one for me. Her father reminds me so much of mine, in looks, mannerisms, attitude and opinions. Even my husband noticed it without me having to say anything. It's the way he sits and wears his shorts with trainers and socks pulled up. I find I get so very sad about my father when I'm on my own and seek out photos and video clips of him. Guess that's probably normal and it's only been 5 months since he died.

347 Wednesday Panoramic
The day was spent catching up with the washing and ironing and paperwork. It never seems to stop. There's only the two of us here, how do we generate so much stuff. I'm struggling keeping 3 houses running, 2 in the UK and 1 here, plus I'm dealing with Mum's house sale and flat purchase, the paperwork is endless. Pub quiz in the evening and then I collected Peter from the airport.

348 Thursday Dance
Bob and I had a spa day, him at Paw Parking and me at the nail bar. DEWA returned our deposit via courier, but as the cheques was hand signed, it can't be paid in the HSBC ATM so I have to visit one of 4 branches, none of which are located near by. I am amazed with all this technology that it takes so long long to get refunds. Peter collected our rental deposit in cash from our previous house. Off to see John Bishop at the World Trade Centre in the evening. I sent my mum a short youtube link so she knew who it was, she asked for one with subtitles.....lol

349 Friday Child
Brunch with a colleague of Peter's and his wife from Europe. Nothing else other than MIB 3 was watched all day.

350 Saturday Sing
Bob and I had to cancel our visit to Santa and a swim session as well as a carol concert in the evening as I've had food poisoning and am in so much pain with my hip I've been in tears most of the day. I had to drag myself out in the morning to have my signature witnessed for a land registry document and DHL it back to the UK for my mums house sale at the cost of almost £50. The rest of the day was spent sleeping and resting in bed.

On the blog this week:

My Sunday Photo Q is for Quiz night and beer
Triumphant Tales Boho chic in Dubai
Tweens Teens Beyond and Animal Tales Visiting Santa without the kids
PoCoLo Moving Home in Dubai Part 4 - The Snag list and running out of water

One daily Positive - Week 49

At some point this week the Christmas tree went up and the rest of the boxes were unpacked and everything was put away. The cupboard under the stairs which is now our attic, needs tidying and there's a fair bit of stuff to be thrown away which i'll be doing next week. The laundry room also needs sorting as I have a single bed, double oven, washing machine and American style fridge freezer  stored in there, to sell, along with the cat litter tray in the shower room, not leaving much space to dry washing and for the cat to live.

The weather has cooled to 'fantastic' around 26c in the day with a breeze which means with the doors and windows open the house is constantly filling with sand, but it's a small price to pay after the relentless heat of summer and we've even had the odd smattering of rain. It's actually chilly in the mornings and a jumper is required.

We have a busy few weeks coming up now. John Bishop on Thursday at the World Trade Centre, brunch on Friday, followed by visitors the following week, then brunch is booked for Christmas Day and in-between Peter has a couple of trips lined up to Saudi with work.

337 Sunday Architecture
Bob and I took a walk to explore our new neighbourhood, this is the new Metro line and station being built just a few hundred yards from our new home, far enough and out of sight, but close enough to walk to even in the heat of summer.

338 Monday Music

A visit to sort out the utilities for our previous house and hand the keys back. I collected the cat from the vets where she'd been all week, it was a long journey with her shouting at me all the way home. My key broke off in the ignition, but came out easily and I have a spare.

339 Tuesday Low Angle.
Spent the day trying to stop the cat getting outdoors, which proved to be a bit of a challenge with Bob wanting to be outside, then inside all day long.

340 Wednesday Depth

341 Thursday Still.
I had a manicure in the morning and then spent the rest of the day rearranging the house and enlisting the maid over the road to come and help me move all the stuff we wanted to get rid of from our house over to hers where she'll sort, hand out and send back to the Philippines. I then met Peter and a colleague of his from South Africa for a coffee before we went for dinner.

342 Friday Lights
We visited Dubai Garden Centre and a DIY store to buy a few bits and pieces for the house and garden, we almost got home before I realised I'd left my purse on the counter. Security had called my bank, who then called me just as we arrived back at the store to collect it. We had some surprise rain in the evening which was welcomed. This is what I love about Dubai, I had every confidence my purse would be exactly where I left it and intact.

343 Saturday I'm wearing
We went to The Beach for breakfast and a walk. It's really nice to be outdoors and enjoy the cooler weather. Peter spent the afternoon restoring the outdoor umbrella and wooden stand and Bob and I went to a Christmas party. I've had a couple of approaches recently to write some sponsored posts relating to clothing and accessories, I've no idea where these come from as it's not something I blog about, but I'm not one to turn down a 'freebie' if it suits my blog. I've got some sunglasses and a t shirt also to add to a blog post later on today. I did have a request from a company who said 'we think our products would fit your blog nicely' I clicked on their webpage.......they sell sex toys....what posts were they reading to reach that conclusion? needless to say I didn't even bother replying.
In the afternoon Bob and I went to see Santa.

On the blog this week:

My Sunday Photo - X is for getting ready for Xmas in Dubai

TweensTeensBeyond - You don't need to survive Christmas

TriumphantTales - Managing Life as an expat

PoCoLo - Moving home in Dubai Part 3 Moving Day

One Daily Positive Week 48

The week started and ended with me asking 'What day is it?'

Peter has had the week off work while we've moved house and with having been in the UK for 4 months and weekends in Dubai being on a Friday and Saturday and then UAE public holidays, I've had no idea what day it has been.

I've also been confused by the time difference which is now 4 hours and being that extra hour ahead now means that I'm not seeing things in family and friends timelines and when I post at midday, you're all just getting up in the UK. Whilst it's made contact with child 3 and 3a in Australia easier and child 4 is only up the road/country. It does mean emails and phone calls with the UK and responding to messages are done in the early evening, my time, when I'm ready to switch off, so I can get a response the same day.

The weather in Dubai is now on average a high of 28c with a gentle breeze, making it perfect for life outdoors for the next 4 months.

We've settled in well and quickly to the new house, but it's noisy here, there are kids, more traffic and more people to knock at the door to ask for work, we'll get used to it for sure.

330 Sunday Goals
Pre moving day and what else should I be doing today other than collecting the keys and giving the villa the once over, lunch with a friend and a manicure and pedicure in the afternoon. I packed the rest of the ornaments and with freshly painted nails dugs up the plants in the garden.

331 Monday Exercise
Dressed, breakfasted and ready to move at 8am. Dropped Bob at Day Care and went to the new house to wait for the first truck to arrive at 9am. Peter stayed at the old house to supervise while I stood on the door step and instructed the removal men which room they were to take each piece of furniture and box to. By 5pm they and all their boxes and packaging had gone, the kitchen and bedroom were sorted and we went to Macdonald's for tea.

332 Tuesday Sharp
The hall and laundry room was tided today as we are in serious need of having to wash some clothes. The day passed in a haze, coffee mid afternoon, boxes unpacked, stuff tripped over, furniture rearranged. Had an early night, but my brain was whirring and I was wide awake at 3am.

333 Wednesday Contemplate
Spent the day at the old house cleaning it from top to bottom, there will be some issue with the deposit, there always is. Anyway we know that the house was returned in a much better and cleaner condition than when we moved in. As landlords in the UK, we really do pay extra attention as tenants, yet we've been badly treated by both landlords and tenants in the past. Back in the new house the drain in the laundry room flooded, clothes now being held hostage in the machine until after the weekend. The garden was tided and outdoor furniture set up on the balconies.

334 Thursday Cold

Peter waited in for the Du TV/Internet/Phone company and I went to Ibn Battuta Mall to buy curtains for the bedroom and a few bits and bobs. Peter joined me and we had a late lunch, did a food shop and spent the evening setting up the TV upstairs and had an early night, after mopping up the main bathroom after another flood. Seriously, that's every drain blocked in this house.

335 Friday Wide Angle
Off to Ikea, hubby and I don't have a good track record there in regards to arguing, but we managed not only a trip round there, but a visit to the DIY shop and then put up curtain poles, hung curtains and assembled furniture and were still speaking at bedtime. More good news, tried the dishwasher, it didn't flood the kitchen.

336 Saturday Water. Blue Water and Dubai Marina on the horizon.
Woke with or rather didn't get much sleep with a migraine, I guess I've peaked and come back full circle to June this year when I had the last one that triggered off a health scare, who knows?
An easy day, sorted through my wardrobe and donated a lot of stuff I just don't wear, went out for coffee to Mall of the Emirates for the last of the curtains poles and a few other pieces we needed.

On the blog this week:

My Sunday Photo Y is for Yule. Comparing the prices between the UK and Dubai.
TriumphantTales TweensTeensBeyond PoCoLo Life without Friends? I couldn't do it.

One daily Positive - Week 47

Another week of 2 halves, this time starting in the UK and ending in Dubai. Why is it that the day I leave more paperwork arrives for mum, this time for the purchase of her new home. Hopefully with her new phone and the solicitors sending everything to me electronically it'll all be a lot easier than when we dealt with the paperwork for the house sale.

I keep thinking how strange it is to be back after so long, but I was here for just over 2 weeks in November to sort out our house move and now I'm back again ready for the actual event.

323 Sunday I love
Pottered around in the day, pleased to see local volunteers cleaning up the old NatWest Carpark of rubbish, shame the bank can't sort it and that dreadful graffiti. Met friends and 2 and 2a for late lunch in the local pub for the afternoon/early evening.

324 Monday Frame within a frame
Mum and I headed off early to catch the train from Newport to London for a fashion shoot with a National Newspaper for an article on Mums, daughters and grandchildren living in different countries and coping in a crisis. We've had our fair share of drama this year for sure. I met friends for dinner in the evening.

325 Tuesday Old
Lots of last minute racing around to visit 3 of my oldest friends, to say goodbye until February. none of them do Social Media

326 Wednesday Planning
Up early and off to Malvern to catch the train to Birmingham Airport, I drove then Mum pottered around the retail park. It was an uneventful trip home, no fire alarms, the flight was full so no sleeping, a long queue for a taxi on arrival and home to an empty house.

327 Thursday Shop
A busy day, unpacked, collected cat and dog, had water and electricity connected at the new house and off to Mall of the Emirates and purchased some new winter shoes, had lunch out and an early night.

328 Friday Skyline
Peter arrived home in the early hours and we headed off to a local mall for coffee and cake and then went to Dubai Mall for a late lunch, spent the evening just chilling out and watching TV.

329 Saturday Fur
I boxed up my glass ornaments, the cat is NOT a fan of sellotape and runs for the hills when she hears it. The dog will just go into panic overdrive.

On the blog this week:

My Sunday Photo - Z is for Zip. I won't miss the UK weather.
Triumphant Tales, Tweens Teens Beyond - Spending quality time with Mum, a day out in London on a photo shoot.
PoCoLo - Moving Home in Dubai Part 2 and hidden costs after a relocation.

One Daily Positive - Week 46

There have been a couple of trips to the pub, to see friends, lots of walks and bike rides and plenty of lie in’s this week. I’ve started on a course of steroids and I'm feeling much better, although I've now started to feel sick when I lie down at night.

316 Sunday Poppy
I joined in with Remembrance Sunday service in town. Disappointed with a handful of women who talked through the two minute silence, Lords Prayer and National Anthem. Feeling worse health wise, shortness of breath now and constant coughing, antibiotics finished and started a course of steroids. Watched TV and had a sleep after lunch and late afternoon I walked to mums to collect her car for the morning.

317 Monday Silhoutte
Off to Gloucester with child 2 and 2a to visit child 1.

318 Tuesday Beauty
Posted the last parcel to child 4 in the Middle East and to 4a for Christmas. Sent of a box of goodies to 3 and 3a out in Australia and a few bits and pieces to friends in the UK. I had an upset in Waitrose thinking about my Dad when I realised I won't be doing any Christmas shopping for him this year, a few kind words from a stranger who recognised my struggles was much appreciated and prevented further tears. Spent the evening with a friend.

319 Wednesday Happy
Had a lovely lie in and Mum phoned she had cabin fever and wanted to pop out for a bit so we went to Abergavenny for a spot of shopping and lunch. I fixed one of dads bikes up and cycled back to the flat. Child 1 was taken to hospital after being unable to weight bare, X-rays showed nothing broken but a worrying few hours while we waited for news.

320 Thursday Muse
Christmas cards and letters written, made several phone calls to sort out Mum's flat purchase and helped friends out with some advice. A new neighbour moved in, he's very noisy at 6.30am in the morning, what is it with people unable to walk upstairs without clanging the rails with their shopping and inability to close their flat door quietly?

321 Friday Nature
Coffee in town with Mum, more phone calls and paperwork then over to mums for a family party. I cycled over and took the car back dropping off a bay and olive tree for my friend to look after when Mum moves.

322 Saturday Colour
I had a lie in and wandered into town for a coffee and post the last of my Christmas cards, I then spent the afternoon in the flat, blogging and catching up with the week's linkys and popped out to visit a friend, before having a long soak in the bath and an early night.

On the blog this week:

My Sunday Photo - R is for Rain. I was only away from the UK for just under 3 weeks, it appears I've returned to winter now.

TriumphantTales TweensTeensBeyond PoCoLo Mother of the Groom. Child 2 and 2a are getting married in June 2018. What the hell am I going to wear?

AnimalTales and linking up with Z is for Zoo. Dubai Zoo closes it's doors after 50 years.  and Bobs pre school assessment. Day care for Bob the Dog.