One Daily Positive - Week 20

Last week I lost my house keys and memory stick, they eventually turned up, but I need a better routine. This week I left the house keys in a taxi, thankfully the dodgy lock on the study door allowed us to force entry with no damage. I was tired and l ached all last week, the more I rested, the worse I felt. Peter has helped me realise I shouldn't feel guilty for not working and that what I do in regards to parenting from abroad, sorting out issues and problems and coping with the heat is more than enough. I keep a clean and tidy house, my choice to stay at home, so my role, but we still share the food shopping, cooking and ironing.

I had an job interview last week, for the post of a Life Skills teacher and I was offered the post, I have accepted at the moment but am likely to pull out prior to applying for the visa unless they are able to allocate me a school or at least an area in advance. Schools are allocated on 'arrival day' people coming in from outside the UAE stay in a hotel for a few weeks, attend training and get to meet the people they will be working with and move according to the Emirate where their school is located. As I'm already in Dubai, with a home and a husband who works here, I am unable to relocate or travel to the other Emirates without adding a 2 hour commute each way to my day.

As I'm in the UK for the summer, it would mean returning to Dubai mid August (I did originally state I was unable to start until September) to find out where I would be working. At that point if I decline I have to pay back the cost of my visa and then fund another flight back to the UK or stick around in Dubai till whenever. I can't just book a return from the UK to Dubai mid August then return for the Christmas break as different schools have different terms dates and length of holidays.

134 Sunday. Stay.

Making the most of being outdoors while we still can, can only manage short walks, first thing in the morning and last thing at night. I met a friend for coffee and cake and the afternoon was spent doing absolutely nothing.

135 Monday. Stones.

Peter dropped me off at JBR The Beach to collect some vouchers I won with #TheBeachSelfie competition on Instagram. Had a coffee, went for a swim, sat on the beach till it got too hot, did some shopping, caught the tram and bus home.

136 Tuesday. Play.

By 11am I'd done a food shop, cooked 3 meals for the week, washed up and watched my soaps and was sitting in the nail bar having a manicure and new shellac polish.

137 Wednesday. Fun.

Up early and off with Bob to Bark Park. I managed to book the last two boarding kennel spaces in the whole of Dubai for Bob and Jelly, for the first week in July. I booked the teens flight for next week and replied to endless emails. We finished day off with dinner and quiz night with friends. We came 3rd. 

138 Thursday. Indoors.

A day at home, ironing and tidying up, although I did pop out for coffee mid morning. I have a bit of a sore throat and spent the afternoon and evening sleeping on and off in bed.

139 Friday. Up Close.

Woke up to an email that will require a fair amount of attention which didn't get the day off to a good start. A few discussions took place about the job offer and then we switched off and met friends for brunch, the evening spent watching movies, too full to move.

140 Saturday. Dark.
Couldn't sleep, so sat outside with the cat and dog making the most of the cooler weather. 29c. Going out for breakfast to a local mall once Peter wakes up.

On the blog this week:

My Sunday Photo - O is for Outdoors 
Spectrum Sunday - Disabled Toilets in the UK

Travel - Fun in the sun but not when you live in Dubai

Parenting #TriumphantTales and #TweensTeensBeyond - Are you good a social media role model to your children?

Gardening - Spring catch up in Dubai

Spring Garden in Dubai

March was strange weather wise, we'd already had rain in February and in previous years it's usually just a few days during the month, however we had unexpected and heavy rain in march also, giving the garden an extra boost after the recent planting and redesigning of the sand pit.

Spring in Dubai marks the end of an outdoor life, as temps creep up to the high 30's we spend less time outside, by the time it hits 40c anything and everything that involves being outdoors is an effort and not welcomed.

Just walking from the kitchen door where the photo below was taken from to the garage door at the rear of the photo is hard work and you can feel the sun quite literally peeling the skin from your body and by the time the external garage door is opened, car reversed and door closed, one feels like a shower is needed.

This recently planted tree died off shortly after planting, during my 4 weeks away and after much welcomed rain, it sprung back into life and will hopefully now survive the summer.

The roses have now finished flowering but I'm pleased they actually flowered in the first place and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for their survival over the summer months.

I have yet to discover what fruit this plant will produce, but I think it is a squash. The tomatoes and strawberries have finished and I'm hoping the gardener doesn't yank them out the ground and chuck them away, as he does with everything once it finishes flowering.

I'm leaving Dubai for summer and returning to the UK till the end of August at the earliest, I have learnt a lot over the past 2 summers and every year I have different successes and failures. The sweet peas and nasturtiums let me down this year, but the bean plants and sunflowers were plentiful, although no beans were produced. I've also grown and eaten the aubergines and chillies. It's all to do with timing and transplanting at the right stage and shading from the harsh sun.

I'm looking forward to trying to grow some root vegetables this year, invest in shade netting and an irrigation system.

How's your garden growing this spring and what plans do you have for the rest of the year?

Are you a good social media role model to your children?

How to be a good social media model to your children

I almost think teaching kids to be savvy online now has almost passed. I don't mean just letting them have accounts and not supervising them in the use of what to and what not to post, but in regards to how they use it with their friends. We've all posted photo's we regret, drunken nights out etc but I've also seen comments from concerned parents about some of the harmless stuff such as endless selfies and how silly their child looks with pursed lips.

I've been on the interent as a full time hobby, tweeting, facebooking, blogging etc for over 8 years, I own an iPhone and MacBook air, I share personal moments, photo’s, thoughts and feelings on a daily basis. I tell you how family behavior affects me but I no longer tell you what that behavior is/was anymore.

Many times I've written an update or a blog post and ended up deleting it for fear of reprocussions, not because I’m worried about offending anyone, I just hate the back handed way people think they can hide behind a screen and say what ever the hell they want.

The 4 boys all have social media accounts and use them differently, I find my kids aged 18-27 use them in different ways and rarely post anything on the main timeline, in fact when I consider how many friends children I have on facebook it is rare that they actually post anything, they comment on peoples posts and share ‘motivational’ crap but rarely share what they're up to, but are happy to respond to messages with details when you ask them about a party, girlfriend or if they want to let off steam about their mum or dad…lol.

My children didn’t grow up with social media, they grew up with a mum who used social media, the youngest had instant access to the internet, he's 18 now but was in boarding private school from year 2 and at 4 years younger than the next sibling he had almost instant access to it, where as the eldest went thorugh school without it being around to any great extent and the demand for mobile phones still being seen as a privilidge and not a right of passage, having left school, college then home by 2007, he's not really got into it, the middle 2 entered their teens through the normal route but left their teens and entered into adult hood with every piece of technology going although they use it very differently, one mainly for gaming, the other the same as I do.

Hubby has only recently started using facebook, he trusts my decsions in regards to meeting total strangers, but the reality is its my kids that keep the closer eye on me when I'm using social media, offering advice, questioning my decisions, asking me to remove images and blog posts because their friends are on here and it could embarrass them, half the time my kids think I'm a bit stupid and when it comes to social media and I do have to remind them from time to time of the number of tweets, responses, comments and blog hits I get and how long it has all been running.

I haven't been the best social media role model for my children over the years, having gone for tweet ups with virtual strangers, but I've always met people in broad day light in busy areas, such as cafes or pubs and I've always let others know where I'm going who with and when to expect me home. In most cases I've met up with people after exchanging messages, exchanging phone numbers and having Skype calls. On one occasion my then teenage son, sauntered past a local pub with his mates to 'check' on me.

I've met people at football matches at half time for a drink, gone to places I'd never have been, events etc and in 2015 I flew from Dubai to Canada to stay with a women I met on twitter. We've had complete strangers come and stay at our homes in South Africa, Dubai and the UK, but we've never had a bad experience to date. 

There have of course been some meet ups that haven't gone as well as I'd have hoped for, with someone being completely different in real life to how they've come across on social media, my kids have been a good judge of character and nearly every one we knew in South Africa we'd met online and we became real life fiends, who one of the kids have stayed with when they went back to South Africa to visit their friends. 

I am of course still cautious when making friends on social media, I've sent private messages to my kids when I think something they've posted online could upset someone, especially family members, but it's more likely that the kids will message me with 'muuuuuum, what were you thinking? take that post/picture down.

Are you a good social media model to your kids? 

Are your kids savvy online?

Fun in the sun, but not if you live in Dubai.

For the next 5 weeks there will be endless updates about just how hot it is here in Dubai. Screen shots of the temperature on my phone, thermometer readings of the cold water tap and the sea temperature and just non stop moaning about it.

Why only 5 weeks? summer lasts till the end of September. But the end of June sees me packing my suitcase and flying off to escape the harsh summer for the cooler climate of the UK.

Think summer and think 2 weeks in Spain, Italy, Turkey etc and if you have a bit more money going spare, then you may venture out to the Middle East.

As a Brit, born and bred, I think of summer as temperatures up to 28c for 2-3 days in a row, in reality, it may rain and there's no guarantee summer will be in July and August as it often favours April and September and temperatures are often much lower.

2 weeks in the sun for anyone from a cooler climate sounds bloody great, hotel, drinks by the pool, on the beach, air con, and chilling out. Bring it on. No work, no stress, just rest and relaxation.

Now add 10c to your ideal temperature, go to work, cook dinner, wash up, hang your washing outside, walk your dog and watch the temperatures get higher.

Sit on the beach in the shade and realise there is no temperature difference, take a dip in the sea to cool off and discover the sea temp is the same as the air and it's like getting in a hot bath.

Come home from the beach and not be able to shower until after sunset as the water in the cold water tap is 42c and burns your skin. Try washing up and you have to wear rubber gloves, which have usually perished under the sink, due to the temperature. You can no longer 'wash your clothes at 30c'

Fill bottles with water and leave them to cool under the air con before you can water your plants. Put up with a smelly dog all summer because you keep forgetting to fill a large tub with water to cool down over night and if you use the water from the hose pipe, you'll scold them.

Assume said air con is working and not cutting out due to being over used and waiting 2 days before someone can come out and a further 2 days for them to find the part. Get used to the noise and dig the blankets out to put on the leather sofas to stop you sticking to them in the heat. Get your socks out to stop your feet getting cold, but take your socks off when you open the door to let the cat in/out and watch AED 100 of air con escape every time you do.

Then reply to endless comments on social media from people saying 'I'd love some some hot weather' 'You're so lucky to live in the sun' knowing that everyone assumes you're just showing off because you have a summer and they don't.

Just remember I'm not on holiday I have to live here, I'm stuck indoors everyday, the same way you are when winter comes and I have to put up with comments on how cold it is and I reply with 'I'd love some of that cold right now, want to swop?'

The dream: spending endless days on the beach.

 The reality: sand is too hot to walk on and sea is like a hot bath.

Getting up mega early to walk the dog as by 8.30am the pavements are too hot to walk on.

Returning to your car after a visit to the mall. I've recorded temps up to 57c in the height of summer.

 Burning your hand when you open the door as it's quite literally 'too hot to handle'

Shower before 8am or after 9pm when the water from the cold tap doesn't scold you.

Have you lived in a hot climate? 

Do you live where the temperatures are below 0c most of the year?

How do you cope with such extreme temperatures? Any tips you can share?

My Sunday Photo - Week 124 - O is for outdoors

It's summer in Dubai, which means over the next few months we will get temperatures up to 50c during the days and mid 30s over night.

Once the temperature reaches 35c+ our outdoor life comes to a halt, the evenings are still cool enough to walk the dog, we can still sit on the beach in the mornings and late afternoons and the cat still goes out at night.

Once the temperature reaches 40c+ there's another change to our outdoor life as in we only go out when we have to. Such as to hang the washing up (I do this before bed) and walk the short distance from the kitchen door to the garage to get to the car to go out. The cat's litter tray is re introduced and the doors are manned to stop her escaping, if she does, I need to find her and bring her in within an hour. We stand at the door to let Bob out to pee and poo.

Ensuring Bob gets enough exercise is difficult, the walks drop from twice a day, to once a day and the distance is cut as it gets hotter. I start to walk bare foot, to ensure the ground won't burn Bob's paws, when it gets too hot for me, then we turn round and come home. We play ball in the house and I find
indoor doggie play areas to visit at least once a week.

Do you live in a country where your pets access to the outdoors is limited? Do you have an indoor cat? How do you manage to ensure they stay healthy and get some exercise?

One Daily Positive Week 19 Cleaning and hanging around.

Child 3 and 3a flew home early hours of Sunday morning. I spent Sunday and Monday cleaning. The last time I cleaned the house was the last week of March before I flew to the UK. Peter had kept on top of things, but with a house full of people, beach trips and the air con on most of the time, the dust bunnies were beginning to take over, the washing and ironing had mounted up, the dog needed a bath and I needed to finish unpacking my case properly, as in put everything away.

It's now officially hot here in Dubai, although the temps haven't hit above 40c yet, it won't be long before Bob doesn't want to go on an evening and night time walk, I don't blame him, I'm absolutely drenched with sweat by the time we get back.

I don't feel like I've achieved much this week, I'm waiting to hear if I've got a job to start in September and until that news comes through either away, I'm sort of stuck in limbo with my life on hold until I know which direction my planning is going to go.

127 Go. Sunday - Washing and cleaning the lounge, hall, sewing room and both bathrooms. I popped out mid way through and went to the Mall of the Emirates (MOE)

128 Colour. Monday - I cleaned the office, our bedroom, conservatory, dining room and kitchen, then made the bed in the spare room and cleaned that also, ready for child 5's visit at the end of the month. Peter was late home, we had dinner and an early night. I bought 3 pairs of converse boots/shoes in the sales for child 2 and 2a.

Apparently if I want this in 'pink it can be arranged

129 Bright. Tuesday - A morning at the beach, the sea temperature measured 29c. The cold water taps are currently running at 42c in the day and slightly cooler at night, so we're showering from the hot water tank now as the temperature is cooler. I spent the rest of the day on the laptop, blogging, sorting and replying to emails and wrote a couple of letters. Jelly's owners brought her round in the evening while they both travel with work. We went out for dinner, it was ladies night, I drank to much.

130 Sing. Wednesday - I took the car for a service and Peter dropped me MOE. Ramadan is coming (end of May) and the shops are brightly decorated with loads of special offers. The afternoon was spent similar to Tuesday. I started to feel quite unwell and very lethargic by the afternoon, aches and pains all over. Felt really hungry and dizzy around 9pm, persuaded Peter to fetch me a McDonalds, I regretted eating it by the time I got to bed at midnight.

131 Proud. Thursday - After taking the dogs for a walk, I showered and walked to our local shop, the heat finished me off for the rest of the day. The rest of my day was spent as Tuesday. Still not feeling like I have any energy, no sense of achievement, really need to shift my arse into gear.

132 Light. Friday - Up early and off to Bark Park with Bob and Jelly before it got too hot, Jelly was collected mid morning, we went to MOE, but left after coffee and clothes shopping in Debenhams, it was too busy. I spent the afternoon in bed, just feeling tired and lethargic.

133 Youth. Saturday - After collecting my car from the garage, Peter and I went to Dubai Festival Mall, we had breakfast, a walk round and home to watch TV for the rest of the day. i did some washing and hoovering while Peter cooked dinner.

Sadly two wonderful ladies back in South Africa died this week. Francesca, who ran an orphanage in Soshanguve and Sandra the lady behind Dignity Dreams, providing washable sanitary products to help keep young girls in school.

On the blog this week:

What caught my eye this week - #MySundayPhoto  L is for letter
Parenting - #TweensTeensBeyond #PoCoLo             Life Skills for a teen 
Travel - #Monday Escapes #TriumphantTales          Cabin Zero Review
Pets - #AnimalTales                                                   Bob and Pushkins go on holiday
Gardening - #HDYGG                                              Spring in the UK
Days out with Kids                                                    Birmingham Airport

Spring in the UK - Bluebells, views, woodland walks and daffodils

Malvern Hills

I love every season in the UK, I love the greenery, the landscape, the weather. The UK is my home, but I now live in Dubai. 

Spring in Dubai marks the end of a life outdoors as summer and temps in the high 40s get closer.

The River Monnow

I'd forgotten how colourful the UK was in Spring and I loved the displays of Bluebells, daffodils, lilac and tulips, literally popping up in pockets colours in gardens and on the side of the roads.

Bluebell Woods, Malvern Hills.

Lilac over looking Malvern

Daffodils on the side of the road.

Flowers in my mums garden

Even the hedgerows, paths and walls looked pretty

Dandelions, weeds and nettles.

But what I miss the most are trees and greenery, woodland walks, walking through fields and enjoying the landscape.

I'm looking forwarded to returning to the UK the end of June and seeing how much it has changed in summer. 

What's your favourite season and why?

Days out with Kids - A visit to Birmingham airport.

My husband flew back to Dubai from Birmingham the last day of the Easter holidays. Our 6 year old niece knows we live a long way away and have to go on an aeroplane to get home and that it takes all night for us to travel. We've shown her our home in Dubai on google earth, plotted the journey on a map, shown her pictures and videos of us taking off and landing in planes, but she had no idea of what getting on a plane involves, so we decided to take her along for a visit to Birmingham airport.

After an hour of ispy and 'this is boring' (it was a 90 minute car journey), we neared the airport and asked O to help us navigate. This involved finding the picture of the plane, the junction number and knowing our left and rights. This is a trip we make on a regular basis and know the route like the back of our hands, but we let O believe she was in charge.

My sister had already warned me not to use the sat nav as O will argue with the woman on there.

We had to return the car hire in Peter's name and made the short walk to the airport terminal.

Stopping to look at the aeroplanes and holding Uncle Peter's hand really tightly as she didn't want him to leave.

After checking the departure board, O declared where we needed to be to get the ticket from.

 O watched with interest and asked questions until she was satisfied the check in staff would get Uncle Peter's case on the aeroplane.

 As we were early, we took a walk around the terminal and took a trip or 3 on the monorail, purely for entertainment.

 O was really sad she didn't have a ticket, but asked Uncle Peter if she could come next time and saw this picture of Dubai and recognised it from our face book photos.

 After saying goodbye to Uncle Peter and a few tears and way too many questions as to why O couldn't go on the plane to say further goodbyes, we wandered off to find the viewing platform as we had 2 hours before the next car hire was ready. (I was carrying the car seat the entire time).

The viewing area is no longer available, which is a shame and the only place to see the aircraft is now the tiny gap at arrivals, which was crammed with people awaiting their loved ones. So it was back on the monorail, we explored the NEC, ate our pack lunch, bought a cup of tea in a cafe and sat in the car rental office for 30 minutes doing some colouring in.

After an uneventful journey back to South Wales and more ispy, O finally fell asleep and when we got back we checked the app to see where Uncle Peter was.

We paid a visit to the park, to let off some energy after the car journey home and then there were tears at bedtime because she really hadn't wanted Uncle Peter to go home.

This was a whole new experience for O , she sees us only once or twice a year and was actually born the month after we moved from the UK, but she is a big part of our lives and us of hers. O is happy just to spend time with us, she doesn't need entertaining by throwing expensive gifts at her (that's our need, not hers) she just wants to be with us, doing the normal day to day stuff. We'd love to give her the ill experience and surprise her with a trip to Dubai, but sadly she is epileptic and my sister's health currently prevents her from travelling out to Dubai.