Saudi Sexpat Stories: Tales from the Kingdom

As Deo Macalma would say, first of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY muna to my dearest hubby Keith! Love you, hon!

Now, on to my answers…

1. Shampoo and Conditioner -> Body Shop Olive Glossing Shampoo and Conditioner or Pantene (pag nagtitipid)

2. Bags -> Charles & Keith, Nine West

3. T-shirts -> not particular – as long as decent, clean-looking, easy to mix-and-match and preferably in solid colors

4. Pants -> Giordano (only one which seems to go well with my pear-shaped body!)

5. Lotion -> Jergens, Body Shop Olive Dry Oil Mist

6. Shoes -> I love Charles & Keith pa rin!

7. Socks -> not particular basta hindi butas!

8. Toothpaste -> Colgate White (anything flavoured or minty gives me an allergy)

9. Facial Cleanser -> L’Oreal, Ponds

10. Make-up -> Neutrogena powder, Body Shop Lip & Cheek Tint, Estee Lauder lipstick

11. Wallet -> anything na soft/cowhide leather, preferably black with lots of space for credit cards!

12. School Bags -> Think I’ve outgrown this ages ago

13. Pens -> Free HSBC pens (o diba so loyal pa din? Hahaha!)

14. Slippers/Sandals -> Havaianas, Birkenstock

15. Underwear -> Hanes for Her (no bikinis for me!)

16. Watch -> Tag Heuer, Omega (wish list: Rolex, Philip Stein – did I get spelling right?)

17. Pillow Case/Bed Sheet -> Canadian

18. Furniture -> Casa Antigua, Our Home, Vigan wood furniture in Ilocos

19. Caps -> I don’t wear them – feeling ko “La Aunor” ako when I do (yuck!) If really necessary, have to make do with fisherman caps instead

20. Magazines -> Our Home

21. Car -> Chevrolet Trailblazer, Honda

22. Chocolate -> Jewels (a Dubai-branded chocolate), Lindt and GuyLian – anything with plain milk chocolate, preferably Swiss or Belgian (yum-o!)

23. Candy -> Not a fan

24. Medicine -> Having a pedia for a mom-in-law and a “retired drug lord” (i.e., he used to work as a senior exec for Pfizer – hahaha!) for a dad – name it, we got it!

25. Popcorn -> Holy KettleCorn in ATC, Orville Redenbacher Butter Popcorn

26. Motorcycle -> Have to agree with Keith on this: his HS hopper (Pardon my bias but he WAS a cool dude then!)

27. Cologne/Perfume -> Bath & Body Works Cotton Blossom Body Splash, Clinique Happy To Be

28. Swimwear -> Speedo

29. Jewelry -> Diamonds are a girl’s best friend! Starting to like pearls too… Plain platinum jewelry are also nice J

30. Hotel/s (that you’ve stayed in) -> Mandarin in Manila (where we had our wedding/honeymoon, food is also so yummy), Bellevue in Alabang (where we spent many special new years with family) and the quaint mountain-side hotel we stayed in Igls Village in Austria

Being the perpetual worrywart that I am, I find myself returning to the vicious cycle of fear and worry everytime something is out of whack in my usual predictable life. Dreading any form of exercise, especially the \”spiritual muscle-strengthening\” kind, I also find that factoring out the fear is easier said than done in circumstances which throw you off your comfort zone.

That is why these excerpts from our Daily Bread which I will share with you prove so useful to me – they allow me to make sense out of the chaos that life\’s downturns sometimes bring. To all the worrywarts out there, hope these help you out in some way too. Happy reading!

ü When something concerns us, what’s our perspective? It’s not what we see but how we see it that reveals our attitude. If we look at life through the lens of our powerful and good God, we’ll trust Him instead of fearfully worrying. When our perspective is right, we can see God and His faithful provision.

ü More absurd are our thoughts of worry and fear when we consider that we have a powerful and good God who cares for us. Jesus said we don’t have to be fearful or worried, because our heavenly Father knows our needs, and we are valued by Him. He is perfectly willing and able to meet our needs.

ü Let’s remind ourselves that fear primarily focuses on protecting and preserving “me.” Overcoming fear begins with deciding that some things in life are more important than ourselves.

ü We need another ingredient to release the power of the love that conquers fear. That ingredient is trust. Trusting that God will protect you when you are fearful, that God will reward you when you feel at risk, that God will give you guidance and courage when you feel lost and intimidated is what it takes to defeat the fear that holds you back.

ü When our lives are impacted by sudden change that turns life upside down, it can be spiritually dangerous. Ending up in the ditch can easily make us feel a little shaky about our faith in God. That’s the kind of change the psalmist wrote about in Psalm 11—the kind of change that threatened everything he believed. How do we respond when the foundation of our faith begins to wobble, when our troubling circumstances make us question God?

ü Radical change can either foster debilitating fear or confident faith. Fear haunts our hearts when all we can ask is “What am I to do?” Faith cuts to the exclamation point: The Lord is in control!

ü In the midst of the changing circumstances of life, we have a choice. We can live in fear of all the uncertainties, or we can cling to the reality of God’s sustaining and intervening presence in our lives. When we find our strength in the fact that our Almighty God is on the throne and has everything under control, the defeating question marks are replaced with the confidence of His exclamation points, and that’s a welcome change!

And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? MT 6:27

Woke up earlier than usual today. After almost 10 years of marriage, it’s funny how sleep somehow eludes me everytime I don’t find myself beside Keith when I wake up in the morning… then I noticed how peacefully our three “gremlins” were sleeping, thus the inspiration for this post… Have a blessed day ahead!

As they sleep, a flood of emotions surges in

There is quiet.

There is peace.

In the stillness, I am made more aware

of the hand of a loving Creator

who has entrusted these angels to us

so beautifully, so wonderfully made

In their slumber, I am reminded

of child-like confidence

of total surrender to a Father’s will

I am thankful.

I am richly blessed.

Ever since the major lifestyle change we adapted (i.e, having to run a household by ourselves) when we moved here to the kingdom, weekends have always been jam-packed. Keith and I would want to think of ourselves as slowly being able to perfect the “art of the weekend warrior”. Somehow, we have managed to do a major part of our chores (house cleaning, grocery shopping, babysitting – name it, we’ve done it!) during weekends with enough time left to spend with the kids. Of course, due credit have to also be given to our two boys, Luigi and Rafa, who have their fair share of the “dreaded Cs” (aka chores).

Sadly though, this weekend would be slightly different as I go solo. Yup, we are officially one weekend warrior out – ouch! Keith is in Bahrain this weekend attending their company’s annual summer outing. So, while my hubby is grudgingly enduring (?) the time away spent apart from us (he never liked the beach – or so we’d like to think!), the kids and I would still have to brave the “warrior’s way” this weekend (sigh!).

Good thing that we have the reliable “Mega-Mags” to see us through this weekend. Ge, Rinel and Ira have been so kind to let us tag along with them this weekend so we don’t quietly lose our minds at home… Let’s face it, weekend warriors need some R&R too, right?

So as Keith “binges in Bahrain”, Marga, the boys and I will also make the most of the “delights of Dammam” and the “allures of Al Khobar”. Weekend warriors, unite! Let the party begin!

Last night marked another milestone for Keith and I. After what seemed to be ages, we finally had the chance to go out to dinner by ourselves* (translation: without our three active yet endearing children). Hip, hip, hooray!

*(Of course, this wouldn’t have been possible without the “loving support” of “brother and sister cousin” (Rinel and Ge) who have agreed to baby-sit our three gremlins, este darlings, for us. For this, Keith and I owe the Mega-Mags our eternal debt of gratitude! What do we do without you guys?)

The restaurant of choice: Orient Restaurant in Al-Khobar.

This place was recommended by Keith’s local officemate, Hakeem (God bless him!), after Keith complained that there was a serious lack of Japanese restaurants in the kingdom. In fact, before this pleasant discovery, we only knew of one Jap resto and we weren’t really too keen on visiting it for two reasons: (1) the Japanese food really was only part of an international buffet spread and not an entirely separate restaurant; and (2) the restaurant is located in the compound where some terrorist action happened a few years back (scary!).

Pardon the digression. Back to the “main event”.

First off, the interiors of the restaurant came as another pleasant surprise for us. After coming out of the elevator (since the place is on the 4^th floor of a building), we were ushered in to a very Oriental-themed (i.e., Japanese-Chinese) resto environment where the furnishings, china and flatware all blended very well together. Attention to detail was also very evident since the place settings all matched, down to the chopstick rests and the yin-yang shaped ceramic salt and pepper shakers! We later learned that the owner is also actually an interior designer to royalty and dignitaries both here in the kingdom and abroad (kaya pala!). For its ambience alone, the place truly is a cut above the rest here in KSA.

Of course, the most important part of a restaurant is the food it serves. Thank God they got it right in this area too! Keith and I started off with miso soup and crunchy California maki – both “delish” (as our friend Rachael Ray would say) – which we downed with our equally refreshing “mocktails” (alcohol is prohibited here, remember?). Keith had a mint-lemon concoction while I chose a strawberry-melon-yogurt delight (yum-o!). Come the entrees. Keith had a 250-gram steak (sliced in five portions) with white sauce and steamed veggies and rice while I had the “Orient Land and Sea”, a flavorful combination of beef, chicken and seafood teppanyaki with stir-fried vegetables and plain rice on the side. The portions were just right and allowed room for dessert.

Due to the reliable “kabayan connection” in the restaurant, Keith and I were even treated to dessert “on-the-house”! We had something like fried ice cream (where the ice cream is inside a tempura-like batter with sesame seeds) except that instead of ice cream, we found sweet bananas inside. This was then topped with vanilla ice cream. Definitely a delightful way to get the “ulam” taste out of our mouths!

Lastly, we were served house tea (again in a very impressive ceramic pot with a bamboo-designed spout) and assorted candies to cap our meal.

The tab may be a bit pricier than usual but truly worth every riyal! Our verdict: Five-stars!!! A place where we would definitely come back to and recommend to our friends.

Our only regret is that we weren’t able to take decent pictures to share with you. Well, there’s always a next time, right? Till then, bon appetit!

Came across this amusing piece which I found so appropriate for Mother’s Day. To all the dedicated and untiring moms out there, this one’s for you! Have a chillaxing day!

It was Sunday morning and her son still had not appeared at the breakfast table. She had tried yelling up the stairs: “Wake up and get down here!” But there had been no response. Finally, she went up the stairs and opened the door to her son’s room and said, “You need to get up and get dressed. It’s time to go to church!”

“I don’t want to go to church,” her son groaned from under the covers.

“You can’t give me a good reason not to go to church, so get up!” his mom replied.

“Actually, I’ll give you three reasons. Number one: it’s boring. Number two: the people there are gossipy and critical. And number three: no one likes me. So why should I bother?”

“I’ll give you three reasons,” retorted his mom. “Number one: the Bible says you should go. Number two: you’re 45 years old. And number three: you’re the pastor! Now get out of bed and get dressed for church!”

Where would we be without the tireless urging of our mothers to do what is right? Truly, very few roles demand such unconditional, self-sacrificing perseverance and commitment as that of motherhood. So, moms, take a bow, we deserve it!

PS I was delighted to discover that Keith, the boys and Marga actually had flowers and cards for me for Mother\’s Day. How sweet! I attach the pics below – hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoyed receiving them

Very touching hand-made cards from the boys, Luigi and Rafa

The full package – loved the Stargazers! Luigi even prepared a Book of Poems especially for the occasion (how sweet!).

Being the control freak that I am, I feel utterly frustrated (sometimes even to the point of feeling that I’m losing my mind due to stress), whenever sickness takes hold of anyone in our family. Although my head keeps on reminding me that God is always in control, there is always this nagging portion in me which also always thinks of the worst possible scenario.

Blame it on my emotional make-up (as far back as I can remember, both my mom and maternal grandmother are this way too when faced with illness) or probably my innate aversion to any form of pain, but exposing me to any situation of sickness within the family always seems a surefire formula for chaos and disaster.

Enter today’s devotional and sure enough, I am again reassured that no matter what happens, God will always allow only what he knows is best for us. All the pain and suffering will somehow make sense in the face of a loving God.

And I quote: “Perhaps, like David, you’ve lost the power of self-determination. Someone (or something) has seized control of your life, or so it seems…You may fear that circumstances have overturned your plans. But nothing can frustrate God’s loving intention.

Tertullian (150–220 AD) wrote, ‘[Do not regret] a thing which has been taken away . . . by the Lord God, without whose will neither does a leaf glide down from a tree, nor a sparrow of one farthing’s worth fall to the earth.’

Our heavenly Father knows how to care for His children and will allow only what He deems best. We can rest in His infinite wisdom and goodness. Thus we can echo David’s words: “Here I am, let Him do to me as seems good to Him.”

I honestly pray that I be given the strength to overcome this flawed part of my nature – that my faith be strengthened by Him who I try so very hard to hold on to and believe especially in times of weakness and doubt.

My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. —Psalm 73:26