Saudi Sexpat Stories: Tales from the Kingdom

Just wanted to share this with you to end my posts for the month on a yummy (and decidedly more positive)note. 

Also, I didn’t want my monthly entry count to conclude at such an unlucky number as “13″ - especially since this month has not exactly been my favorite (with all its “sickness episodes ” and with the weather turning from comfortably cool to “typically desert” again)… Better keep all my bases covered to ward off all negativity.  Right, Weng?

I read somewhere that people celebrated “Fat Tuesday” in olden times to ensure that they were able to use up all their “lent-prohibited” kitchen supplies before actual fasting started on Holy Wednesday.  Suffice it to say that we were (unknowingly) sold on the idea when we, together with other kingdom-based friends, had our very own Fat Tuesday dinner here in the ”land of the sand”- at our newest delish find of a resto, the global restaurant-cafe, Casper and Gambini’s.

We first sampled C&G’s fare on a pre-Valentine’s date and have been hooked ever since.  The ambience is very cozy and classy in an understated manner, the service - friendly and efficient, and of course, the food - oh-so-generous portions and positively to-die-for taste!  Call me an April Fool but I wouldn’t mind doing a repeat of our Fat Tuesday fiasco really, really soon!

For starters: Delish bread basket with yummy spread “on the house”

Pear Iced Tea - both didn’t disappoint, thankfully!

Rafa, our very own “mac-and-cheese grinch”: Bawal humingi! Grrrr…

Believe me, underneath all that garnish and sides is a yummy grilled salmon fillet!

The only down side to the whole meal was this (Keith’s order): Chicken Teriyaki which turned out too spicy for his taste!

Everybody happy! (*Burp!*)

By special request, here’s a sample snap of Marga with one of her oh-so-many “Arab-mirers”, Eli, the Lebanese head waiter who “bribed” her with a shiny, red balloon

…equals 8! As in eight random things about each of our three children! 

Got a bit flustered with this tag, admittedly, as 24 random things seemed to be quite a lot! Anyway, Tita Weng and Abby, we’re taking our best shot here…  

A bit of a disclaimer is in order as well: I DID NOT PEEK AT KEITH’S ENTRY – PROMISE!!!  

Read ‘em and weep!

 LUIGI 

1. His arms are double-jointed.  This means that when he raises them in a “V” fashion, instead of them going straight up, they tend to tilt outward at an angle.
2. He is a born dancer! We noticed that he could move to music as early as 5 months old and he’s been groovin’ ever since…   In fact, during the past two plays he joined in our community before we left for the Kingdom (which were both staged at the Insular Life Theater in Alabang), their dance coach, a professional, multi-awarded dancer, even commented on how natural he moves when he dances. 
3. He loves drawing in his spare time.  He already won quite a few awards for it as well when he was still in La Salle.  Guess he got this from Ninong Pippo and Ninang Rina!
4.  He is very affectionate and thoughtful.  He is not at all “stingy” with his hugs and kisses.  And when he sometimes realizes that he has done wrong, he even writes me a letter to tell me how sorry he is.
5. Like a true-blue “panganay” (takes one to know one!), he can be bossy, “magulang” and “alaskador” at times that Keith and I make it a point to curb these “tendencies” more often than not…
6. Like cousin Abby, the travel bug has bitten him earlier than most people.  Thus far, he has been to seven countries and to various major local destinations around the Philippines as well.
7. He is very good at the computer.  I am amazed to find him able to understand complicated pc jargon and programs and to come up with his own research materials (with minor tweaking here and there from me when needed ) for his projects at school.
8. He has a more western palate than his siblings.  He can very well survive on bread, soup and pasta and has a decidedly blander preference in food flavors as well.

 RAFA 

1. He was the only baby we weren’t able to bring home from the hospital when I checked out.  Since he had a minor blood infection (sepsis), he had to stay on for another two weeks before we were able to finally bring him home.  What’s more, he had broncho-pneumonia two weeks after we brought him home so he spent his first month at the hospital again (*sigh!*).
2. He was fascinated with mermaids as a toddler.  I really don’t know which character influenced him more – The Little Mermaid or Marina!
3. He had his first haircut at 7 months! Since he was the only one born with a full head of hair, we had to nip his locks earlier on too as he was becoming too “jeprox-looking” for our taste – hahaha!
4. He is more sensitive than his siblings and more prone to “self-pity” especially when he’s sick (hmmm…reminds me of someone… hahaha!).
5. Same as his kuya, he has been to more places than most people his age or even those older than him. 
6. He is extremely pigeon-breasted such that you can actually form a pool of water on the spot directly under his ribs when he is lying down in the tub.
7. He sleeps with his eyes almost half-open – it’s downright “creepy” at times!
8. He can outlast anyone in a gabfest – he can be super talkative when he gets comfortable with the people he’s with… In fact, when he was a toddler, instead of the usual bottle of milk to help him sleep, he used to blab himself to sleep!

 MARGA 

1. She can’t sleep without asking to touch my tummy (I know, this can be quite embarrassing for me in public places – i.e., on flights – especially when I’d much rather keep the “viewing” of my “ampalaya-textured” tummy private!).  I noticed she started to be this way after she was weaned from breastfeeding.
2. She was the only one whom I breastfed for the longest time (one year) compared to her older brothers whom I both fed for a month at the most (since I was still working then).
3. She’s a certified “kikay”.  She loves her blings (earrings, bracelets, necklaces – name it, she loves ‘em all!), bags (Tita Meeya, na-influence mo via cyberspace?? ) and body “treatments” (at such an early age, she’s already asking me to put lotion and creams on her!).
4. She has an amazing vocabulary and above-average verbal skills for her age! Considering that she’s only barely two, she can already converse intelligibly with us and can make us understand what she wants and needs.
5. She loves watching the Cinderella DVDs ad nauseum! She even has a pet name for this Disney princess, “Inda” (close sila ‘no?).
6. She is headstrong and driven and won’t stop (pestering us) until she gets what she wants! At times, Keith and I are driven to “insanity” with her “kakulitan”!
7. A true-blue travel bug she is, too! Starting to travel early (at two months), she has so far been to four countries already and she isn’t even two!
8. She seems to be musically-inclined.  Her repertoire is diverse, mind you… from “Tomorrow” (Annie) to “Sherry Baby” (Jersey Boys) to “You are the Music in Me” (High School Musical) – she just loves listening and singing-along. A Charice or Ramiele in the making? Laking tuwa ng tatay niya, if ever! Hahaha!

 Yey - I’m finished!  If you made it this far…congratulations too!

It’s been quite some time since my last “me time” so you must understand how I’m all giddy with excitement at being left here alone in the house with only me, myself and I! Absolutely G-L-O-R-I-O-U-S!!!

I know I should be resting with this darn sore throat, body pain and ear ache but I find that four hours all by my lonesome is such a treat that I’m actually at a loss as to what first to do…

Hubby has left me with some “errands” while he’s away with the gremlins but I’m sure those can wait… Hmmm… in the meantime, vegging in front of the tv (watching the shows I actually like - move over Disney Channels!) sounds extremely good to me.

Discovery Travel & Living, here I come!

Pardon that this post took long in coming as the past week has been some sort of rollercoaster ride for me.  As most of you know, Luigi has been sick and Keith and I have been beside ourselves with worry and panic (more me than him, really – hehehe) especially since he had a relapse of sorts yesterday.  The “nursing role” of my diva-ness seem to have taken a toll too on my health (i.e., getting up every four hours for the past week  to take Luigi’s temp and give him his medicines) as now it’s my turn to be under the weather…well, what goes around comes around – especially the “viral kind”, I guess… 

Good thing that Luigi has been fever (and paracetamol)-free for almost the whole day now – yay! God is good!  I’m sure with some more rest and a lot more TLC, he’s well on his way to complete recovery.  Thank you too to all of you who have prayed for him as I am positive this made a big difference in his getting well.   

Anyhoo, Munchkin Mommy’s “Metal” post a few days back gave me the inspiration for part of this entry.  I have been collecting elephants for a couple of years now (am actually partial to the celadon kinds) since aside from them being, for lack of a more descriptive word, “cute”, they are also supposed to bring luck.  Since Weng has also “educated” me on which type of luck elephants bring specifically (“descendant luck”, she says…), it made me appreciate my pachyderms all the more!

Without further ado, let me share with you the “pachyderm pals” we managed to bring in from my collection in Manila.  Here’s to more luck for all of us (I sure know I could use more of it!) in the coming days.  Enjoy!

Owing to the nuances of life here in the kingdom far away, Catholics in this part of the world are celebrating Easter two days earlier than the rest of the Christian world. 

Sharing with you my Easter thoughts which were largely prompted by this amazing drawing of the suffering Christ done with one stroke of the pen!

We too shall join Him for He has paid our debt

A blessed Easter to you all!  

I just love this photo of my parents.  The heartfelt laughter and fun captured in this moment truly paints a vivid picture of how I always hope to remember them.   

They say a picture paints a thousand words.  I have to agree.  More than words, though, I believe a picture tells a story.  When I look at this picture, it tells me that despite the hardships and problems that come our way, there is always something in life that can make us roar in hearty laughter and which incidentally makes us forget the “misery” caused by our hardships and problems earlier. :razz:  It tells a beautiful story of more than forty-plus years of togetherness (7 years as a couple and 36 years as husband and wife – can you believe that?) – something which most of us can only hope to achieve in this age of quickie marriages and even quicker divorces! 

When I look at this picture, it reassures me.  It tells me that after raising four children, welcoming four equally beautiful grandchildren into the world, countless travels to different places near and far and the unavoidable LQs (lovers’ quarrels) in between, these two people have chosen to remain together and still seem happy that they did.  Yes, after 36 wonderful years, they remain true to the promises they made to each other before God and man – to love and be faithful to each other in sickness and in health, in poverty and in plenty, for better or worse.  That, hopefully, only death can temporarily break the precious bond they share. 

I honor you, Papa and Mama, for the love and commitment you have for one another and for building a family based on love, respect, understanding and of course, lots and lots of laughter! I thank you for teaching us by your example how to be responsible, compassionate, generous and for acknowledging God as the be-all and end-all of everything. 

I pray that in all the years you are yet to spend together, there will be more laughter and less sorrows, more good health and less of the aches and pains that come with age, more patience and less LQs , more adventures and less regrets of not taking “the road less traveled”.  That when memory fails and the body can only hope to cling to the precious vestiges of youth, the memories of the life you have shared and the love you have for one another will continue to see you through.

I love you very much! Happy 36^th wedding anniversary!

ps You might be wondering about the “bone china” bit… actually did a little research and found out that the 36th wedding anniversary is called - you guessed it - bone china.  So there.

Just recovered from my “blah day”experience yesterday (don’t really know what triggered it - must be the hormones…). 

Edna St Vincent Millay put it so aptly: 

“It’s not true that life is one damn thing after another; it is one damn thing over and over.” 

Thank God there’s Dilbert to help me see past the dark cloud looming overhead and put that much-longed-for smile on my face

Echoes of my past life in the corporate world… am I glad that’s all over for now!

Here’s to better days ahead!

I usually give in to my “lazy bones” during the weekends especially where cooking is concerned.  I try and avoid kitchen duty as much as possible during this time but when I find that I really can’t (such as yesterday), I try and stick to simple, hassle-free meals.

Hmmm…a “soup and sandwich” early dinner seemed to fit the bill.  With leftover French onion soup in the fridge, all I had to do was make simple, filling sandwiches for Keith and the boys.  As I had just whipped up some chicken ala king as well, the rest should be easy, right?

I should’ve just sliced up some bread, topped it with the chicken ala king, popped it into the oven and voila - dinner is served!

Except that I decided to give it a little twist.  I thought it would be neat to stick to the French theme of my meal (my sister would have loved it - right, Rina? ) so I took out the box of voulavent cases (it sounded so fancy - I just had to try it!) from the freezer, brushed the pastry with a little eggwash on top, popped those babies into the oven and came up with this instead…

A dozen pieces of Chicken ala King Voulavent goodness!

Although I would’ve wanted the pastry to be more buttery than what came out, the flakiness and softness of the warm voulavents were just right - yum!

Go ahead, take a bite!

Thankfully, all of us enjoyed the meal (burp!) we just had to blurt out (don’t forget the nasal accent here), “Ooh-la-la, c’est bon!”

Check out our latest sinful indulgence…

It’s Jules Destrooper Chocolate Thins! It’s a 100g box of heavenly crispy baked candy biscuits richly coated in Belgian chocolate.  It comes in an assortment of dark, milk and white chocolate - truly a chocaholic’s dream-come-true! 

Keith discovered this a couple of weeks ago while we were grocery-shopping.  It was one of the specials then (buy one-take one) and he originally intended for these cookies to be a quick-fix for him in-between meals while at work.  Needless to say, the boxes never made it to his office - hahaha!

Although we are more conscious now of what we eat, we make it a point to give in to this indulgence once in a while (think extra minutes on the treadmill, people) as this is definitely such a treat after a meal.

What’s more, good news for those of you in the US and in the bigger countries in Europe and Asia, I just checked its site and they apparently take orders online and deliver straight to your doorstep! Great deal, huh? Too bad that they still do not have this service here in the Middle East (no fair - boohoohoo! ).

One thing’s for sure, though, this yummy treat will remain a staple in many of our grocery stops to come…

My mom always made it a point to serve noodles on our birthdays.  She says that this signifies long life for the celebrant.  I am not one to normally believe in superstitions but since it’s my sister’s birthday today, I figure, it wouldn’t do any harm if I served a pasta dish in her honor, right?

Presenting - my version of Tuna-Mushroom Spaghetti!

Since it’s meat-free, it’s perfect for the lenten season too!  Now that’s hitting two birds with one stone!

It’s fairly simple to make.  Just saute one head of crushed garlic in olive oil and slightly brown.  Add in the sliced mushrooms then the two cans of tuna flakes and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Toss in your pre-cooked pasta and sprinkle with parsley.  Top with grated parmesan cheese, if desired, and serve with crusty garlic bread on the side. 

Easy-peesy, right?

Here’s to you, ses!  May you have a long, meaningful, happy and contented life ahead! Happy birthday again!

Let’s all dig in! Happy eating!