The Amateur Cook in me. Healthy Crispy Zucchini Chips

Zucchini (calabacin in Spanish) is also known as summer squash. It has a lighter and softer texture than a squash though. 😊

Zucchini is known to be a must in low carb diets.  I am here to share my simple, low carb and rich in flavours Crispy Zucchini chips!

Ingredients: 

1-2 Medium sized Zucchini

Olive Oil

Salt

Garlic, Cheese (optional)

Oregano

Parsley

1. Slice the zucchini in medium sized thickness.  Do not make them so thin as they will shrink once in the oven. 
2. Pat dry with a kitchen towel. 
3. Put the zucchini in a bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil, salt, oregano, parsley.  I personally add grated garlic and cheese for extra flavors.
4. Organize the zucchini in a tray and bake them at 180º for 60 minutes. 
5. Ready!! Enjoy!!!

P.S.  In our case, it is best served as a side dish to baked salmon or appetizer with cold 0 alcohol beer. Hahahaha

The Amateur Cook in Me. Simple, Easy, Healthy Recipes for a Busy yet committed working mom like me

Baked Fish (Seacod, Hake)

1. Clean fish and pat dry with a kitchen towel.
2. Season with salt and pepper (optional).  Pour in juice extract of one medium size lemon.  Drizzle with olive and dill.
3. Cook in the oven for 16-20 minutes. 
4. Ready! Enjoy!

Tortilla de Patata/Spanish Tortilla

1. Thinly slice 2 small sized potatoes or 1 medium sized potato. Thinly slice onions (optional)
2. Beat 5 eggs. 
3. Pour olive oil into a pan and slowly cook the potatoes until they are tender, add and cook the onion (if applicable).  Remove the potatoes and the onion from the pan and drain excess olive oil.
4. Incorporate the drained potatoes and onion to the beaten eggs.  Add salt to taste. 
5. Reduce olive oil from the pan.  Pour the egg and potato mixture into the pan.  Cook one side.  When the bottom is already cooked, gently cover the pan with a plate.  The idea is to flip over, turn over the pan and the egg mixture.  As you turn over the pan, make sure that the plate and the omelette are intact.  Gently put the partially cooked part of the omelette to the pan for cooking. 
6. The Spanish tortilla is cooked when both sides are already in solid state. 
7. Ready! Enjoy!

Ovencooked Chicken Breast or Fish Fillet and Mushrooms

1. Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil.
2. Season the fish fillet with salt. Add garlic, juice extract of a medium sized lemon.  Drizzle with olive oil and dill.
3. Season the mushroom with olive oil, salt and parsley.
4. Arrange them in a pan and cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes. 
5. Ready!  Enjoy!

Tomato Salad

1. Slice 2-3 medium sized tomate Iberico in quarters
2. Add Fish flakes (tuna)  and Pepper relish (optional)
3. Drizzle with olive oil

The Amateur Cook In Me: Cake Pops

This is a fun, simple and delicious dessert or snack treat for the children and children at heart. :) 

It may be a bit cumbersome to prepare it as it requires you to prepare a typical sponge cake (or you may buy a cake from your friendly neighborhood bakeshop) and then do the rituals for the cake pops. 

Ingredients: 

Cake batter to have a sponge cake:  This is a chocolate flavored cake: 

1.  3 cups of cake flour 
2.  2 eggs, beaten 
3.  baking powder 
4.  vanilla extract 
5.  melted organic dark chocolate to be mixed in the cake batter to provide the chocolate flavor and color 
6.  1 small brick of non fat yogurt 

Mix all the ingredients and bake in the oven. 

Cake pops: 
1.  Sprinkles:  Chocolate or colored sugar sprinkles 
2.  Melted white and dark chocolate to dip the cake pops
3. organic peanut butter and/or light philadelphia cream cheese as binders 

1. Cool the cake. 
2. When cake is already in cool temperature, mash the cake.  Add the organic peanut butter and cream cheese to act as binder. mix them well until they are all properly incorporated.
3.  Get a spoonful of cake batter in your hands and form a small circle.  Set aside and put them in the fridge to solidify the texture. 
4. Melt the white and dark chocolate.  Prepare the sprinkles. 
5.  Dip the cake pop into the white and dark chocolate dip and sprinkle them with the toppings. 
6. Set aside/cool in the fridge for about 4-5 hours. (the longer the better) 

Enjoy!! 

The Amateur Cook in Me: Caccio e Pepe

This is an indulging yet so easy prepare recipe.  Just perfect to cap your busy yet beautiful day. 

Ingredients: 
Wholewheat spaghetti noodles 
Grana Padano cheese 
Parmesan cheese 
Fresh ground black pepper 
Low salt butter.

1. Cook the spaghetti noodles.  Reserve some of the pasta water. 
2.  In a pan, put butter and cook portion of the fresh ground pepper.  
3.  Add pasta water. 
4.  Add the grated grana padano cheese and parmesan cheese. 
5.  Incorporate the spaghetti noodles. 
6.  Stir all the ingredients and slowly add more butter while stirring. 

Ready to serve!! Enjoy!! Delicious!! Masarap ng bonggang bongga!! Riquisimo!! Deliziosa!! Deliciosa!! 

Why money matters in a good way. :)

My son´s nanny and I were engaged in a casual conversation when she made a comment that we live simply and that we are not drowning in debts compared to other couples/families that she knows.  I took that as a compliment.  Some of the lifestyle approaches that I take seriously are simplicity and minimalism.  However, these are 2 concepts which are oftentimes misconstrued and misjudged especially now that we are living in a quite materialistic world.  Although it is understandable, sometimes it is also disheartening that we are judged according to our looks, the clothes or brands that we wear, the car that we are driving (and worse, if we are taking the public transpo! hahaha). 

Really in our life, there is more to it than meets the eye.  There is no point in earning a lot of money if we are spending a lot as well and saving almost nothing.  I have read it several times that the wealthy ones become wealthier by continuing to live within their means while the poor ones become poorer because they try to live like rich people, a lifestyle that they cannot afford. 

The cue is really spending within your means and spending after you save.  I do not deny the fact that from time to time I indulge. I consider it as a reward for my hard work and sometimes, it is also a way to relax me. I indulge in my favorite things - Food, Bags/Clothes/Watches, Travels, Massage/Spa/Acupuncture and other non-traditional forms of healing. But I am happy, grateful and humble to say that I do not overspend.  I do not go on loans just to get these whims.  

When I was younger, learning the rudiments of saving and at the same time, fighting and resisting in vain the temptation to over-indulge in material things, I overused my credit card.  And though I am not proud of that phase of my life, I learned my lesson the hard way.  And I can say that I am blessed to take the lessons seriously, engrave them into my heart and now, I am in a better position.  I am not rich.  But I can say that slowly but surely, my financial freedom and capability is much better than it was 15 years and 10 years ago. I am somewhat financially independent, able to enjoy the fruits of my hard labor and able to share my blessings.  

Money is important not to feel important but to give the security that we need.  The earlier we save and understand the value of saving, the better.  Save pennies for the rainy days.  :) 

Here are my practical tips, as a working mom to slowly but surely save money: 

1. Spend for and buy the essentials first before splurging on the whims.  Food on the table, medical insurance, my child´s necessities i.e, extracurricular activities, cream, etc are my 1st and foremost concerns.  

2. Save, save, save at least 30% of your income.  The higher the savings, the better. 

3. Diversify both in income and in savings.  It has been said that it is better to not just rely on our jobs as our sole source of income.  However, in cases that diversifying sources of income is a challenge, we can diversify our savings but combining low/medium/high risks savings.  

4. Save up for your major/big expenses.  A major house area renovation?  A designer bag? A dream holiday/travel? It will be good to keep them as your vision and make them a reality by saving hard for them, having a timeline instead of getting a loan and then paying interest. 

5.  Buy only the essentials.  People are shocked everytime they find out that I don´t drive and that I don´t own a car.  Aside from not having a driver´s licence, I live in the city center.  I move around in public transport (eco friendly and cheaper). It is not a perfect world but I have embraced its limitations.  The same may not apply to people who live in the suburbs, outskirts of the city where a car is a necessity to be mobile. The sane applies for my monthly groceries, I only buy the essentials.  

6. Have a checklist of your expenses, savings so you will continue to optimize your expenses and maximize your savings.  

7. Be ambitious and go bigtime with your dreams!! 

8. Be sincerely generous (but not to a fault). No one ever becomes poor by giving.  Give and it will come back to you! 

Take care! Hugs!! Thank you. 

Establish a routine to balance your life

It has been said many times that we should break the routine and be more spontaneous when dealing with life.  

I am not the most spontaneous person you will meet in this lifetime.  I guess this is part of me being introvert and timid and at the same time, I am a fan of having a routine.  This is not to to say though that I am void of any spontaneity in my life. No! No! No!  I strongly believe that my basic routine paves the way for me to understand what I still have and ergo, make room for unprogrammed or unplanned events or happenings.  

Having a routine is like a discipline, method that allows me to understand what are the essentials in my life. After knowing the essentials, the rest is subject to agility, flexibility and spontaneity. :) 

As an IT project management practitioner, the "routine" is tantamount to the backlog in an Agile Delivery, where I focus on my "musts" and then the rest are nice to have.  It is important to prioritize because in the order of priority comes the non-negotiables and what we can compromise.  

As a busy full time mom and working professional, the musts which comprise my routine are (in order of priority): 
1.  Everything about my son - spending time with him - cuddling him, reading him to sleep, tucking him to bed, playing with him, his happiness, his growth, his schooling, his medical appointments, his crowd and his social events. 
2.  My core and extended family, including friends this includes attending to our household, ensuring that we have our home supplies, food on our table, bills are paid and being in touch with my family and friends across the globe. Attending to my husband and my son and our home which includes grocery shopping, home maintenance, etc. 
3.  Mental,physical and emotional Health which includes all of my medical appointments, good food/diet, me time - yoga and meditation, walking, reading a book, cooking time, occasional shopping and spa/massage time. After all, if I do not have good health, how can I function 100% for my family and for my personal mission. It is important to be sane, to be happy and to be confident in one´s life.  I have previously said this and will repeat - Charity begins at home.  You cannot give what you do not have.  If I am mentally drained and physically exhausted, how can I give happiness and positivism to my love ones?  
4.  Work - work is a must.  I am grateful and indebted to my work.  But it is not my life. During the time that I am in my office, I am 100% dedicated to my work.  But I have a life after my work.  I rarely sacrifice my medical appointments to be in a meeting.  During Fridays, I rush out early to fix my son from school. 

As the above mentioned is my priority list, I build my weekdays and weekends based on those.  And from time to time, if there is a get together with friends and other circles, a new exhibit in a museum, a new restaurant to try, I certainly can make time for them knowing that my non negotiables have been met. 

This "routine" also applies in my financials.  I make sure that I pay my dues, spend for the essentials such as my son´s extra curricular activities, son´s school needs, groceries/food/medicine, home bills, and save some before I splurge on the nice to have such as bags, clothes, shoes or any other whims.  

It is okay to so no. It is healthy.  What is important in our life is to understand our essentials and strike a balance. 

Have a blessed Sunday to you all! 

*** photos are not mine.  downloaded from the internet.  credits to the owners. thank you.

Floral May

May is a spring month and is often characterized by prolonged daytime, better weather and of course, the blooming flowers. 

I have always been and continue to be a big fan of flowers.  During the peak of my anxiety, I regularly bought flowers as they add colors to my home sweet home and basically they add a positive vibe.  In as much as I would like to grow my own plants, flowers, I do not have the luxury of space.  I do not have a garden.  I do own though some plants and as mentioned, I regularly buy a supply of fresh flowers.  I have already included in my regular expense/budget the cost of the flowers.  The investment is worthwhile as the purchase of the flowers has been a bonding, quality moment with my family.  It is also a warm feeling everytime I would go to the florist and we would exchange some conversations.  

Here are some of my favorite flowers:  Daisies, Lily, Carnation, Peonies and Tulips.  

I will continue to buy flowers as long as I can afford them.  And many, many thanks to these lovely flowers for all the positivism and joy that they add up in my home sweet home. 

Have a blessed Sunday to all! 

The Amateur Cook in me.. Easy home made, healthy recipes.. Fit for a busy mom just like me. :)

Sometimes, with our busy schedule, we take the easy way out by buying take away, prepared meals.  It is not a bad option as long as we know the place where we buy our to go food and it is done rarely.  

For this post, I would like to share easy yet healthy recipes fit for a busy mom just like me.  These are recipes which you can whip and cook from 15 minutes to half an hour.  It requires little preparation and in most cases, use the ingredients available in our fridge.  They are also healthy, light and can be kept in out fridge for our next meal.  

I hope you will find this useful.  So, take the apron out and channel the inner Jamie Oliver/chef in us! Take care always! 

1.  Cauliflower Rice - This is a low carb meal and is a good alternative to rice.  We usually serve it with salmon or chicken on the side.  
Ingredients:  Medium sized cauliflower, green peas, carrots, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, 2 eggs (beaten).  Optional: mushrooms and shrimps. 

Slice into portions the cauliflower.  Grate until they have small, coarse texture.  Preheat pan and saute garlic and onion.  Add the carrots.  Add the cauliflower and let them toast/roast for a good 15 minutes (medium heat fire). Continue stirring to avoid the cauliflower getting burnt. If you have shrimps and mushroom, add them to the mixture and continue cooking and stirring.  Put the cauliflower mixture in the side of the pan and make a hole in the middle.  Put the beaten egg and slowly incorporate the cauliflower rice. Mix well until all the ingredients are properly incorporated.  Season with salt and with pepper.  

2.  Ovencooked Potato Fries and Beef Fillet 

Ingredients:  2-3 medium sized potatoes, salt, olive oil, beef 

Slice the potatoes thinly or julienne type.  Season with salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Put in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes until crispy.  
Preheat a grill and put a drizzle of olive oil.  When the grill is hot, put the beef and sear it for 3 minutes each side.  Season with salt and pepper. 

Related links: 
Garlic noodles, turkey bread and pancakes
Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Road to Wellness: Keep Calm and Pray, Breathe and Believe.

I have read many times in self help books and in positive quotes that we should not linger so much on what we have, because everything changes, things change in a year’s time. You will not be in the same situation in a year´s time.  And I say Amen!  Alleluia! to that. This too shall pass.

To those of you who have read my previous posts, it will ring a bell to you that I have been diagnosed with agoraphobia and anxiety disorder.  It was a real struggle!  My peak with my anxiety struggles started on April 2018.  I was trembling, shaking, I had wobbly legs and knees, my palms were sweaty,  I had palpitations, discomfort and uneasiness. I broke down in public places (in the bus, in the grocery, in the streets while walking).  I would cry for no reason. I could not conduct meetings. I got scared being in a meeting room with my colleagues at work.  For the first time in my 20 years of corporate, professional life, I had to go on medical leave as I dealt with the side effects of the medication. 

Fast forward to today, a year after. How am I doing?  I am still alive and kicking!  I am more grateful than ever!  I am more positive than ever! I am more patient than ever (both my husband and my son could attest to this.  Gone are the days when I would go berserk due to fatigue or pressure. Praise God!) and I love and respect my self, my me time more than ever.  I have made a business trip to Dallas and nailed all the meetings, presentations, arguments and jetlag without any chill pill.  I travelled to Florence and Dubai and was able to go to the airport without feeling dizzy and discomfort. 

Self love, meditation, self care and inner peace are the important lessons that my struggles against anxiety has taught me.  Before, as a working mother, I felt the need to do things in a fast paced manner. My mindset was getting the task done asap so I can just sit down and do nothing.  But in the process of doing the household task, I was grumpy.  I felt tired but my stubbornness got the better of me and prevented me from resting first before doing the task.  I got the task done but I was mad, angry, tired and unhappy. 

My awareness on inner peace and self love has tremendously increased.  I had to let go of all of my grudges and guilt. I had to forgive myself from all the hurt that I have intentionally and unintentionally caused people around me especially my loved ones.  I had to forgive those who have intentionally and unintentionally hurt me and my loves.  And in the process of liberating myself from these grudges and guilt, I removed negativity from my life and embraced love, peace, acceptance and good vibes.  This is not to say that I no longer get pissed off.  After all, I am a human being.  But as soon as I feel that I am starting to breathe fire hehe,  I take a deep breath, I close my eyes, which is my way of reminding myself to be in control.  I am really flattered every time my husband and my son would tell me that I am longer as grumpy, as impatient, as temperamental as I was before.  Take note that this is not an overnight thing though.  It is a process.  Baby steps and one step at a time.

I have also learned to really prioritize what I have to do instead of starting everything. Although I am an expert multi tasker, I now take pride in starting a single task, savoring the moment while doing that task (mindfulness) and eventually finishing that task before I proceed to another one.  This has tremendously increased my productivity, my efficiency and my satisfaction. 

Self love and self care has taught me to dedicate time to myself, to recharge, to nourish my spirit, my mind, my mental health and to devote time to activities that matter to me.  I love to be with my family.  But it is different taking long walks by yourself than being with a lovely 8 year old boy who stops at every store or at anything that strikes his curiosity.  I spend time doing things that matter to me.  I read my books (even if this means spending time 30 minutes in the toilet hahaha), I do my meditation and yoga, I spend time doing my physical activities – walking, footing, a little bit of aerobics hahaha.  In as much as I love to spend time with my love ones in the kitchen, sometimes, I request them to give me the space that I need as I whip delicious family dishes.  As I combat my anxiety, I have learned to love cooking, baking easy muffins, cookies and bread and consider them as my great stress busters!  I continue to spend time and fortune hahahahah doing my aromatic, therapeutic body and facial massage. 

I also practice gratitude a lot.  In fact in my home sweet home, I have a gratitude jar where I write in my post its, the reasons why I am thankful.  One time, I had a very very busy day at work.  The moment I arrived at work until I finished the work day, I was in 8 meetings.  I am grateful that I was able to manage that day.  I am thankful for the many times that my husband is able to help me in doing some of the household chores.  More importantly, I am thankful that my husband has finished his post grad work with extremely flying colors because this means that he can spend more time with us! 

I am still taking a long term medication to regulate my chemicals and my reaction.  But I just take my chill pill when needed.  I can say that I am okay.  I prayed a lot and I continue to pray.  I know anxiety is a disorder than cannot be cured, it can be managed though.  It comes and it goes.  I am a work in progress as I continue to build my inner peace and rely on mental, emotional strength and my faith.  God will always provide. When the going gets tough, it is important to keep calm, pray, breath heavily and believe that this is just a phase and this too shall pass. 

Prayer during anxiety attacks:

Let nothing bother you.  Let nothing burden you.  All things are passing away. God never changes.  Patience obtains everything.  Whoever has God lacks nothing, God alone suffices. 

DUBAI... The second time around..

It was December 2014 when we first set foot in the now famous, cosmo city of Dubai.  We were there for a 4 day holiday/stop-over.  However, we did not  get to see anything at all as my son was sick.  He had fever and colds (it was winter in Europe).  We practically walked around the area where we stayed which has a strong community feel. We took the train and strolled along Dubai Mall. We spent time with my aunt and her family, who were very gracious and accommodating.  And that´s about it.  It was short and quick but it left us with the strong feeling of yearning, wanting to go back. 

This 2019, we are utterly blessed to have spent Holy Week in Dubai.  My mother and youngest sister also flew in to Dubai from the Philippines (it is much easier to secure a visa to visit Dubai than Spain).  We spent time with the family of my Aunt, one of my mom´s younger sisters.  It was a family affair and my heart is just so full of love and gratitude! 

From the little that I have seen last 2014, I can categorically say that Dubai is undergoing a boom in construction, real estate, migration and in the process providing amenities for its continuously growing expat population.  I have seen that there are more playgrounds, play areas in the public places.  There are more bookstores inside the malls!! Last 2014, when we went to the famous Dubai mall, we were fixated on the clothing, men and women accessories boutiques, but there was not a single bookstore.  New residential areas were also built to accommodate the increasing demand of the expat communities.  I suppose, Dubai is going to be a hub for some industries or businesses as there are massive constructions from their renowned construction companies (DAMAC and EMAAR).  It is very surprising how you see the bright, bold names of DAMAC  and EMAAR on the buildings that they have erected, taking pride in their buildings. 

This trip definitely makes it to my list of unforgettable ones!!  Here´s a list of the fun, kid-friendly and family oriented activities that we enjoyed.

• Family bonding of course!! As we were welcomed in the abode of my aunt and her family, we had an absolute fabulous time.  Priceless!! We have a view of the Dubai Marina Walk and we were close to the Jumeirah Beach.  We bonded over delicious Filipino food, good laughs and good and warm company. It was a delight to see my son exchange banters with them.  I miss my mom, my aunts, my sis, my cousin and my uncle so much!

• The Jumeirah Beach Residence and the Dubai Marina Walk are long avenues where one can enjoy a cool, soothing jog, a night out with friends as there is a long array of restaurants to choose from, family bonding time and the much needed me time.  Both areas have world famous names in the food and beverage business such as McDonald, Shake Shack, StarBucks, KFC, Laduree, The Cheesecake Factory, etc. There are also local based restaurants serving Arabic, Turkish, Egyptian dishes. The Dubai Marina Walk has a direct view to the Dubai Marina Yacht Club where you can see the privately owned yachts.  They are also providing a boat tour (for a fee) which includes a buffet meal (we did not try this, I only saw it while walking). 

• The Jumeirah Beach Residence has direct access to the Arabic Gulf beach.  During Fridays (their weekend), the beach is filled with families and visitors bathing under the sun or enjoying the festive mood.  This place has definitely a lot of vibe! In the center of the beach residence, there is an improvised theme park where the children and child at heart can voluntarily spend their money with the hope to win a prize.  My son and my husband were luck to have won a small and a big sized stuff toys!  Great job son and my love! 

• Public transports:  Tram and metro: Dubai is definitely not a place for a walking tour.  In order to move around, we either took a cab or the ever reliable tram(which they call metro) and metro(which they call train).  My son is a super duper fan of trams, metros and trains.  He was giddy during our metro rides.  Both metro and tram are convenient, well air conditioned, spacious.  A minimum fare is at 3 AED and will increase depending on the distance.  A tap card is necessary to move around in metro.  Card and cash are accepted as mode of payments when loading credits in your tap card. Just a friendly warning  The network in the metro lines seem slow when using your credit card for payments.  While inside the metro and the tram, look at the window and enjoy the sights of its skyscrapers. 
• Dubai Marina (DAMAC):  This is in the downtown part where you can see the Cayen tower (twisted building) and other skyscrapers.  At night time, it is a sight to behold especially with the building lights on.  They are like stars.

• Dubai Mall:  At night time, you can enjoy the famous Dancing Fountain.  And it is indeed a very expressive, dancing fountain!  During daytime, you can feast on the Dubai Aquarium, shopping (the possibilities are endless) hahaha. They have high end brands to all sorts of brands.  They have Borders and the Virgin Megastore where we splurged on books! Yehey!! Yehey!! The Dubai Marina also has access to the Burj Khalifa which is the tallest building in the world.

• Holding hands while walking and enjoying the skyscrapers, daytime and nighttime. Hehehe

• Legoland:  what is a family vacation without a kiddie treat to my son?  Legoland is reachable by a taxi (approximately 60 AED, one way).  There is also a taxi stand very near the entrance.  Entrance fee is at 249 AED per head (although you can get a 10% discount if you book online in advance).  They inspect your bags upon entrance and they are quite lenient if you are travelling with kids, meaning, they let you bring some food with you.  Legoland is a kiddie haven and a paradise.  It also has a waterpark where the kids and kids at heart can enjoy a dip in the pool or be more adventurous with spiral slides! We spent our time exploring the theme park, enjoying the rides, taking family photos, playing and walking and walking.  We particularly liked the Miniland (where you can see miniature images of known icons ALL made of lego), trip to the Lego Factory, where they oriented us on the process of making a Lego (from sorting, molding, coloring, developing and packaging), roller coaster ride, driving experience and A big water container will come in handy! In terms of souvenir items, they have caps, lots of lego toys including lego minifigures, shirts, name tags, key chains, etc. This was definitely a treat to my son!

• Dubai Miracle Garden: This place boasts of everything made of flowers.  You will see gigantic animals, Emirates plane, houses, cartoon characters (such as Minnie Mouse, Goofy, etc) all made of flowers.  This is a nice place to visit amidst the warm temperature because flowers radiate good vibes.  This place has an entrance fee of approx. 50 AED. 

• The Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi: When my aunt from New York flew in to Dubai, she drove us to Abu Dhabi.  It is approximately 130 km away from Dubai.  The trip was breezy.  In Abu Dhabi, we saw the Grand Mosque.  It boasts of its opulence and elegance as the materials used were marble and mosque.  It is a sacred place for worship.  All women were requested to wear the typical long dress and the veil to cover the hair.  It is a sparkling white place, solemn and quiet. 

Dubai is posh, is modern, is cosmo and expensive.  It is a beautiful place to visit, to unwind and spend quality family time together.  It was a short trip but definitely a memorable one.  I couldn’t thank enough my mother, my sister, my aunt for flying in to Dubai to spend time with us and also my aunt and her family in Dubai for welcoming us.  My heart is overflowing with gratitude.  There are beautiful memories that will forever live in my heart.

Let us build beautiful memories.  There will come a time that the only thing we have is our memories, so let us make the most of it.