My First Intense Sandstorm Experience

One of my main concerns when we went here in Saudi Arabia is the asthma attacks my son Gabby might have when there are sandstorms. So far, in our less than a year here, he only had one attack. And thank God, it was just a mild one.

I always pray that sandstorms in Riyadh will be less in number and intensity. Comparing the sandstorms with that of the typhoons in the Philippines, I can say I've only experienced Signal #1. Until last February 25.

I just got home from work at 1pm when I noticed that the sky was a bit darker than usual. After an hour or so, the wind started blowing hard. I started worrying about my children who were still in school. I knew it was Sandstorm Signal #3 (on my gauge meter) when I went up the rooftop of our house and didn't see the skyscrapers clearly. That included Kingdom Tower and Faisaliah Tower.

When I opened the gate for Gabby and Sunday at 4pm, I barely saw them! The surroundings turned dark and blurry in no time. Below are the videos that tell the tale more clearly:

I checked  for videos on that sandstorm in YouTube and found these two videos.
This is almost what happened when I opened the gate for my kids.

The drivers in this video were speeding it up because the sand
at the left side of the road was catching up on them. And it did, eventually.
See how the light turned into darkness in minutes!

At past 4pm, I had second thoughts on going back to work (I work on broken shift). I was a bit scared but when the driver arrived to pick me up, I had to go.

This is the view on the way to my workplace. It was very brave of the drivers to brave that sandstorm!

I'm so glad it rained. If it didn't, the sandstorm might have continued wreaking havoc on the city.

This is the view near the entrance of the building where I work at 4:45pm. The majestic Kingdom Tower
succumbed to Mother Nature (for a while) and became a giant yet silent witness to its force.

The following day, I decided to bring my camera to take pictures of Kingdom Tower
at exactly 4:45pm. See the difference!

I'm glad that sandstorm was over in hours. I'm grateful there were no casualties and major damage to properties. As long as we're here in Saudi Arabia, I will forever be concerned with sandstorms and its effect on my children's health. But all I need to do is pray. I believe God already heard my prayers when He let it rain last February 25. (Not all sandstorms are followed by rain.) Thank God! :)

A Fusion of Something Special and Organic

It was our 11th wedding anniversary last February 17. We decided to celebrate the day before because our anniversary fell on a Friday where shops, restaurants and most establishments open at 4pm. I also don't want to stay out late on Fridays. I have to get up before 6 am the following day to prepare our breakfast and the kids' and hubby's packed lunches. Saturday is like Monday in the Philippines, the start of school and work week.

We decided to eat at Pizza Fusion, located along Thalateen (30) Street. It boasts of fresh and delicious food made from organically grown ingredients.

This platter of pita bread served with herb and tomato pesto is complimentary. :)

If you order large or family size pizza, you can ask for two kinds of toppings.
We chose BBQ Chicken and Pepperoni. Yummy!

We opted for brown crusted pizza for a healthier indulgence.

This is Pasta Alfredo ala Pizza Fusion. Fred liked this a lot!

We ordered Banana Berry Shake and Strawberry Frost but they were not offered at that time. The wait staff said that when the organic ingredients are not available, they'd rather not serve the order than make them from inorganic produce. Wow, hats off to their strict compliance to their slogan: Fresh, Organic and Earth Friendly! It's really responsibility first before profitability.
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This is the back part of the menu. Really organic-looking.

I'm glad we spent our day at Pizza Fusion. It's one earth-friendly and health-conscious restaurant!

Romance, Movies and a Strawberry Cake

The Love Month ushered in with me watching romantic movies. I don't know what gets into me but I seem to be always watching movies when February comes. I realized I still have great faith in love, even after more than ten years of marriage. It surely helps that God is at the center of my partnership with my husband.

I get good insights while watching movies about love. Among these three, my favorite is P.S. I Love You. This movie made me cry a bucket and appreciate my husband's love for me.

On times I am exhausted from daily work, watching this stuff kinda relaxes me.

I must have been overdosed with love notions that the actual Hearts' Day almost passed by without me remembering it. Maybe because nothing unusual or special happened yesterday. Fred didn't give me anything or didn't ask me out.  He reasoned that our anniversary falls three days after so we might as well celebrate on that day. You may not believe me but that has always been fine with me. We are used to doing that since we got married.

Gabby, on the other hand, showed his love for me demonstratively. I wasn't expecting anything because I thought schools here in Riyadh don't celebrate Hearts' Day. But Gabby and Sunday told me that they had a Valentine Classroom Party and Valentine stuff were sold on booths in the school's quadrangle. Gabby bought me a bear. How I loved him for remembering!

Gabby gave me this little pink bear. He never fails to give me gifts on occasions. Such a thoughtful child.

In my workplace, I thought Arabs don't celebrate Valentine's Day. But they do, especially those who are exposed to Western culture and those who studied abroad. They greeted each other and our Syrian marketing officer received pastries and a cake from her fiancé.

Strawberry cake given with love and shared with almost all the staff.

The only regret that I have is not being able to watch movies in theaters. There are no movie houses or theaters in Saudi Arabia. I miss watching a good movie and dining out with my hubby on Hearts' Day. Maybe, we'll do that when we come home to the Philippines. :)
 
Have a love-filled life!

Gowns and Winter on the Desert

I wasn't prepared for the winter here in Riyadh. I thought Fred was just exaggerating when he told me before that he used two Korean blankets on winter nights. Now, I realized how true it is and how lonely it was not to have someone to hug on a cold weather like this.

The other night, the temperature fell to -1°C. I usually go home from work at 10 pm and that night, I had to walk briskly from the building to Fred's car because it was shiveringly cold. Brrrrr...I have to endure this cold weather until maybe first week of March.

I think I badly need knitted gloves. I browsed through the fashion magazines for winter fashion collections to check how Arab women here in Saudi dress during this time. Of course, they have their abayas over their clothes but I think that underneath those abayas are fashionable and signature dresses. Having met some Arab women here, I can say that the portrayal of them wearing Dior collections in the Sex and the City 2 movie has some truth in it. I was surprised to see these pages from Layalina Magazine issued on April last year. (April is neither hot or cold here, they say.) The models are donning fashion designers' bridal collection. There is something common with these pics. All models/celebrities seemed to be wearing inner clothes under their gowns and dresses. But they do not. The magazine's layout artist purposely put those inner wear because conservative dress codes of some Arab countries require that women don't expose too much skin, even if it's on print. 

These are bridal collection from known fashion designers.

Gowns as overalls. Despite the inner wear effect,
these Hollywood celebrities still look stunning wearing these.

Just like the models and celebrities above, layering clothes is a must for me now. It is kinda inconvenient but I need to do it to make myself warm. A combination of blouse and pants, an abaya and a coat or jacket is my dress code these days. Better warm than sorry (for the cold), right?

Ikea on New Year's Eve

We almost spent the New Year in Ikea! We went there past 8pm of December 31 and since it was our first time, we got lost on our way. It turned out to be a New Year's Eve adventure because the road we traversed is dark and ours was the only car passing that way. When we looked behind us, it was total darkness! That dark road led us to the highway going to Ikea and we promised ourselves to ask for directions before going to a place next time.

We went there to buy for our exchange gift activity with our friends here. We also bought some things for the house. I really like it there. There were so many designs for housewares, utensils or pieces of furniture. It was alright to take pictures but I wasn't able to take many out of courtesy to the shoppers.

Green bowls and plastic whatchamacallits ( are these plastic spatulas?) :P

multicolored shower curtains!

cute kitchen stuff!

A simulation of a kid's bedroom. I noticed I like green things for the house!

Fred and the kids outside Ikea

After shopping for gifts, we went to buy ice cream in a cone worth SR1 (Php12)! The food and drinks on the snack area are unbelievably cheap! The drinks are also refillable. What a treat for their shoppers.

For more pics and home design inspirations, visit their website or view their catalogue here. Warning though, you might get addicted to browsing. :P