Making Her US Debut!

Savannah is making her U.S. debut. In May, we are headed back for our first visit since arriving in Dubai. We are going to make a brief stop in Paris and then Detroit and then on to St. Louis! I am super excited and have already started counting down the days. It should be a great time spent with family and friends!

Almost Perfect!

Almost perfect...the weather that is. Temperatures are in the upper 80's, low 90's and it is great to spend time outside. I attempted to go paddle boarding on Saturday but there was a storm blowing in (think sand...not rain and snow) so it wasn't ideal conditions. I gave it a try though and it was a lot of work to simply stay straight (and on the board). On Saturday we also met friends at West 14th, a restaurant located at the Oceana Residence. This is great because it is within walking distance. So we enjoyed our lunch and a few beverages while overlooking the sea and the infinity pool. Again...reminded me of vacationing in Mexico.

Tonight, Chris is playing golf at Emirates Hills Golf Club. This is the same club the PGA's Dubai Desert Classic was held at. He is playing under the lights. I am sure this will be a unique and memorable experience.

Savannah is doing great! Eating is going much better and she seems to love fruit (like her mom) and is pretty open to vegetables, like sweet potatoes and broccoli...up for trial this week are peas! She isn't mobile but seems to want to be. She is definitely very curious about her surroundings and has to touch everything whether she can actually reach it or not!

Grocery Shopping in Dubai

Grocery shopping in Dubai has definitely been a learning experience and a change of pace. There are several hypermarkets in the area which seems to be where more locals and eastern expats shop. There are also two British grocery store chains, Waitrose and Spinneys which are located in many of the malls where more western expats seem to shop. We do our grocery shopping at these UK chains. They are nice grocery stores but the shopping experience is different...it is more like a scavenger hunt! If you see something, you should buy it and stock up! When items run out, they could be gone for weeks or forever and sometimes it is very odd and random items that run out. For example, Swanson's Chicken Broth is a hit or miss item. It is a given that weekly grocery shopping will involve going to multiple stores for basic items. Being a UK chain, there is always a huge supply of English biscuits (crackers) but pretzels and Goldfish are impossible to find. Last week, I was looking for regular Cheerios...this was unsuccessful but they have a huge selection of different kinds of oatmeal and Muesli. Grocery shopping here sometimes reminds me of being on a scavenger hunt!

I think the biggest thing I have noticed is the way people shop is very different than in the US. Europeans seem to go to the grocery store every few days and only purchase what they need. Most shoppers only fill a handheld basket when they grocery shop...not an entire cart (or buggy as they call them). Europeans don't seem to buy a lot of processed food, instead opting for fresh produce, spices and meats. There are no "big box" stores either and nothing is sold in bulk. There is not a Target and certainly no Costco or Sams Club. Although it can be frustrating at times, it isn't a bad way to shop it just takes getting used to.

Weekend Fun

We continue to try and do something new or visit somewhere we haven't been been at some point during the weekend. On Friday, we went to the Jumeriah Open Beach. Like the other public beaches we have visited, this one is free but it has its own jogging and bike trail built into the sand. It is great. There is the sea, a large sandy area, the jogging and bike path and then a little more sand. It is great for a run on the beach (without actually having to run in the sand) and perfect for pushing the stroller.

Yesterday we went to lunch at Barasti inside the Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina. This outdoor bar/restaurant overlooks the Arabian Sea and the resort's pool area. It was great for a beer and burger and reminded me of being on vacation in Mexico...not bad for a Saturday.

UAE to Hold Election in September

According to the local paper, the UAE will hold the second election in its history in September to pick half the members of its advisory national assembly. Also according to the article, they tripled the number of voters, who are handpicked by the rulers. The first election took place in 2006 with 6, 600 voters (including 1,160 women). The voters accounted for less than 1% of the population and were named by the rulers of the seven emirates that make up the UAE. The election announcement comes as neighboring countries have seen protests and unrest. Although, the UAE has recently sent some of their military troops to Bahrain to help maintain order and security and is helping to maintain the no-fly zone in Libya...things continue to be normal and safe here.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! This Irish holiday is celebrated here but seems to be really only limited to the bars. There are no parades, no green beer and no green rivers!

Winter is Over

It seems as though winter ended over night. This weekend the temperatures soared into the 90's. We are enjoying the summer like temperatures, but everyone keeps reminding us that this is just the beginning of the summer warm up! Chris and I think we have mentally blocked out how hot it really was when we arrived in July. I keep telling myself it was so hot because I was 8 months pregnant and Chris thinks because we were in such a whirl-wind he also can't remember what it feels like when it is 120+ degrees. Needless to say, we are taking advantage of being able to go outside now. We went to the pool on Friday and the beach on Saturday. We finally went to the Belgian Beer Cafe and enjoyed our drinks on the rooftop (we also payed $15 per beer...) and I went for a seaside run.

Savannah seems to love the beach. She digs her hands and feet in the sand, occasionally a handful of sand makes it to her mouth if you aren't careful. We sat her at the waters edge and she smiled/giggled every time the waves came up over her legs. Guess she might take after her mom a little!

Savannah is Seven Months Old

It is impossible to believe that Savannah is already 7 months old! We had a check-up with the doctor. She weighs 19.1 pounds and is 26.8 inches long (still in the 95th percentile). She also has 4 teeth...two on the top and two on the bottom!

Savannah loves to play with her toys, anything within reach, and things that aren't toys, especially the remote controls and keyboard on the laptop. She loves things that fit in her mouth, buttons and tags! We are still plugging away at solid foods. It is a slower process than I anticipated but starting to get a little easier. Lately, her favorite is apples! Overall, she is a pretty happy and easy going baby!

Where Does Our Food Come From?

As I have started preparing food for Savannah to eat, it has made me much more conscious about what we are eating and where it comes from (amazing how you want your baby to eat the best but we eat junk ourselves).

I recently read an article that discussed where the UAE's food comes from since sand isn't the most hospitable for growing produce or raising livestock. The UAE imports more than 80% of their food. India is the largest exporter of food (18%), followed by Brazil (13%), China (12%), United States (10%) and Australia (8%). Of these imports, vegetables account for the highest percentage, followed by prepared foods, then meat. This dependence on imported foods doesn't help those who want to eat "locally" but the trend is unlikely to change anytime soon. The UAE does grow their own dates, cucumbers and tomatoes but not enough to serve the 5 million or so people within the country and service the many, many restaurants. (Interestingly, the country is going to start exporting their own camel milk to Europe sometime this year--so watch out it could be headed your way and nope we haven't tried camel's milk although it is supposed to be good for people who are lactose intolerant (like me), we just can't seem to take the plunge.) Needless to say grocery shopping has been quite a learning experience.

On a different note...

After our last week or so of being quarantined to the apartment we were ready to get out and about...but sometimes things don't go according to plan. We had plans to met friends at the Belgian Beer Cafe and go to the "Taste of Dubai" instead Chris and I ended up with what we think was food poisoning, so instead we spent the weekend indoors and playing "pass the baby". I had been feeling pretty good about my basic cooking skills lately, but since we got sick after eating one of my meals I have been knocked down a few pegs. We are not sure if it was the meat or vegetables I put in the spaghetti sauce but is was definitely something. (So much for making my own sauce and forgoing the Prego!) I have always been careful about cooking meat throughly and washing vegetables but will now be much more vigilant and careful.