Christmas Email

Here is a copy of my Christmas email:

Dear all

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2007

It has been a weird year. Challenging, scary, exciting, interesting, varied and exhausting. It started with us waking up in Nelson, New Zealand on New Year's Day, a good place to wake up any day of the year. I'm sure that I was hungover, but I cannot remember to be honest.

We started the year jobless and homeless for the first time in many years. It was good to feel a little freedom. No more music industry, no more London, no house to pay for and maintain. At the same time, we were nervous about the future, and none of us were at our best living out of a suitcase.

Daisy was enjoying getting to know her Kiwi family especially Peter & Anna and her uncles, but she was a little unsettled. Lidiard Road was her home, and there was no going back to the cosy world she knew and loved.

We spent most of January having a well earned break. We had bought a trusty 15 year old Pajero not long after arriving in Nelson, so we hit the road and spent time in Awaroa, Pakawau & Rai Valley before travelling South to Christchurch for Katie & Vaughan's wedding. It was good to catch up with old friends such as John (my friend from Guernsey) and Lesley (Bec's school friend). It is fantastic to see friends and feel so comfortable in their company after several years apart.

Daisy had her first Birthday whilst we were in Christchurch, and we spent some of the day at the zoo with her Grandad Jim. It was quite strange to look back at how much she had developed over the year. Shehas changed our lives so much.

We stopped off at Hanmer Springs on the way back to Nelson. It was my first time in Hanmer and it is a wonderful place. We decided to make use of the 4x4 and travel back to Nelson off-road, as there is a dirt track from Hanmer to the ski fields close to St Arnaud. A truly fantastic journey with some incredible scenery. Daisy probably thoughtwe were mad, driving through creeks and herds of cows, but it was an experience not to forget.

February was always going to be a difficult month. We knew thatJanuary would be holiday, but our life had to move on in February. Job hunting in Dubai was not going well from New Zealand.
The time difference wasn't helping and it was difficult to get anyone to even acknowledge my emails and job application forms. I spent a few weeks dithering as a result. We were also a little distracted as we very nearly bought a house overlooking Tahuna beach. The auction was exciting and nervy, but we lost out at the final hurdle after going slightly over our 'maximum' bid. It was sad to lose the house, butwith hindsight it was the better outcome.

Bec eventually put her foot down and we (she) decided that we'd just go ahead and book flights to Dubai at the end of February. It was the right decision, and it gave us some direction. After another week or so in Nelson, we set off, via two nights seeing Bec's brothers in Auckland.

First impressions of Dubai were good. Very big, very friendly and very different, but with enough to remind us of home and make us feel comfortable. The flat was small but it felt like we were on holiday with the swimming pool & gym.

Getting closer to the action immediately improved the job hunting, and it was not long before I started getting meetings and interviews. The first few weeks went well, with mostly positive feedback and plenty of interest. Things then went up and down a bit. Daisy was sick, the pace of job applications was frustrating and we started to get a few doubts over what we were doing and more importantly what we were putting Daisy through.

March turned into April and we started to get a little stressed. Bec had managed to meet some nice people, but we were treading water and starting to feel like the lifeboat might not arrive.
Daisy was still unsettled and we had to take another monthly rental flat which was more expensive and which had the ugliest decoration known to man. The only thing that kept us going through these dark times was our friends and family. Janet & David, who were practically the only friends we had in Dubai before we arrived, shared their alcohol license limit with us to keep our spirits up (in more ways than one), and we hadsome welcome visitors such as Julia, Steve, Mum & Dad and Ness & Bob.

Then six weeks after arriving in Dubai I got a job. Thank christ for that! It was actually the first Dubai job that I applied for (in November 2006!). They take their time in Dubai, but once they have made a decision they want immediate action. Hence I had to start practically straight away. The relief was immense, and it meant that we were able to look for a villa, buy cars and most importantly, getour stuff shipped over.

Life had taken a positive shift, and we soon had a villa sorted too.The rental prices in Dubai are outrageous, but after a few days we managed to find a lovely villa in Arabian Ranches that was in our price range. We thought that we could only afford a two bed plus study, but through sheer luck we had managed to find a three bed plus study for the same price. Not only that, it overlooked a lake, and was just across the road from the pool and tennis court. Perfect! I didn't sleep well for a few nights worrying that it was too good to be true, and the agent was a fraud, but it checked out and we moved in.

Around the end of April and start of May Daisy started to walk. She had been pushing her Giraffe (with wheels) around for a while, but she started making a few shaky steps on her own, and by the time Bec went to Oz for Juliet and Gianni's wedding, she was walking unaided. I had Daisy on my own for six days while Bec was away. We were pretty chilled and Bec came back to a grubby house, as I'd been avoiding housework like the plague.

The weather in May was starting to get hot. It was strange living in a house with no furniture, but we were pretty pleased with how things had worked out. We bought a new bed for us, plus some bar stools and then some outdoor furniture, which we started to use inside until our stuff arrived. My work was fairly full on from the start, but Bec had a good group of friends hence Daisy had some pals to hang around with. We then discovered that Bec was pregnant, blimey! It was what we wanted but it happened quicker than we expected again.

Our stuff arrived at the start of June, which made us very happy. We could finally get settled after six months of living out of a suitcase. Daisy had probably forgotten that she had any of her toys, hence she had a second chance to be excited about getting them back.

July was a hard month for Daisy. The weather was too hot for her to go out during the day, but she didn't really understand so she just banged on the windows. Blake and Julia visited which helped Bec get through the month.

By August, Bec decided that she and Daisy needed to escape the heat, so they booked a few weeks in England, staying with Laura and Ian in London. Daisy had a fantastic time seeing her old NCT pals, and running around outdoors. I came over for the final weekend, and we visited Chris, Annette and Thomas in their new house in Wimbourne St Giles. It was a lovely weekend. I enjoyed being back in England and seeing friends, but I was not missing England and therefore quite happy to trot back to the Gulf.

In September, Julia was back with us. We found out that we are having boy. Ramadam arrived and suprisingly we really enjoyed it. It was weird at work, as everyone left at 3pm apart from my department that worked through as normal. However, we loved going out for Iftar, as it was perfect timing for eating dinner out with Daisy. We made a quick trip to Abu Dhabi which was nice. It feels greener and more developed than Dubai (less cranes).

At the end of September, Lydia and Neil came to visit on route to Asia and it was great to see them. We made our first trip out into the desert to go to a restaurant at Bab Al Shams. Daisy also started playgroup two mornings a week. It was weird leaving her on her own, but she soon loved it and met lots of new pals.

October saw the conclusion of the Rugby World Cup. England performed brilliantly after a dreadful few years of poor performances, which made the competition enjoyable for me at least. Bec went to Paris to meet the girls, for her last trip away before pregnancy prevented her from travelling, and had the unfortunate experience of seeing the All Blacks lose to France in a bar with lots of drunk Parisians. Oh dear! Mum & Dad came to visit, which broke up the routine, as I had a few days off.

November was a quiet month. The weather had cooled down and was becoming very pleasant. I was probably working too hard, but I was also enjoying a bit of tennis and squash. We had a very short trip to Fujairah with Dajon, Tara and Sanna. It is a few hours drive through Sharjah and across the Al Hajar mountains. It offers a stark contrast to Dubai with the mountain backdrop.

Bec was not really enjoying being pregnant, and both her and Daisy had the odd virus that didn't help. Poor Bec got so dehydrated that she got put on a drip for a few days. However, there was good news from Bec's brother in Singapore, as Flynn Gabriel Mackie made an appearance. Well done to Adrianne and Blake!

Toby arrived at the start of December, and we set off to the Dubai Sevens. It was a great day out, but a little too drunken. Not the best behaviour by me I will admit. It is fair to say that I am not capable of partying hard like a youngster anymore and maybe it is time that I stopped trying. Toby geezer and I played a little tennis and golf for the rest of the week and took things easy.

The last few weeks have been fairly quiet. We are trying to get into the mood for Christmas. The tree is up and we've been to a few Christmas parties and events. We won't be sending any Christmas Cards, as there isn't a proper postal system here, so this email will have to convey our Christmas message to you all.

Looking back at the year, it has definitely been one of the hardest that I've experienced, but it has also been one of the more interesting. It seems like we have packed a lot in.

Daisy is beautiful and funny and charming and quite a little madam when she wants to be. Our lives are so much more enriched seeing her develop and spending time with her. The New Year will see the arrival of her baby brother, which I am sure will make life even more interesting.

Work has been fairly challenging. My company is growing stupidly quickly and we simply don't have the time or the ability to control it properly, but it is good experience for me after several years in my comfort zone in London. The politics of working in a Dubai Holding company are also a little difficult to navigate, but I am confident that things will improve in 2008.

One of the best aspects of Dubai is that we have managed to meet some lovely friends. It is probably due to the expat lifestyle, but people here are genuinely very friendly and open. Daisy has lots of great pals to hang around with. We are also really enjoying living in a different culture, and learning about this part of the world. Dubai does have a lot of expats and western aspects, but it is still very much a muslim country.

I do feel that I am a little out of touch with friends back home. Our website has been hopeless since we've been in Dubai. I am really struggling with some technical issues at the moment, and I've recently moved it to http://blog.becandy.com/ to try and get it working properly. Grom - I need more help!

Anyway, that is our news for 2007. We hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Our Christmas will be a small family affair, but we might go to the beach for a swim before Christmas dinner.

We would love to see any of you in 2008 if you are passing through this part of the world. Let us know what you are up to and please keep in touch.

Lots of love from

Andy, Bec & Daisy x

Scary Santa!

Daisy queued for over an hour to see Santa, but then got scared and wouldn't let go of mummy. At least she got a nice Polar Bear called Wafi!

Woooooooooo!

She doesn't make the scariest witch I've ever seen.

Round and round to make a wish...

...and check your hat for chocolate!

Yesterday was Halloween which was a great excuse for Daisy to dress up. And me to take photos.

Everything is fine here. Madge and Bob have just been over for a few days so Daisy enjoyed spending some time with them. Andy's probabtion at work is over and he hasn't been shown the door. I had a very nice girl's night out last night and am gettting bigger by the day. Daisy is loving being an outdoors girl and is a chatterbox. She is really good a little sentences (normally beginning with where, what or why) and has become very helpful round the house, tidying up her toys and putting rubbish in the bin. I like it.

Bx

Recent and not recent photos

Foam party!

First day of playgroup.

Lyd and Neil at the beach.

Sunset over the dunes.


Bab Al Shams desert resort.

Daisy and her friend Sophie at Sophie's beach club.

It's the start of the week so I thought I'd be industrious and add some more photos. We had a relaxed weekend. Friday it was Lucy's first birthday and she had a great party. Saturday we did a bit of shopping then watched the rugby in the evening. Another disappointing result, boo.

Daisy can be a bit precious about sticky fingers so we've just been playing with shaving foam to help her learn that getting messy can be fun. She had a great time although it was my turn to not worry about mess when she gleefully deposited great gobs of foam over everything.

Bx

Girl's trip to Paris - just don't mention the rugby.

Picnic in the park. No, I'm not having twins.

Obligatory Paris photo.

Last weekend I bade Andy and Daisy farewell and flew off to Paris to meet my friends Ruth and Laura for our annual Girl's Christmas celebration. It's a little early for Christmas but we had to hold it early thanks to my rapidly expanding girth. Unfortunately, normal Girl's Christmas attendees Jules and Fen were unable to make it but Ruth and Laura Eurostarred in from London and we had a fabulous time.

We stayed at Le Meridien Etoile which was brilliantly located near the Arc de Triomphe and a short stroll from our favourite shopping haunt, Champs Elysee. I arrived earlier on the Friday night than the girls so had an early night then Saturday saw us hit the shops. Perfect weather meant we were able to enjoy pizza in the park for lunch followed by more shopping. I headed back to the hotel for a rest and to watch England beat the Aussies at rugby then the evening saw us glammed up in the Latin Quarter for champagne, dinner and watching the AB's lose to France. Very disappointing but it was lovely to see all the French wildly celebrating. Not. It was an interesting trip back to the hotel. The streets were filled with absolutely hammered dancing singing crowds, people falling off bikes and cars crashing in to each other. In order to get on to the Arc de Triomphe our taxi driver had to drive on to it going the wrong way. Anyone who has ever driven there can imagine how scary that was but he got us back to the hotel safely in the end.

We had all day Sunday to chill out so went for a walk along the Left Bank of the Seine followed by lunch and yet more shopping on Champs Elysee then leisurely coffee. It was so nice to catch up with the girls and relax. As much as I love being at home Daisy it was wonderful to take a couple of days to do things at my own pace and not be constantly thinking about if she is hot/tired/bored/hungry etc. We talked on the phone lots over the weekend and she seemed to understand that I was coming back and had a great time hanging out with Daddy.

It was a night flight back on Sunday. I'm pretty ginormous which caused concern for the plane staff. I got stopped on the way on to the plane and asked when I was expecting (and patted!!) then when I sat down someone came and found me to quiz me on exactly how many weeks I was and if I'd had any problems and how I was feeling at that point (fat and uncomfortable actually) but thankfully they didn't kick me off the plane. Phew!

Bx

Abu Dhabi photos

Daisy and Geoffrey yet again in pristine white sheets. They're well travelled pals.

Badly back lit in the hotel lift.

Sunset from our room. I do love the Arabian sunsets.

Relaxing at the beach club.

Daisy and Grandma, faux Bedouin tent lounging.

Photos seem to be loading so I shall strike while the iron is hot!

Bx

Abu Dhabi

Strategically placed toddler. She's hiding a bump the size of Everest.

A few weeks ago Andy, Daisy, Julia and I had a weekend in Abu Dhabi which is a neighbouring Emirate and capital of the UAE. It's only about a 90 minute drive away but is very different from Dubai as the big mad construction boom hasn't gotten underway yet. It has about 90% of the oil in this area so is absolutely awash with money. Very flash with gleaming skyscrapers, a wonderfully developed sea front, greenery aplenty and nice cars everywhere. We stayed at the Hilton on the Corniche which had a great view over the sea. We spent the afternoon at the beach club there which was very nice. Daisy went down a small hydroslide with Andy which she wasn't too sure about but she had lots of fun kicking back on the sun loungers and running around with Grandma.

The hotel had a very lavish Iftar in the evening which we all enjoyed a lot. Daisy was sharing a room with Julia which gave Andy and I the opportunity to hit the town however the times they have a'changed and we were tucked up asleep in bed by about 9.30pm. Oh dear.

Bx

Ramadan and Eid

Beach babe and the Burj al Arab.

Double thumbs up for Andy who actually managed to load a couple of photos below after much time and effort. The first one is Andy and Daisy at Bab Al Shams which is a resort about half an hour from here deep in the desert. We went there for dinner with our friends Lydia and Neil who stayed with us for a long weekend recently. It was very nice, sunset over the sand dunes, camels, bedouin style dancing etc. Daisy nearly got brave enough to pat a falcon. Maybe next time Dais!

It's a four day holiday weekend this weekend as it's Eid which marks the end of Ramadan. Ramadan is the Muslim holy month. It entails a month of sunrise to sunset fasting, prayer and charitable deeds. For us non muslims, it mainly meant no eating and drinking in public sunrise to sunset although kids are exempt, lucky Daisy. I was dreading it as all the cafes and restaurants are shut during the day and morning coffee and lunching are very much a part of our routine. The first week was pretty hard but we soon got used to it and ended up really enjoying it as we got right in to going to Iftar which is the breaking the fast evening meal. All the restaurants and hotels held Iftars which went from sunset til about 8pm and were big elaborate arabic buffets. The food was always great and they were really good family time. We are all looking somewhat plumper!

The weather has cooled down considerably which is wonderful. It gets up to the late 30's during the day with mornings and evenings in the late 20's so we are spending much more time outside. We spent this morning at the beach then Andy played golf this afternoon. Neither could have even been considered only a couple of weeks ago. It's quite bizarre never having to plan your day around something to do if it rains.

Bx

Who wants to go to playgroup?

Daddy & Daisy

It's a boy!

Today was our 21 week scan which all went fine. The Fetal Medicine and Genetics Testing Centre where we got it done freaks me out a bit as it's all very Gattaca but they are very nice and thorough.

The big news of the scan is that we are having a boy! Phew, no need to wipe egg off my face. This pregnancy has felt very different to the last, which is what had me convinced. We are so used to having a little girl that the thought of a boy is a little daunting but I'm sure we will get over that very quickly.

Julia is staying with us at the moment which allowed Andy and I a rare night out last night. We went to Tokyo at Emirates Towers with my friend Pete from uni and his wife Sogol who were here on a stopover for the evening. It was great to see them and very nice (for me) to be out in the adult world for an evening. Not a child in sight!

Bx

Who knows?

What's really going on with this website. It's all gone pear shaped, things work, then they don't, then they do again, then they don't, ad nauseum. It's very frustrating. I'm not even going to bother trying to load a photo

I'll keep it brief as I can't be bothered wasting my time posting if it ends up not loading. Anyway! Things are going well. It's cooled down a bit. Well, it's still in the mid forties during the day (actually, it was 50 on Friday) but the evenings aren't so bad so Daisy and I can play with water in the garden in the late afternoon. It's very nice.

Tomorrow is a Very Big Day for Daisy. She's starting play school. It's just a small one, run by a Montessori teacher from her house at the Ranches. We only found out she had a place at the weekend so it's been very exciting. It's for two hours, two mornings a week so shouldn't be too much but will be really good for both of us. She has more energy than I know what to do with at the moment so it will help tire her out plus I'll get the chance to get things done, like the grocery shopping and doctors visits, with much more ease. Or I can just put my feet up. Oooooo!

Bx

Scan

12 week scan

I am a bit late in putting it up (such is the fate of the second child - I really should know better) but here is the newest member of the Ellis family. I'm nearly 17 weeks now and all is going smoothly. I've been pretty sick but happily that has now abated somewhat and I'm feeling much more relaxed this time round - even eating peanut butter if it takes my fancy!

The health system over here is pretty different to the UK, being private it's all high tech and specialised. I have a nice obstetrician at the local doctors surgery here at the Ranches which is handy. She even has an ultrasound in her office. My due date is 27 January - which also happens to be Daisy's second birthday. She is a bit little to understand what is going on but if asked 'where's the bubba' will kiss my tummy.

In a move sure to leave egg on my face, I've been convinced from quite early on that I'm having a boy. We'll find out for sure at the 20 week scan and will post the verdict.

Bx

Back to Dubai

Slide action London style. No burnt bottom!

We've just arrived back from a lovely two week holiday to London and Dorset. Very tired but here's a photos for now.




Bx

Burj Dubai

Photo of the Burj Dubai from our balcony. It is about 20km away, and is huge compared to the 50 floor Emirates Towers on the far right. And it is not finished yet!

Stoopid Andy!

After over a month of trying to work out why we could not upload photos, I finally found a solution this week (using Picasa). Then I discovered that even Picasa was problematic if you tried to upload any more than one photo. So I spent another two days trying to work out what was wrong. Then I saw a post on a help site about reinstalling explorer. So I did, and it works! The above photo (of Dubai museum) is the first photo in months that I've managed to get on the site via Blogger. Now, why did it take me this long! Stupid!

Best Pals!

New Dress

Daisy looking all grown up in a nice new dress!

Julia & Blake visit

Julia and Blake came to visit us in Dubai. Click here for the photos.

Pet Shop Girl

Daisy banging out some choons!

Arabian Ranches Golf Club

Here are some photos of the Golf Club at Arabian Ranches, it is very nice!

Big girl

Dancing in Dubai

Daisy dancing and ready for a swim!

And we're back!

Andy finally has our blog up and running again, hurrah! Will hopefully get some photos up within the next few days.

Bx

A Daisy update

I thought I'd do a post on Daisy as it's been a while since I wrote about where she is at.

She's now 16 1/2 months old and still quite slim but tall. She has dainty (NOT monkey) little hands and feet just like her mummy and also like me, is rather fond of shoes. She also very much likes hats. Her hair is now long enough to get in a little ponytail on top although she's a terror at pulling out hair ties and clips. She's now running and her latest task is learning how to walk up stairs which she approaches with steely determination. She loves the pool where we spend an hour every afternoon and she has become confident going right under the water. She does however still need to learn how to blow out, not inhale!

She's beginning to speak and although mama and dada are still by far her most popular words other words include bye-bye, yes, bath, bed, water, this and fish. She also has her own word for Geoffrey (all round top giraffe and best pal), which to be fair is quite a mouthful for a little girl.

She's not a big eater but eats a wide range of things with her current favourite being fish. We go to Costa for coffee every morning which is opposite a pet shop. As soon as the pet shop is open Daisy runs across there making a bee line for the aquarium whilst shrieking 'feesh, feesh'. I think she's yet to make the correalation between the fish at the pet shop and the fish on her plate....

She adores other children, both younger and older and apart from a slight blip recently where she started to hit (and bit twice, oh the shame) she's normally very affectionate and loves cuddling and kissing. However, I'm currently trying to teach her that full on snogging her little friends not only scares them but is rather inappropriate.

Books are still a big favourite as are soft toys. When she's not demanding my complete attention she can often be found in her playroom curled up reading a book with some soft toys. She also still loves birds and with numbers dwindling here over summer, spotting one is cause for huge excitement.

That's it in a rather large nutshell really. She's getting bigger everyday and my latest task is to try to get her in to a good school. It all seems too early to be worrying about but they start here the September after they turn three (THREE!) and there aren't enough places so it's a bit daunting. Her year, the 2009 intake, at our local school is already full so I'm looking further afield. The thought of her starting full time proper 5 days a week school at three fills me with horror but starting them later means it's even harder to find a place. Woe.

Andy has gone to the Irish Village for a night on the tiles with his workmates. Daisy, poor button, is in bed early with a fever. Which leaves me with only a large bowl of pasta and a good book for company. How very nice.

Bx

Jumping for joy

Our things our here eeeeeeeeekkkkkk! I'm so excited. The house is filled with men unloading boxes whilst I leap about shrieking and taking photos. Which I'm sure they appreciate. Daisy is asleep, she's going to freak when she wakes up. A very large box marked 'toys' just got deposited in her playroom. Ohhhh, and my cookbooks just landed in the kitchen. I think I'm going to cry.

Bx

The eagle has landed

Brilliant news this morning, our container arrived in to port yesterday and is getting delivered tomorrow. Yaaaaaayyyy! It's going to be a few days of boxes and unpackers descending on us but I can't wait. We've also had the garden done and are now putting enough water on it every evening to float the ark.

We've just had a really good weekend. It was the first weekend since we arrived that actually felt like a proper relaxing one - not just rushing around sorting things out.

Andy was out on Thursday night with David, Janet and Oliver. He came home rather merry and had a good time by all accounts. They went to a restaurant/bar/club at Jumeirah Beach. Daisy has been having some sleeping issues (now resolved, fingers crossed) so I stayed at home with her.

On Friday we met Tara, Dayon and Sanna for brunch at The Organic Cafe in Satwa. Sanna is one month older than Daisy and they are becoming good friends which is lovely. The girls spent the whole time racing around getting in to mischief and having a ball.

On Saturday we went the the Iranian Hospital and I got my health card and had my visa blood test - the last step in my residency process. We then went for lunch at The Lime Tree in Jumeirah where we ran in to Carmen, Graham and Jamie. Daisy and Jamie proceed to spend the entire lunch swapping (often already sucked) food and throwing it around. They made an outstanding mess. Late afternoon Andy met Clive (who lives down the street) and they trundled off to our local golf club for a few hits at the driving range followed by beers and rugby at the clubhouse. Daisy and I headed down for the last half of the game which consisted of England getting wopped again by the Saffies. Boo. The golf club is great, it's all rather swanky with a big restaurant/bar and a huge terrace overlooking the greens. Plus it has beer and shows sport which is all Andy needs to be happy.

Pre-weekend, I had a night out on Wednesday to Vintage, a great wine bar at Wafi City. It was with one of the coffee groups I go to and was a great chance to catch up and properly talk to everyone without the distraction of kids.

No post would be complete without talking about the weather so I'm happy to report that it continues to get hotter. Which means that it's now very hot - not a day under 40 I don't think. Ooo.

Bx

Photos

The photo upload function is really, no really, frustrating so I've stuck a link to 'latest photos' on the right.

Photos will appear there instead until I can work out what the hell is going on.

Andy

Photos

We still cannot upload photos, hence I'm trying another option. Click below to see some recent photos of Daisy.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/becandy/MayInDubai

Hope it works!

Andy

Jules and Gianni's wedding

I still can't get photos to load. Grrrr. It hasn't worked since moving to the Ranches so may be the connection here. Very frustrating.

Daisy and I just survived our first drive without Andy. The roads here are terrifying and scare the bejesus out of me. Everyone drives too fast, the roads are a mess, lane discipline is non existent and the body count is horrendeous. I have a Pajero on order but it will take until July to get here. JULY! Until then I'm in a sedan which feels rather small compared to all the monsters on the road.

Anyway, this post is meant to be about my recent trip to Australia. I was a bridesmaid at Juliet and Gianni's wedding which was amazing. SO annoying I can't put photos on. It was held at Thala, a resort just out of Port Douglas in North Queensland. It was a bit of a flying visit, only there for four nights as Andy and Daisy were still in Dubai. Andy could only get a few days off work and the trip was too long to put Daisy through for a short time so they had to stay behind *sob*.

Ruth and I stayed in an apartment in Port Douglas which was great. We both arrived on the Wednesday and went out for a few quiet drinks in the evening. It felt very odd to be sans baby.

Thursday was the Hen Day. We had a snorkel/dive trip on the Great Barrier Reef. We went to the outer reef which is quite a long way out and it was rather rough so there were a few green faces and sick bags out! We went to three locations during the day and each was amazing. The diversity and abundance of life once you peeked beneath the waves was astounding. In the evening we went to a great restaurant then headed off to a few bars afterwards. I think Jules had a good night which was the aim of things.

Friday we had a wedding rehearsal in the morning then Jules and I spent the afternoon being pampered at a spa. Ahhhh. We had a wedding party and family dinner in the evening then had an early night in preparation for the big day.

Saturday dawned bright and clear and I headed out to Thala to join Jules and get ready which we did over a relaxed lunch and champers. Jules looked absolutely stunning. She was always going to look amazing but she really did look perfect. Plus not a wedding jitter in sight! Golf carts took us to the start of the beach path where we began our walk down the longest aisle in the world. It was a beautiful ceremony, on a slightly raised area overlooking the beach. As is always the way, it seemed to be over in a flash, congratulations Mr and Mrs Pannozzo! Then it was photos photos and more photos and the reception began which was held in a gorgeous open walled circular platform amongst the tropical rainforest. It all went very well and we danced up a storm before bidding Jules and Gianni farewell and heading off on a wedding coach to town. Needless to say much more dancing followed and we got back to our apartment as the birds were getting up then cracked open the champers. I don't get to do it often so figured I may as well do it in style.

We headed to the airport at 10am on Sunday morning feeling well and truly partied out. About 26 hours later I was dashing up the stairs in Dubai to smother Daisy in kisses. I missed her awfully and from the sounds of things she really missed me too. From the stunned look on her face she had given up hope of ever seeing me again and wouldn't let me out of her sight for days. I think Andy was pretty pleased to see me too, he discovered that it's not all about lying round and drinking coffee!

Bx

A lot going on - and photo upload isn't working Argh!

There has been an awful lot happen since my last post! We've moved house and I've been to Australia. Daisy has also become a full time walker, it's quite odd watching her toddle round.

Two of Daisy's friends turned 1 recently. Oliver who held a pool party and Jamie who had lunch at The Lime Tree followed by a trip to Favourite Things. Much fun was had at both parties and Daisy loved the chance to eat as much cake as she wanted.

Our new house is great, although a little empty as our things are still en route from London. It's at Arabian Ranches which is about a 20 minute drive out. It's a semi detached villa with 3 bedrooms upstairs and study downstairs. Plenty of room for guests. We have a garden with a gate that leads on to a lake path - excellent for walks. Over the road is the communal area with a big pool, a baby pool, lounging area, grass area with bbqs, a playground and a tennis court. Result! Arabian Ranches has a central area with a golf course, polo club, school, spa and shopping centre. We are very pleased with it. Daisy is particulary pleased. She has gone from no room of her own for the past three months to a lovely big bedroom, her own bathroom AND and a playroom. The lucky bubba.

Australia post is up next.

Bx

Happy Birthday Andy!

A birthday cuddle for Dada

The pool and gym area as seen from our balcony. It's one of the things we will miss about this apartment.....

.....and this is one of the things we won't.

Andy's the big 37 today. We've had a nice relaxed day. We went for a drive this morning and checked out Arabian Ranches which is one of the places we might move to. We filled the car with petrol for the first time - a full tank cost 65 dirhams which is about 9 GBP. In a very expensive town, petrol is certainly the exception!

Andy has had two days of work so far. It looks like it's going to be hard work but he's quite looking forwards to the challenge. Now the job is sorted, we have to find a house which isn't much fun. Very expensive, very little around and very little time to do it in. Eeek.

Daisy did her best ever solo walking effort today at Caribou. Seven shaky little steps in a row. She's more that capable of walking, it's just a confidence thing but I'm sure she will be running round in no time.

We have friends coming round for dinner tonight which will be nice. A good opportunity to enjoy some of those bottles of duty free wine. Hurrah!

Bx

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

Daisy and Oliver enjoying a paddle. It's a bit grainy and was a few weeks ago. We've been very slack on the photo front.

Andy has a job! Six weeks and five days after arriving here, he's signed on the dotted line and we can begin to start our new lives in Dubai. The bizarre thing is, after all the stress and worry and countless applications and interviews on Andy's part, it's a job that he first interviewed for via telephone when we were still in London. In November. An interview which took place by the Thames in Richmond whilst having lunch with Lydia and Neil.

He is the new Finance Director for Arab Media Group. They own radio stations and newspapers and are about to launch MTV Arabia. How exciting, I love MTV! He starts Wednesday, now it's all happening, it's happening really quickly. He's all a bit nervous about it but Daisy and I are very proud of him and know he'll do a great job.

I'm so pleased we can now begin to get things sorted here. It's been incredibly frustrating to be living in a place that we can see is a fantastic place to live but to not be able to get on with our lives and really settle here.

So, next up, finding a villa to rent, cars to buy, and the best bit, getting all our stuff shipped from London. The day I read 'Oh The Places You'll Go' to Daisy then put her to bed in her own cot will be a very happy day indeed.

Bx

A bit stressed

Trouble? Me?

Steve, Madge and Bob, Jumeirah Madinat.

Adrian and Jacob, at the Madinat again. It's a great place to go out.


The Burj Al Arab. It's pretty impressive.

It's been stressful times here lately. Everything just takes so long and it feels nothing is easy. The whole job process is very slow. Daisy is still unsettled (no doubt picking up on how we are feeling) which is hard on all of us. I've been feeling very guilty so letting her get away with being a bit of a toad which is only making the problem worse. We always knew the first few months were going to be hard, we just need to be patient. It will all be worth it in the end (I keep reminding myself).

We've had visits from Andy's parents and brother, my mother and Ness and Bob which has been fantastic. Not only was it great to see them, they all came via duty free so our evenings are no longer bereft of alcohol. Hurrah! We obviously can't go out much in the evening with Daisy so being able to have a drink at home makes things much better. I never thought I could appreciate a well stocked fridge so much. We also caught up with Adrian, an old workmate of Andy's who was here on holiday and had a great night out with him and his friend Jacob. Daisy spent the night next to our table, parked up in her pj's fast asleep.

We've got a couple of things on this weekend with people I've met in coffee groups. Husbands are coming too so it will be a good chance for Andy to have a break from the the tedium of job hunting.

Bx