HOOSIER LIFE IN DUBAI!: January 2012

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

FOUR LETTER WORDS BEGINNING WITH "S".....

Hi folks, Teddy here!

Things sure have changed since I moved to the desert!

Back in Indianapolis
I LOVED
playing outside in the S.N.O.W......

But ever since moving
to the great big litter box called Dubai,
I LOVE
hanging out in the S.A.N.D....

Yup, I just LOOOOOVE those

four letter words

beginning with "S"!!!!

Monday, January 30, 2012

CLOUD NINE!

I woke up

early this morning

literally

on CLOUD NINE....

It's gonna be a GREAT DAY!!*!!

Sunday, January 29, 2012

HSBC INTERNATIONAL GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

HSBC hosted the International Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi this past weekend. Golfers from all over the world came to the UAE to play in a three day tournament. Tiger Woods was amongst the pros that played.

The day was absolutely beautiful. After a week long spell of cooler weather, it warmed up and made for a perfect golf day. John and I headed to Abu Dhabi and were excited to follow the golfers. It had been years since we'd watched a live golf tournament!

The course was AWESOME! The falcon shaped club house was SPECTACULAR! The entire setting was over the top!

John, of course, was THRILLED to see his company's Club Cars represented!

First, we sat by the green of the eighth hole. The people and the cameras and the people with cameras were ready.....

I must say, our view was outstanding!

And finally we saw him.......we saw TIGER WOODS! As many of you know, I'm just not a fan of Tiger The Man. However, I have to admit that when I got a glimpse of Tiger Woods The Golfer, I became a bonafide groupie!

Once Tiger finished that hole, John and I enjoyed lunch and a brewsky, sitting on a big 'ol bean bag chair!

After lunch we started heading to the 18th hole... we were certainly not alone!

We got amazing seats in the grandstands with a birds eye view of the entire 18th green! Everyone waited patiently for Tiger to play through!

Just look at his entourage following him from hole to hole! It was soooooo exciting!

Here he is getting ready for his last (hopefully) putt of the day!

WOOHOO! He nailed it! And with that last putt, Tiger Woods came in first on Day Two of the HSBC Golf Championship!

Way to go, Tiger! Look at that smile!

And then John and I just couldn't seem to help ourselves. We joined in with the masses to get that one last shot of the main man of the day!

And I'm happy to say that we got it! A tad blurry, but we got it!

Thanks HSBC for sponsoring the International Golf Championship! It certainly made for a fun day! Okay, so I guess being a golf spectator isn't so bad!

WAY TO GO TIGER!*!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

C.O.M.P.R.O.M.I.S.E.D.

I'm sitting here writing this post while wrapped in not one, but two ace bandages. A bottle of water is on my desk with three little brown ibuprofen pills laying next to it. I swear it's as if those pills are smirking at me while thinking, "Bet she can't make it a full four hours!" Indeed, I can't.

The ice packs came out multiple times today. I went to my golf clinic as a spectator instead of as a participant. The fun of having bruised/broken ribs continues. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they are only bruised!

C.O.M.P.R.O.M.I.S.E.D.....Yes, our bank account has been compromised -- not once, not twice, not three times, BUT FOUR TIMES! Can you even believe that? First, my debit card was compromised and used twice to withdraw $3,500.00. Someone in Vietnam is having a ball withdrawing money from our account. EE GADS! After multiple phone calls to our bank in the States (thanks Kelly!), all the necessary paperwork was finally completed. Our cash was promised to be back in our account in ten days. (Hand wipes brow.)

But before that money even had a chance to get close to our bank account, John's debit card was compromised, to the tune of $4,200.00. Yup, someone is doing the "happy dance" in Vietnam. More paperwork on our end; my favorite thing in the world. (Again, thanks Kelly!)

How in the world....or should I say, "How in Vietnam" does this happen? Our banker in the States told me it was probably a skimmer. "What the heck is a skimmer," I asked her. She told me that someone can put a tiny camera in the ATM machine that can capture all of your information. That someone then makes cards and sells them all over the world. Ours happened to land in Vietnam.

I'm not exactly sure if I have that story totally straight. But I do know one thing for sure: If that person would get a real job and use his/her brain power for something legit, I am sure he/she would be worth a mint by now!

Okay, that's all the rant I have left to air! Thanks for listening and TGI-TH! Have a great weekend everyone!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

FALLish DAYS IN DUBAI!

I'm getting a real kick out of reading Facebook entries from folks living here in Dubai. You would think that we were living in the Arctic, with what's been written!

Yes, for the past few days it has gotten "chilly" here in Dubai. A far cry (I think) from cold though, cuz I'm still in my shorts and flip flops!

This morning Teddy and I took a nice, slow walk through the Marina. (Yes, I'm still nursing my bruised and/or broken ribs.) It was absolutely gorgeous outside!

We both enjoyed the brilliant blue sky with the white puffy clouds!

And when we finally got back to our flat, we settled outside on the balcony to soak up the sunshine. The water of the Arabian Sea was a beautifully brilliant aqua,

the sun was amazingly warm, but the wind was making it a tad chilly up there on the balcony!

Yes, it's FALL right now in Dubai! PERFECT weather for American FOOTBALL!*!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

GOOD IDEA / BAD IDEA!

While at Carrefour last weekend, John and I (and about a million other people) stopped to pick up some groceries. We thought we hit the jackpot when we spotted frozen crabs -- BIG CRABS -- for a mere 20 Dirhams a piece! We picked up two and planned a crab salad for dinner one night.

Next, we decided to buy a beautiful head of cauliflower (usually the cauliflower doesn't look so good). We had heard from Deb and Don that mashed potatoes were really good if you use cauliflower in lieu of the potatoes. Hmmmm, well we decided to give it a go.

Fast forward to Sunday night. We had steak, a salad, and mashed potatoes made of cauliflower. What do you think? Did the no potatoe potatoes turn out, or not?

Forward to last night. We had our nice, big crabs for our nice, big crab salads. What do you think? Was the crab fabulouso, or not?

First, let me share pictures of these awesome critters!

I made the salad, poured the wine, drank the wine, and watched John do what John does best (NOT)!!

He absolutely HATES digging meat out of crabs! He claims it is TOO MUCH DARN WORK! Couple that thought with the fact that he was armed with only a knife, a hammer, and barely any patience....

....and the end result was a pile (a very itsy, bitsy pile) of crab meat!

So, which do you think was the GOOD IDEA and which do you think was the BAD IDEA?

Undoubtedly, the no potatoe potatoes were the GOOD IDEA! They were absolutely delicious and John and I had to fight each other for the last serving of them. (Just kidding!)

The crab, on the other hand, turned out to be a really BAD IDEA! After John picked out tiny morsels of meat for like HOURS (all while I was drinking wine and watching), we ended up picking bits of shell out of our teeth throughout the entire meal! UGH! Definitely a BAD IDEA!

However, we undoubtedly have a GOOD IDEA for dinner tonight: We're going out and ordering something off of a menu!

GOOD IDEA!*!

Monday, January 23, 2012

THOSE SILLY, SLIPPERY, SON-OF-A-GUN SUDS!!!

I feel like I've been hit by a mack truck. If only it was true (just kidding). The real story is, I slipped and came crashing down while taking a shower.

You see, the shower bracket broke while the foursome was here. What that means is it is now a hand held shower until we find a replacement bracket. I haven't mastered the fine art of holding the hand held shower head over the entire tub to wash all those silly, slippery, son-of-a-gun suds down the drain.

So that means I slipped on those silly, slippery, son-of-a-gun suds and came crashing (and man, do I mean CRASHING!) down. I couldn't breathe for like FOREVER! But finally I did....just not any deep breaths. Still can't....a day and a half later.

GRRRRRR. I know, I know, it could have been worse. But I am sore and wrapped in Ace Bandages and I can't go golfing and I can't do yoga on the beach and I can't lift weights and I can't run (okay, okay, can't WALK and PANT) up the stairs like Don The Trainer made me do while he was here. (WHA WHA WHA WHA!!)

I ice it. I take three ibuprofen pills. I ice it. I take three ibuprofen pills. REPEAT. REPEAT. REPEAT.

Yesterday, I was supposed to go golfing. I have to admit I SMILED when my golf buddies said they decided not to go -- no, not because I wasn't going! They cancelled because it was actually kind of a yucky day here weather wise!

So I've stayed indoors for two solid days working on stuff for the upcoming AWA Gala. Have I mentioned that I am going STIR CRAZY? Well, I am! I plan on being 100% mended for my golf clinic this Thursday.

That's my plan and I'm sticking to it! Wish me luck! OUCH, it literally hurts to MOVE! Dang those silly, slippery, son-of-a-gun suds!