Something New and Definitely Different

If you've been reading my blog you know that I have been trying to eat healthy, lose weight, etc. I was doing great for a while and then I don't know something changed and I went back to my old eating habits and I saw every choice show up on my body.

Before we went on vacation I vowed that when we got back I would start over for the last time. I started with the 10 day Green Smoothie Detox Cleanse. I'm actually on Day 7 as I write this. I've done so much reading on the purposes of detox and what to do while detoxing. Almost every article and book mentions cleansing the colon. One of the ways mentioned in the book, by JJ Smith, suggests taking Mag 07 pills. I'm not much for taking pills so that didn't appeal to me. It also mentions a salt water flush. Well, I tried that before and nothing happened. So, for this cleanse I wanted to do an effective colon cleanse. I looked up benefits of colon cleansing and in addition to aiding in the detox process, it is said to help with clear skin (I've been struggling with that for a little while now), help with regular bowel movements, flatten the stomach (Yes, PLEASE!) and to get rid of all toxins.

I researched colon hydrotherapy and found a few places that offered them. All of them are in Dubai. The one place that I was sold on, their therapist is on vacation and will go on maternity leave shortly after she returns. So, the research had to continue.

I found another place, read the reviews and decided to reach out and check their availability. I'm going to Dubai Herbal & Treatment Center.

They emailed me back the very next day and told me that they had availability for today! TODAY! I'm going to get a Colon Hydrotherapy in just a few short hours. I've read up on what I could experience afterwards and what to expect during. I'm nervous but I'm ready!

We get to Dubai Herbal & Treatment Center and my stomach falls. The nervousness sets in. We go inside, I fill out a few forms, and I wait. After just a few minutes (enough time for me to go the restroom) a nurse comes and takes me to a little office. They take my blood pressure, weight, and height. I notice that I've lost a little weight. Insert smiley face! 😀

More waiting. The therapist comes and takes me to the procedure room. We get to the room and it looks calming. She gives me a nice gown to put on and as I'm putting it on I'm talking myself into calmness. I come out of the restroom and she asks me to lay on the table and turn on my side. As I'm laying there she asks me a few questions and without warning I feel it. She inserts a tube into my butt (for lack of a better word)!

Now I begin to breathe so deep. Thank goodness I've been doing yoga these last few days. LOL!

I'm laying there and questioning myself.

Why did I choose to do this?

Why am I here?

She tells me what is about to happen. Water is going to be slowly sent into my colon. When I feel cramps I need to let her know but I need to try and hold as much water as I can.

I tried to be a trooper and hold in as much as I could. I kept feeling like I had to ____________ fill in whatever word you use for making a bowel movement. After a little while I let her know I couldn't hold any more and then relief came along with her pushing on my abs.

I'm not going to go into detail about what she said next but she pretty much narrated what she saw.

After about 5 or so times of the filling with water and the release and her narration, it was over. She took the tube out and I went to the bathroom...again! As I walked out I did feel lighter. Now I'm ready to see the benefits if any! Here's to hoping!

Dubai Herbal and Treatment Center

What's Been Going on?

Well it has been a little while since my last post! I'm going to try to summarize what we've been up to.

• To commemorate the end of the school year, the school provided lunch for all of the teachers. There was no silverware, plates, etc so we had to eat the traditional way - with our hands. The below picture is the after for our table. Each table had this exact platter. #Experience #StayOpenMinded #NewForMe 

Mutton and rice

• The school year ended with exams. They tried a different way to give exams. They put all Grade 6 and 8 in the gym and each teacher was responsible for 1 row. At first glance it looks overwhelming but it was such a smooth process. 

• I have been trying my hand at cooking more. I've realized that I love to cook! So below are a few things that I've made.

Swedish chicken meatballs over tri color fusilli pasta

Garlic Scallops

Zucchini CheesyBread

Chicken Rollatini (Before)

Chicken Rollatini (After)

Chicken Rollatini (Before the Final Bite)

• Mike loves to swim. I think I've said that before. So, we have spent a lot of time at the pool!

• Our school will have more students next year so they are renovating our school. It's supposed to be done before school starts back. The cleaners and workers emptied every class and all of the classroom furniture is in the middle meeting area. They moved so fast!

• On July 4 our tower flew a US flag.

• There is so much to do here. In Charlotte we have a theater called Studio Movie Grill where you can order food at your seat. It's really nice. Here, there is a theater called Vox. Vox has many options for watching movies. One of them is called Theater by Rhodes. This theater is similar to Studio Movie Grill. The difference is the seats recline and they provide pillows and blankets. We bought the packages that includes an appetizer, main course, dessert, a cold beverage, and a hot beverage! I was only able to get pictures of our appetizers because the lights were off by the time our main course and desserts came. It doesn't even matter what movie is playing as long as we do Theatre by Rhodes again! 
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Mike's appetizer (Smoked Salmon)

My appetizer (Nachos)

The last day of the official school year we went to Bahrain for a quick vacation. We enjoyed the Airport Lounge before take off. Bahrain was a nice and relaxing trip. 

Wine before takeoff

Lunch in the Lounge (So good!)

Dessert in the lounge

 Bahrain pictures

Dessert at Hard Rock Cafe (So good!)

The Souq

City Center (Largest Mall)

• Mike brought his golf clubs with him to Abu Dhabi. He and some of his friends have been going to the range and the course weekly. Most of his friends have gone home or on trips for most of the summer. So, the day for the Golf Range came around and guess who was his fill in for company at the range? Yep, ME! I enjoyed the sunset more than anything else! 

• The dance team I used to work with before coming here had a teacher to replace me but due to some circumstances she's no longer their teacher. So, guess who is their teacher? Yep, ME! I send tutorial dance videos, they learn them, and then they dance every 4th Sunday at their church. Click here to see a video of them! Below is a culminating video I sent them for one of their dances.

I believe you're all caught up now. We have been talking about starting a Youtube Channel so stay tuned for that. And like always Be Uniquely You and Be Kind To One Another!

Until next time...

Staycations

Mike and I often talk about how our life here is vastly different from our lives back in the Queen City (Charlotte, NC)

Doing Staycations is something that we would never have done. One because our budget was tight and Two we never had time. So we jump at chances to Do Life Big!

We did a Staycation in Dubai where we did what most tourists would do. We visited all of the major attractions in Dubai and we had an amazing time. We stayed at a Marriott in Dubai called Marriott al Jaddaf. This hotel is lovely and even though it's not in the heart of the city it's not far from the city because the view from the top is beautiful.

I've mentioned many times that we are members are several hotel chains reward programs. We used Marriott Moments to book our tourist package. Because we booked it this way we were able to get an amazing deal and we got points too. It's a win-win!

We were picked up from our hotel and taken to our first stop, a dhow cruise around Dubai. The cruise was nice. It allowed us to see the view from the marina and take a moment to relax.

After the cruise we went to Palm Island which is a man made island and something that Dubai is known for.

The island is home to several hotels, restaurants, and Atlantis. It is our hope that one day we will stay there. The tour bus took us right to it and it was even more magnificent up close. We arrived at Atlantis right as the sun began going down.

Our next stop after Atlantis was the Burj al Arab. The Burj al Arab is the only 7 star hotel in the world. That was not a typo, Yes, 7 star hotel. We were not able to go inside but we did get pictures of it up close.

After the Burj al Arab we went to a shop where they make local carpets and they also sell souvenirs. Even though we are loving the life we are living we do think that 1 day (no time soon though) that we will return and live out our lives back home. We want to have some memorabilia from our travels and time abroad so when we see nice things that may commemorate our time we do not hesitate to purchase. With that being said we bought a handmade piece.

The final stop on our tour was dinner by the Burj Khalifa fountains. The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. We have been to it several times but we have never gone inside or up. Dinner was at the Armani Hotel which is inside the Burj Khalifa. 

While we ate we could see the nightly fountain show from our table.

After dinner, we went inside the Burj Khalifa and went up to the 125th floor. The elevator only took 7 seconds and I have to say it didn't feel like we were moving at an extremely fast pace. Once we got to the 125th floor, we took pictures on a green screen and then were able to walk around take in the view.

We were then taken back to our hotel and we called it a night to remember. 

We spent the remainder of the weekend lounging around the hotel.

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Our most recent staycation was at the St. Regis on Saadiyat Island. This island is about 10-15 minutes from where we live. We could actually see our tower from our room! This hotel is beautiful! This hotel is a 5 star hotel and the service was unmatched. It's situated on it's own private beach which means we had some amazing views. Below is a video of the room.

Growing up my family would take beach trips. On every beach trip my Mom would let us know that she was going to catch the sunrise just in case we woke up and didn't see her. I never understood this. If we're on vacation we should sleep in! I told Mike that I was going to catch the sunrise just to see if I could understand why she felt the need to do this. Yep! I now understand. It was so peaceful and so beautiful. I do not have the words to really describe this hotel so I will let the pictures do all of the talking even though they will not do it justice.

THE SUNRISE

OUR HOME

Thank you for reading. In the next blog we're going to answer questions that people have asked us about living over here. If you have a question feel free to leave it in the comments. Until next time...

BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER AND BE UNIQUELY YOU!