Bali for our 10th Anniversary

Hard to believe that we have been married for ten years already but it's true!  We really wanted to do something special for this one so we booked three weeks in Bali with a stopover in Singapore.  We couldn't have asked for a better time and it was exactly what we both needed.  Before we left out of Kuwait we were both exhausted and pretty much sick from running on fumes.  We stopped in Singapore for two days on our way to Bali and did a little bit of exploring but mostly just tried to relax and recover before we hit Bali.

Singapore was just like everyone says, extremely clean and the people are very polite and respectful.  We did go to Sentosa Island and spend a day looking around.  But we also found time to stop for a Singapore Sling while we were there!  The most interesting thing on Sentosa Island for us was the butterfly enclosure.  They had some of the most interesting butterflies and birds there.

 and some of the biggest bugs I have ever seen!

We didn't really do too much more than that in Singapore but we did ride a cable car which Andrew thought was hilarious when he saw my face.  You know heights really aren't my thing....

After that fun we went into a mall while it rained and walked around.  I had a fish pedicure.  You know, where you put your feet in with the fish and they just nibble away all the dry skin and what you have left are baby soft feet.

After two days of relaxing in Singapore we flew to Bali and the real fun began.  We had quite adventure even before we left the airport.  When we arrived there was a fee for your visa.  We didn't have enough Singapore dollars left because we were told the wrong amount when we left there.  The catch was that the ATM in the customs area didn't take any of our cards.  So, here we are stuck in the arrivals side without enough money to buy our visas.  Finally, they told us to just go through to the outside and use the machine there!  We thought it was a little strange but there were no problems and we just walked back into the arrivals side and bought our visas.  Anywhere else and that would have never happened!

Wally, the owner of the villa, was there waiting patiently for us.  He drove us to the villa and we were very pleasantly surprised when we got there.  We had a two bedroom villa with a private pool.  Andrew spent most of his time in the pool and when we were at the villa spent a lot of time playing Rumikub.

The villa are great but to help you visualize better, the only room in the house that has a door to shut is the bedroom with air-conditioning.  Everything else is outside and open.  We left a little wine in a glass on the dining table one night when it started to rain and when we got up the next morning this what we found!

Poor little chit chat drank too much and couldn't find his way out.  We helped him into a nice sunny place in the garden!

One of the great things about our villa is that we had four different people who were there to make our stay more enjoyable.  Elo came in the mornings to cook our breakfast and tidy up the villa.  Echo was the pool guy and security guard.  Fia came in the evenings when we didn't feel like going out and made us some wonderful dinners for us.

Then there was Wally, who did everything he could to make sure our stay was as enjoyable as possible including driving us to places that were further then we wanted to go on our scooter.  That's right, Andrew rented us a small motorbike and we went everywhere local on that thing!

The locals had a good laugh and so did we.  I have to say now I know why Decah wanted her own ride after riding around for three weeks looking at the back of his helmet!
One of the things we didn't expect when we arrived was a religious observance of Neypi.  The time period lasts for several days and the locals build these amazing statutes of Hindu gods and parts of their history.

And for one entire day everyone had to observe complete silence.  That meant no noise, lights on the in the house and no going out in the streets.  It was only for 24 hours but very interesting.  The Hindu people do this to contemplate their life for the previous year and also what they want for their life in the upcoming year.  Once we finished with this then it was open season on Bali and we had a great time just hanging out at Echo beach watching the surfers and chilling all day.  It was great seeing Andrew so relaxed.

There were the occasional sellers of assorted goods such as scarves, bracelets, etc. and they were always entertaining to interact with.

And when they got tired and bored with the tourists they just took a nice rest where ever they were!

So, this is the beginning of our trip and next will be our trip to Ubud where they filmed part of "Eat, Love, Pray" with Julia Roberts.  A totally different experience from the beach holiday much like the two sides of Maui.

Andrew - My Shining Star

So, it seems every time I turn around Andrew is busy doing this or doing that and it does get tiring for him but this is one particular time that I am incredibly proud of him.  Not only was his picture in the local paper but also the front page of the company intranet which reach over 76,000 employees.

He was responsible for organizing and manning the Britain in Kuwait Expo for his company and when the Kuwaiti Prime Minister and British Ambassador passed by they were so impressed they insisted on a photo op with him.

He is also been very busy with the British Business Forum as a Director of the Board.  Every winter they  host the Excellence in British Business awards for companies and individuals that have excelled in promoting british business in Kuwait.  On the night of the awards the defense recipient was not able to attend so Andrew accepted on his behalf as the Director for the Defense Sector.

(Picture coming soon!)

And then was asked to pass on the award to Abdulhamid at the Britain in Kuwait Expo for the press.

In addition to all this he has also been an integral part of his company setting up a joint venture company here which has been very time consuming as well.

As if that isn't enough, he has also been very busy with his band which is really taking off here.  They have had several gigs in the new year and he is having a lot fun which is good to see.

I just love this one because it looks like he is howling at the moon!  This was the Australian/New Zealand Big Night Out and they had a blast rocking out with the band.

It has all been very exciting times but the hardest part has just been trying to find some down time in between it all.

A little more of Italy

I know I promised more of Italy last summer and never got around to it but in my defense I was waiting on Andrew to work his magic on the pictures in Photoshop.  So, I have a few more to share now.  I think I have always dreamed of being in Italy during the sunflower season to see the fields of yellow.  As of yet we have not timed it right.  But on a positive note, we did get to experience the red poppy season and it was pretty amazing.  It seemed that everywhere we went in Tuscany we were surrounded with seas of red. The other crazy thing was the giant dandelions.  I have never seen a dandelion that was a big as these guys.

Now, maybe it is a little difficult to tell the size of this dandelion but that is actually a poppy next to it if you know how big they get.  And here is another size reference as you can see I had a great time making wishes.

We tooled around the Tuscan countryside just enjoying the scenery and all the beautiful surroundings.  Of course one of my favorites was the olive groves.  They were everywhere just as you would imagine and usually set amongst them would be some nice farm houses.

and one more....

and no this is not the last of our pictures by any means but again I am waiting on a very busy husband to finish what he believes is very crucial before sharing and that is to clean up the pictures.  So, here is one just for fun of us in Rome.  It was 42C (107F) and full of tourists in Rome when we arrived.  After spending such a relaxing time in the countryside it seemed like a very rude awakening but I just love Rome.  There is so much culture and history to absorb and I still believe I could spend the rest of my life there and still not see everything that I want to in that great city.  Andrew on the other hand did not share my sentiment!  I took him to the coliseum in the morning but the heat got to him and we only made it half way through the tour before he gave up and headed for something cold to drink.
But here is one of us being tourists.

The great part of this story is that there is still more to come and oh, yes, I will return to Italy again in May with my sister, Kim and get to enjoy even more time there.  I can hardly wait!

New Year, new hobby

For Christmas this year I had asked for a bread machine.  I was really lucky as I hit the end of year sales before I left the states and picked up a Zojirushi.  I went with this brand because every website and review I looked at rated this one at the top everytime.  We have never been overly impressed with the bread selections in Kuwait and had very little success with baking our own.  Since we couldn't figure out  whether it was the flour or our lack of baking skills I decided a bread machine might help.  This is my first try and I have to say I think it was a pretty good turn out.  It is tomato, basil and parmesan and very yummy.  We had our upstairs neighbors down for Sunday roast.  We prepared beef wellington, broccolini, carrots, new potatoes and yorkshire puddings.  Then for dessert I made chocolate fondant with fresh whipped cream.   Everyone seemed to enjoy it all  as there wasn't much left at the end of the meal.

I a really looking forward to expanding my bread making into something a little heavier and with grains and seeds in it but think I will have to ease Andrew into it to get him to try something new.

I know I have let my blog go for a few months but I will try to catch up and continue to blog in a more timely manor with the new year!