Skip to main content

Mother and Daughter


“The special bond shared between a mother and daughter is the one place in all the world where hearts can be sure of each other. Like branches on a tree, we may grow in different directions, but our roots remain one. And through the fury of the storm or the calm of the rainbow, we depend on each other for understanding and compassion. We will always share these moments, sparkling, like a star in our hand...keeping memories we have gathered through the years close to our hearts.”

For approximately 5 years now, my mom and I have planned yearly trips to various destinations. We've been to Daytona Beach Florida, Phoenix, Arizona, Las Vegas, Nevada and Cancun, Mexico. These trips have allowed my mom and I to bond and to create ever-lasting memories. I am forever thankful.

This year, a last minute decision was made to fly my mom out to Dubai, UAE. This was not easy. Those who know my mom know that she hates planes and rarely travels on them alone. Considering the flight from Toronto to Dubai is around 13 hours, I knew it would take a lot of convincing before I got her to agree. Luckily, she did!

Mom was only here for a week, which really wasn't long enough, but we tried to make the best of it.

Here is a quick recap of what we did during her stay:

1. An Italian dinner in Mirdif City Centre
2. A breakfast at Shakespeare & Co. in Arabian Ranches
4. A dinner at The Meat Co. and an Abra tour around Madinat Jumeirah, where we got a good look at the Burj Al Arab

5. A brunch at Saladicious and a stroll around JBR

9. An Asian dinner at Saffron and a wander around the Atlantis Hotel on the Palm

10. A "surprise" 4 day road trip to the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Muscat, Oman where we got to visit the city with a tremendously informative cab driver, relax by the pool, walk on the beach and eat lots of food

11. A trip to Dubai Mall to see the ice rink, aquarium, dancing fountains, Burj Khalifa and to eat a great Lebanese lunch with Turkish Ice cream for dessert

13. A trip to Global Village to visit pavilions from different countries around the world

14. A nice relaxing dinner at the Els Club in Sports City



Mom, I hope enjoyed your stay! You deserve it! 

Thank you for coming! I love you around the world and back again!
xo

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ready. Set. Go.

 “Once in a while, it’s good to challenge yourself in a way that’s really daunting.” Since returning to Dubai in January 2020, I have participated in numerous fitness events around the city, mostly in pairs, trios or teams of 4,5,6 athletes ( aside from our internal community weightlifting/powerlifting throwdowns ). Many of these events have challenged me with new formats ( e.g. Hyrox and Primal Race ), movemenents ( e.g. swimming and sled pulls ) and/or equipement ( e.g. the worm and the yoke ). Being part of a team has been a whole lot of fun, and I’ve been so incredibly blessed to team-up with some really good athletes who have pushed me to achieve great things, both in training and in competition. That said, for a little while now, I’ve sort of wondered what it’d be like to compete individually again. Are my body and mind still up for this kind of challenge?   Throughout my time living in Vietnam, from 2017 to 2019, I became fully invested in the sport of CrossFit. I thoroughly enj

The power of a PAUSE

 “Don’t underestimate the power of a PAUSE; it allows you to reflect, recharge and refocus.” We live in such a fast pace world. These days, when people ask how we’re doing, we regularly say “I am so busy!” and “I am so tired!” When we are not occupied, we think something is wrong, we feel lazy, and we immediately try to find things to do to fill up our time. We’re constantly looking to move forward; to go, go go and to do, do, do. Why is it so difficult to stop and take a break? For me personally, when I am in ‘work mode’, my routine is pretty consistent; work, gym, eat, sleep, repeat. In the past, I was really hard on myself when I didn’t feel productive and accomplished, but over the last few years, I have really tried to look for and embrace ‘down time’. Now, I am more aware of my needs and my boundaries. I am capable of laying on the couch and watching TV without feeling guilty. I can also turn down weekend plans if I don’t feel like socialising and would prefer to have a restful n

Jack of all trades, master of none

  “Sometimes we strive so hard for perfection that we forget that imperfection is happiness.” At a very young age, my parents signed me up for ice skating. They invested lots of money over the years, on skates, outfits, coaches, private lessons, and competitions, and I of course invested lots of time into improving my skills. Throughout my childhood and teenage years, you could find me at the ice rink most days, trying to prepare for my next test, competition or show. Now, I was a decent skater, but realistically, I wasn’t on a path to the Olympics. Once I went off to university, some difficult choices needed to be made, and for some reason, I decided to quit skating and invest more time in my education and career, as well as playing soccer during the summers. For several years after college, soccer became my main sport. Especially when I first moved to Dubai; I played indoor, outdoor, 7 aside, 11 aside, womens leagues and mixed leagues. Some weeks, I was playing 6 consecutive nights,