My Week With Dad

I put together some highlights from my week with Dad.  I hope you enjoy.

A guy's dinner at Matt's Rancho Martinez in Lakewood (before it moves to a new location):

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A car ride in our neighborhood:

A Tex-Mex blow out:

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Getting a little too excited about women's shoes:

A tug of war with Boston:

Dad's big poker winnings:

My new golf club set:

Although our Man Week was pretty awesome, we're looking forward to Mom's return.  The house got a little messy, and Dad's pretty confused about some basic things, like bottles, curfews, day care etiquette and my wardrobe.  Luckily, my grandma was here to help.  - Palmer and Dad

Qatar Part 2 and Dubai

I'm on my way home to see the boys.

Palmer started walking the week before I left and I hear (and have seen via video phone) that he has been walking up a storm.  I can't wait to squeeze his cheeks and see my hubby.

But, what a great visit and experience I've had over the past few days.

A few highlights:
Adrienne took me to the Doha souk to see the merchant stalls.  The souk is an old-fashioned market with everything from spices to fabric to pets for your home.  Like everything else in Dubai, the souk is a fairly new construction built to look old.

I am still a little baffled over the necessity of dying these poor chicks day-glo colors:

I popped over to Dubai (just an hour's flight) for the day to see the sights.  I have college friends that are living in Dubai for a few years, so Hillary and her sweet daughter Leighton were so kind to be my tour guides for the day.

We squeezed most of the major Dubai attractions into about 8 hours.  The world's tallest building (for the time being), the Burj Khalifa was quite impressive.  

The indoor ski hill at one of the big malls is comical.  Hillary told me that some of the local men wear ankle-length North Face jackets to deal with the cold temps.  Excuse the glare, as I shot it thru a window.  

We also checked out the man made island shaped like a palm tree.  Here we are driving down the trunk:

I think the defining factor of this city is the amazing architecture.  There are a ton of skyscrapers, although it's unclear how much of it is actually occupied...

 

 

 

Pit stop for cocktails:

And onward we march to my favorite part of the day, the old Dubai port.  Goods are literally hot off the presses, or boats rather.  You will see anything from tires to mattresses to rice to garlic to children's toys loaded from these ancient-looking boats.  It was the most authentic-seeming part of the day and I loved how much of a melting pot the busy area was.

 

Back in Doha, I accompanied Adrienne to another sports outing.  Arabian horse racing is much more popular with the locals than golf.  ExxonMobil sponsors the big Heir Apparent Sword Race, a nationally televised horse race where the royal son hands out the winner's prize.  

We sat in a suite next to the Heir Apparent and I had a ball watching the royal protocol during tea-time, etc.  Since I was standing next to a *nice* man in a white thobe with a big gun at his hip, I chose not to take a photo of the royal leader.

But, here are some lovely photos of the beautiful horses instead.

 

And they're off!

This is the life.

But, I'm in love with my life back home, too, and can't wait to get back.  

Thanks, Adrienne, for being such a great hostess!  What a great time.

-Bethany

Qatar Part 1

As mentioned, I'm in Qatar visiting my friend Adrienne for the week.

So far, we've filled the days full with tons of local entertainment and delicacies.

After the 14 hours of flying, Adrienne knew just the trick to deal with stiff muscles and jet lag: we spent Saturday at the Ritz doing yoga, getting massages and catching up with some NBC friends that work here for Al Jazeera English.

The gorgeous Ritz lobby:

There are paintings and large photos all over the town of Qatar's royal leaders, His Highness the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his son, the Heir Apparent:

We also dashed over to a large man-made island, the glitzy Pearl, where great hope was held in the fact that restaurants could serve alcohol since it is off-shore.  Unfortunately, the government changed its mind and snatched back that promise so the restaurants and shops are slightly empty.

Nevertheless, check out the great glamour of the large yachts next to the couture shops.  The Qataris don't like to hide their wealth status as the world's highest GDP per capita thanks to their natural gas resource.

Since the country is so young and the boom is at such a peak, check out the never-ending construction:

My visit coincided with the Qatar Masters golf tournament.

The locals don't quite understand the game, so the tournament was quite empty and we had a lot of access to the players and the course.

Hanging with John Daly and his wild pants:

18th hole Exxon tent:

Check out the VIP section at the 18th hole.  I learned there is a whole hierarchy for who sits where in the thrones and people are literally readjusted if someone of higher or lower stature arrives.

Fun fact: The Doha Golf Club uses 25% of the city's water supply.  Check out the stark difference between the lush course and the sandy desert.

Speaking of the desert, Adrienne took me out for a great adventure in the sand dunes.  We went "dune-bashing", which is basically off-roading on the sand dunes.  It's a lot like a roller coaster, without any safety guidelines or waivers.

Check out our wild ride:

We also stopped at the gorgeous Inland Sea, where you can see Saudi Arabia across the bay.

I'm having a ball, but definitely missing my boys.  I'll be home very soon.

-Bethany

Wordless Wednesday (Dad Version)

-Rick

Middle East

I'm headed to the Middle East for a week to visit my dear friend, Adrienne.  Rick and his mom will be holding down the fort and Rick promises to blog in my absence.

For now, enjoy this picture of Palmer preparing for my trip.  Adrienne sent Palmer a thobe, the traditional dress shirt for male men in Qatar.

WHAT'S FOR DINNER:
CILANTRO LIME CHICKEN TACOS:  This meal is good as a freezer meal if you make it ahead.  I doubled the recipe with full intention to stick half in the freezer.  Unfortunately, it was too tasty for us and we ate everything.  Delicious meal!

RED CURRY NOODLES:  I recommend cutting the noodle portion in half for this recipe.  I think it would be better if the sauce was thicker- we ended up with too many noodles.  The curry is pretty mild, although not mild enough for poor Palmer's taste buds.  I gave him a few bites and he thought it was delicious.  The only problem: he broke out in a little sweat from the spice.  Oops! :)  I guess it's hot to a 10-month old!  Red Curry Noodles

POTATO LEEK SOUP:  I would say this soup is great for a cold and blustery day, but since most of January has been 60 to 70 degrees, that theory is blown.  So, instead I recommend this soup because it's creamy, filling and not too bad for you.  Emeril's Potato and Leek Soup.

Here's a picture of our new dinner routine.  Palmer happily plays with the tupperware containers at my feet while I cook!

-Bethany

Wordless Wednesday

-Bethany