Pixels For Four

I've said in my Instagram pic shower that we're leaving the villa which we learned to love and enjoy. Having moved here last July, my family has just acclimatized to the freedom (read: wide spaces!) that this villa offers. Watching my kids play basketball, steer a scooter, run around, or just roam outside the house make Fred and I happy knowing that we made the best decision of moving out of our former flat which was small. Because of the ongoing civil war in Syria, the owner of the villa had to leave his home country and occupy his house here again. We've been looking for other villas for weeks now but haven't found any that fits our specifications and budget. I just hope and pray that we will find one this week. For the meantime, I've been posting at least three images on Instagram almost everyday for three days now. Forgive my shameless plug but if you have an Instagram account, please add up bethp26 (that's me!) to view on your phone most of the picture...

My Eid vacation started last Thursday. Companies and schools here close for a week or less, depending on the management's decision. As for the four of us, we either go out at night when the malls open or just laze around watching movies and reading books when our chores are done. This free time is the reason I get to post two stories in a week. Being a working mom with no nanny, that is already an achievement for me! My blog maybe is the slowest blog you have ever visited and read. So please bear with me.

I've worked for several marketing and sales departments of different companies before. I thought I already know what there is to know about advertising, considering this is my major in college. But I was wrong. I am so outdated! I was designing a catalogue for signature bags when a client asked me to put QR (Quick Response) code on the first inside page. I honestly haven't heard of that word yet so I asked our Creative Director and he explained and showed me an example. Funny how I end up using something I've noticed before but just ignored because I didn't know its use. It's like clicking a hotspot/link on a printed page when scanned using your phone's camera. How cool is that? a newspaper ad with QR code I've seen it first in international newspapers that I picked up from Dubai International Airport. And coming here, I always notice them on the product and sales ads in local newspapers, flyers and brochures. I just didn't know what they a...

I've been busy these past few days that I wasn't able to update this blog as often as once a week (that's already often for me!) which I promised myself when I came back here in Riyadh. Honestly, I don't have any excuse for not blogging. I now live in a house with fast internet connection, I work for five hours only (our Ramadan work schedule), and I have a zillion of pictures from my vacation back home which I love to share. So why I got busy?

As I've said here , there were tons of things I did while on vacation. I went to our house's developer for documents and payments, met with the travel agent several times for our visa application, packed our belongings just in case we push through with our plan to give up our rented house and move to our new house , and visited friends and families. A few days after our arrival, we went to my mother in Bataan. My kids were very happy because they got to enjoy again the beauty of nature, Philippine countryside version. Fruit bearing trees, vegetables grown by their grandma, chickens being chased by dogs, bamboo bed under a tree, blue sky and the thickest formation of clouds above. Except for the scourging rays of the sun, the day was perfect and the kids were excited and happy all throughout the day. Fred and I were born and raised in the city and we didn't go to the provinces of our parents often. So whenever Gabby and Sunday squeal at the sight of soil, grab thei...

It's been a while since my last entry here. Thank you so much to all of you who dropped by, left well wishes, and dropped by again to check if I already updated my blog. Our vacation in the Philippines was a mixture of business and pleasure. I consider it business because I had to pay our arrears, go to our house’s location for the initial inspection before the turn-over, and submit some documents which I still lack.

The kids and I will be leaving in a few hours to go back to the Philippines. And I’m not sure when we will be back again here in Riyadh. I just hope it will be before July, or just a few weeks after the school starts here in Saudi. Or else, Gabby and Sunday will have a lot of catching up to do again.

My hands are full with many things I pretend to successfully juggle but frustratingly leave half done most of the time. But don’t get the impression that I leave them undone, or half done, or three-fourths done, or not even including them in my to-do list, because I don’t love doing them. I love doing my job. God uses my job to bless me with a salary that augments our daily expenses. I love doing the chores at home. Though I really get tired because of my broken shift at work, I just look at them as a form of exercise and love-filled service to Fred and the kids. I love having my quiet time.

Just when I thought I would be able to fulfill the promise I made to myself last week, I failed again. I promised myself that I would exercise last week for at least 15 minutes everyday and would not eat dinner when I arrive from work at 10:30 pm. But lack of motivation and too much chores at home and tasks at work prevented me from shedding off those unwanted fats. I gained so much weight when I arrived here in Riyadh and I don't like what it did to my face. I am genetically predisposed to double chin so I tend to shy away from camera shots of friends when that unwanted body part appears. That explains why I don’t post many photos of myself lately, except those that caught me in really good angles. As much as I want to run like what I did back in the Philippines, I cannot do that anymore here, unless I enroll in a gym – which is expensive and doesn't fit in my schedule. I haven't seen any women here donned in their abaya, running on pathways designated for walking...

I didn't have time to blog last week because I spent it at work, house and other activities. If only I have more time, I would've done more things that I enjoy doing. And blogging is on top of that list, of course. But last Thursday, I did so many things I never thought I could accomplish in a day. Fred has to bring us to his workplace at 2 pm to meet his employer. I work from 12 noon to 5 pm on Thursdays so I decided to work on a morning shift. I left home at past 8 am and tried to finish the work assigned for the day. I worried about how I will look for the meeting later. I know I must look presentable. So I asked one of my workmates if she can curl my hair before I leave. She readily said yes and in minutes, I was out of the door with freshly done, still hot curls. Fred's workplace is located in Riyadh Industrial City 2, a hub for all things industrial and manufacturing. Like most industrial zones, it is far from the main residential areas of the city and if not...