Moving houses…

It is now official! We are moving houses this December. 

Not that I am soooo excited about it but I think I am (ok, I am!) because this house that we would be moving to is a house. It is what they call a villa here :) 

This villa that we will be moving in has three separate houses - there are two small houses and the main house (where we will be moving in). 

They have a receiving area which is good so that our visitors can loiter around there. This means they will not have to hang out in our room which means we will have more privacy, if need be. 

Apart from that we get to have our own bathroom! Yehey!! :) This is one of the factors we consider when looking for a house because it is really hard to share a bathroom with someone who does not care about having it clean and maintaining it (I have to admit after witnessing this, I don’t seem to care about our bathroom here in our current house).

The low point of this is we have to pay a high rent even if we are sharing this with my friend. I guess this is the price to pay for having a good place for yourself.

I just hope that since we are going to be spending a few more months here, we do not need to look for another place to stay!

I have not checked our budget yet but I am hoping this does not break the bank for us as we are trying our best to save so that we can pay off the house and also own a car before we finally settle back home.

Let’s see *fingers crossed* 

Packing up - Part 2 

Boxes 2 and 3 left the building already! 

I now have Box 4 to fill in and make sure that it goes out by next month so that we do not have to bring a lot of stuff when we do move out of this flat. 

The plan is looking good and I think we are working well with it. Most of the things left here are the ‘usual’ stuff that we use - meaning clothes, shoes and toiletries. 

We still have the television and the aquarium to send back home. I feel bad about the aquarium because that means the fishies (aka our kids) have to be set free. Not that I do not want them to go back to there mommies but I hate to see them go :( 

I have nurtured them for the past 9 months and fortunate for us, they did not choose to die - like the rest :( 

Oh well, that is still a long time…. 

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Still related to packing up is looking for another place to stay. R and I have not started looking but I might do that tomorrow - at least try and see what’s in the market so that we can start saving (again). I just hope that the plan with my roommate’s friend will materialise so that it will not be that hard to adjust *fingers crossed* 

I had a post at the top of my head…

and then it’s all gone when I am about to type it! :( 

boo!!

What is wrong with me? Is this because a lot of things are running in my head lately that anything that I have not thought of is being dropped somewhere unless I accidentally pick it up (again). 

Well, one yay for me today is that I am not (finally) able to use the other laptop. I was able to successfully import all of my bookmarks so I guess, I am getting there slowly but surely. 

I think it is because of the fact that this machine is a few years old. I am hoping that it does not die on me — this is now my new baby (literally)… I wonder what should I call it?

Hmmm… any suggestions? I was thinking of naming it ‘lappie’ but there is just no originality on that!

Hope you can help! :)

Moving houses…err flats!

October. The start of the last quarter which means we only have two more months to go to find a flat or a room. :( 

R and I tried looking at Spinney’s in Al Ghurair Centre yesterday. We were kind of feeling the place (trying to sense if we can fit in that part of Dubai). You see R and I have always been the Karama - Bur Dubai - Satwa type of tenant. I do not particularly like living in Deira because of some ‘hearsays’. 

I have been living here in Karama / Bur Dubai area for the past 6 years and I guess you can say, this is my comfort zone. I know I will be able to manage if in case R decides to go home first or if he plans to take a vacation next year. 

So back to our room / flat hunting, we initially thought we can fit in but I know at the back of our heads, we cannot. In the end, we both said (yes, kind of at the same time) that we will exhaust all efforts in looking for a place here in Karama or Bur Dubai before considering Deira.

Not to offend other people but I guess, it really depends on you - right? 

Let’s see 

*keeping my fingers crossed (toes too!)*

Packing Up Series - One Box Down!!!

Today, mister cargo man picked up our 1st box to go.

The box contains my books (I am missing them already), clothes, our first pot and pan set (thanks Ikea!) and some more home accessories.

This cargo will probably leave here by this week and it will need to travel for about 30-45 days (yeah, I know… thinking of my books again) from which they will safely reach my mom’s house and will be kept there till we get home or if mom gets tired of all the boxes - she will bring them to our house one at a time. 

This first shipment officially means the start of our packing up series. 

There still a lot of items to be shipped - old and new. 

Aside from that, we are moving houses again. Yeap, that is correct. This, I think, is the 8th time that we are moving houses. Unfortunately, we are the reason for it. Since we are now planning to move back, I cannot afford to have my name on the lease. 

Unfortunately, no one wants to take the ownership so the only solution is to move out. 

I guess this is the reason why I asked my husband not to have the house rented out to a lot of people (meaning partitioning the house)… I want to have the chance to enjoy one whole house by ourselves only! 

I did not get the chance to take a photo of the box. 

Maybe the next few boxes! :) 

Packing up

The last quarter of the year is about to kick in. R and I are still figuring out how to send most of our stuff back home. 

I/ We (but it’s more me than R) have also been buying a few things that we know we need at home - like cooking ware, bed linens and a lot more.

I have to also start sending a lot of our stuff - starting with my books! I have I think a wardrobe full of books and you can say I had a hard time parting with them :( R pointed out that I do not have to worry because in a few months, I will be with them (sweet guy, I know right?!).

Next items to pack will be the following:-

1) A few clothes

2) Printer

3) Shoes

4) My bicycle 

It may look like its only a few things but it’s a lot! I mean it! Living here for the past seven years, you will definitely have more than one luggage. R told me that we need to start sending the stuff or else, we will be crammed with time and money (sending a Jumbo box home costs about $49 and I think we are going to need probably 3 to 4 Jumbo boxes!! 

Apart from that, there is also this BIG possibility of moving houses again… so the more stuff I send this October, the better because in case we do the ‘deed’, we only have a few things to move out! 

Unfortunately, I am not being proactive about it and I should. Yeap, you got it right — my lazy bones are kicking in again :( 

I should not procrastinate or else (as what R said), we will end up cramming. 

*image courtesy of clipartguide.com

This was the first time that our kiddies were not moving. I got scared at first but it seemed they just liked the peace  (Taken with instagram)

High-res photo available here

And so!

September is R’s birthday month and of course, yours truly will not make this pass without making it more special every year!

This year, I have decided to surprise him with 5 gifts that I know will be useful for him including this 

Well… it was a Blackberry 8520 but when I got a deal from my friend for a secondhand 9650 - he preferred that instead. In other words, it was kind of love at second sight!

This is now on of the steps for our ‘going home’ plan - for both of us to own Blackberry handheld devices so that our ways of communication can further improve - especially if in case I get to find work back home or he gets very busy with his business ventures with friends. 

Communication is an important factor in a relationship. I can attest to that. Not everyone can understand our body language. With men and women, it gets more confusing. 

I remember reading an article where when we say ‘We’re okay’… it really means we’re not. I laughed when I read that because it is true. I am not sure if all women will agree but I think everyone will agree. I am not sure if comes part of a woman’s genes as it comes part of a man’s genes to be insensitive - at times. 

I think R has already mastered the art of being sensitive because I would (always) throw a tantrum in case he does not understand what I am trying to say :p (I know! Poor guy!). 

Let’s see how R makes us of his BB phone! :) 

(more details soon!)

image courtesy of: http://news.softpedia.com

More renovations!

While our house is getting renovated… I had a thought on renovating this blog account as well! :) 

See this theme that I have right now? Perfect! Two birds which symbolizes me and R! Cute!! :) 

All I can say is I love it!!! 

Thanks to the designer of this theme (sorry, I did not get the chance to check your name… will do as soon as I get back from helping out a friend to shop for biscuit!). 

Renovation

I feel excited and at the same time, I can virtually see that our savings is slowly depleting. Ironic isn’t it?

A few days ago, R and I agreed that we will start the renovation for our house. The areas that needs to be done is the toilet on the first floor, the kitchen area (tiles to be re-installed and create a cupboard underneath the kitchen sink), the roof and a few minor fixes. 

Once the deal was agreed, the group (meaning 4) of carpenters and masons arrived. They have immediately started the work and is now on Day 7 of their work. The estimate was they will complete it within the two weeks but in reality, according to the head of the group, works will be completed this Monday. 

My mom is kind of overseeing the place - deciding on what tiles to use and more. My taste is a bit different from my mom but we tend to agree on things. I think she already gets the gist that we (R and I) are more of a minimalist and prefers the calm colors as well. 

**My mom can work as a coordinator if she wants to!** 

So our tiles and the color of our house works along the lines of beige and chocolate brown. 

Since we are working on this color scheme, I think the items that we have bought here fits perfectly well! :) 

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We are now planning on moving on to the second part of the renovation which includes security for our house and it will kind of make the house look ‘sort of’ complete? We would have handrails for the stairs and the toilet on the second floor will be refreshed, the front gates will be modified including the entrance/ exit from the third floor! 

The total cost is a bit steep (in terms of labor because the materials seems manageable). I have not gotten R’s confirmation that he wants to do it. 

For me, I think we can still give it a nod because that means we will have more time to recover from the expenses and eventually, we will have the chance to save up for the major white goods (appliances) so that we can ask my mom to purchase it for us.

Let’s see how things will work out. 

**I know I have not posted any photos of the house but I will do as soon as my mom sends me the photos. Getting excited about it too! ** 

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I just have to say renovating your house is a tedious and you really have to double and even triple check your budget! 

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That’s it for now.