Abaddon

Maybe go to the bigger hospitals and ask them to work with you to give a trial on offering some mental health services. The worst that will happen is they will say no.

Green-ish... ok, I won't be so disheartened... I am still a newbie and I just got my first successful tomatoes earlier this year. Last year I tried to start from seed in mid-February and by the time I got them into their final containers, it was way too late and they fried. I also tried carrots for the first time earlier this year and stupid me packed down the soil so much the carrot was not able to push all the way through the soil and I got little 1-2 inch carrots with a long string hanging off the end (that part was supposed to fatten up as part of the carrot too)--in my defense I googled up how to grow carrots and the very first page I read said to pack the soil down really well. Later on I found out I was supposed to let it be more loose. This year once the weather cools I am planning on mixing regular soil with some desert sand to make it nice and loose and try again :) Oh, also, I planted the carrots too late because by the time they were ready to pick, the temps were in the mid 30s. And I found out high temperatures make them bitter. So unfortunately, we did try the carrots, but they were bitter. As for the "I wish they sold..." I know I know... I have been here almost 6 years and still find myself saying it!! :P But I can't help it as I just started trying out some gardening last year so its all new to me and learning about all the kinds of stuff you can feed your plants, and accessories to help the plants grow... I can't help but dream... :P Eli979, that makes sense... Hopefully if I successfully grow these tomato/pepper varieties, I can save the seed for future success too.

Can you post a day's list of your daily food intake? how much do you workout and what workouts do you do? as mentioned before you might not eat enough calories. If you are eating enough calories, you can try what one of my friends did when she went on a plateau. she spread her calories into 5 or 6 small meals a day, eating every 2-3 hours. It broke her plateau and she started losing weight again.

Is your cat bringing them as gifts to you like some do with dead animals they catch? One of my cats used to bring me the little padding inserts for my bras if she found them. she always made a unique little noise as she was bringing one so I always knew to expect a bra insert when I heard her lol Silly cats! The laundry and joint stealing cats are hilarious! <em>edited by Abaddon on 13/09/2011</em>

Abu Dhabi National Bank has a pre-paid visa card that you can re-load at atm machines. I use it to buy from online shops in the US all the time.... but unfortunately some shops don't accept it so its not guaranteed. At least you wouldn't lose your money if it doesn't work... You can just use it for your purchases here.

I haven't gone in a long time but the supermarket in the Hyatt Regency hotel on the Deira Corniche had a good selection of Japanese groceries. its been a while though, so if you want to try them you might want to call first. Deans Fujiya is great! Also, they sell a small selection of Japanese groceries in a Korean store... I think it is named 1004 Mart... Close to MOE. they have a website with a location map. Some Spinneys stores have more Japanese groceries than others... Spinneys at Al Ghurair is alright. A blogger pinned Asian grocery stores in Dubai on google maps... I can't zoom out on the map (maybe its just because I am on my phone) and I don't want to scroll everywhere to find the pins but maybe there is more Japanese grocery options on there maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=102647431182317912917.000445efebd52dabf9306&z=14 <em>edited by Abaddon on 10/09/2011</em>

I grew 4 tomato plants earlier this year in 7 gallon pots. I bought a ton of tomato seed varieties but planted only determinate varieties (they are more suitable for smaller containers but only produce tomatoes once) I was not impressed with the tomatoes at all (they produced well but did not have that incredible homegrown tomato flavor. so in a week or two I am going to try a few other varieties... But am getting much larger 30 gallon pots since they are indeterminate varieties (meaning they will keep producing tomatoes till the growing season is over) But my husband got an inderminate cherry tomato plant from his friend last year that got really tall (over 8 feet) despite it being in a puny lil' 3 gallon pot. and it produced very well. Incidently, if you grow your plants in fabric pots they can still grow well in smaller size pots due to the way fabric pots help the roots of plants... I am trying fabric pots for the first time this year.

just do a youtube search for how to thread your eyebrows/upper lip. I don't do my eyebrows but I learned how to thread my upper lip area really quick from a youtube video. The eyebrows you would have to be a bit careful because it is easy to rip out a lot of hairs in one pull.

My husband and I went to Kerala two years ago and we did stay one night on a houseboat. I can't remember the company name or anything... the trip was a gift to us (the whole tour/hotel/private driver was a package) so I didn't do any of the planning so the tour/boat company names allude me. One thing I can tell you is there are houseboats that have a jacuzzi tub upstairs and it would be private for you up there (the boat crew won't be able to see you)... though I can't remember if other people on other boats can see you or not. Our houseboat didn't have one so I was bummed LOL But it was still a very lovely time :) We had a lovely lunch as our first meal on the houseboat without any bugs bothering us. There were 3 vegetable dishes.. a green bean dish, tomato dish, and cabbage dish--all were delicious. Then there was a curry dish.. I think it was chicken but I totally don't remember...and then there was a fish dish. And rice of course. If you have picky children I am not sure what they can do for you...unless maybe you bring some chicken/meats and ask them to prepare it a certain way? not sure... Also, during our boat ride, we stopped at some shops and went to one place that had fresh fish and huge prawns for sale. We did buy some prawns that the chef grilled for us for part of our dinner. We were able to eat those before we were overwhelmed by rice flies. We had to depart for the airport really early in the morning so we did not have breakfast so I do not know what their breakfast food is. Oh, speaking of the bugs--- when you research/contact the different tour companies, ask if they have houseboats that have netting to cover the dining area at night... it was horrible for us with the bugs at night. I thought they were brown colored mosquitos but the boat crew told us they were rice flies. They were EVERYWHERE there was any light at all--they ended up all over our food and my husband and I only got to eat a little because we were grossed out. I don't even remember what the dishes were other than the prawns--but I do remember everything tasted really good. The guests on the houseboat across from us had netting all around their dining area and were eating as comfortable as can be so definitely ask for that. The houseboat cruise is awesome!! It was sooooooo beautiful everywhere! haha one thing I remember was when I was giving the houseboat crew some tip money..I handed some to each and the third guy definitely was slow to take the money out of my hand and was totally gazing at me with this intense look allllll creepy LOL I just ignored it and walked away. Then my husband took a pic of the crew and he was the only one not smiling LOL Our houseboat picked us up at the hotel we were staying in-- Eastend Lakesong (in Kumarakom, Kerala). Its a lovely hotel that has a flock of geese they let roam the property during the day. Very lovely to watch but they are LOUD! they also have ducks all over the property as well. I loved it! One thing... they don't clean the floors very well. I had brought a bunch of wet wipes on the trip so my husband and I got on our hands and knees and cleaned the floor with wet wipes when we first got in. But that just took like 10 minutes to get done and then we just relaxed the rest of our stay. I can't remember the food menu very well... we got room service of Indian food that was awesome and then they had a breakfast buffet where there was a good selection of foods--and you could get eggs and toast and stuff. If you are going to be in Kumarakom on any part of your trip definitely go to the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary (also known as Vembanad Bird Sanctuary). We went right when they opened I think at like 6:30am and we were actually a little early...there were not many birds... but you come back out the way you come in so on our way back there were a bunch of birds busying about. Of course our camera stopped working right then too!!! But on the way in, closer to the end of the trail we found one big rock to stand on and in the distance we got to see and take photos of migratory cranes. But I was using the maximum digital zoom to capture them up close in photos because it was far off in the distance. My memory is horrible... I think our whole trip was 5 nights,6 days... We had a private driver and were on a tight tour schedule though (again a gift to us so we could see as much as possible in the short time) so we didn't make any stops at shopping centers or anything so I don't know if they have Western food chains there at all. For picky children you should probably try to stay in Western Chain hotels when possible to have the best chance to find food that your children will eat. I would have loved to stay longer to have been able to deviate from the tour a little and do more browsing but our trip was wonderful as it was. If you need any more info I can rack my brain for more details from our trip (my memory really is sooooo bad but I can also ask my husband) If any people like hotel staff ask you where you are from and you tell them Dubai or probably any city in the Middle East, you will get asked about if you can help them get a job in Dubai. You think you feel bad for the paltry salaries they make here in UAE, ask them how much they make there... again, because of my memory I totally don't remember what one guy told us... he was one of the staff at a hotel.. I think it equaled to like 150 to 200 dhs a month or something like that. But again, I can't remember for sure but I do know that I was shocked when I calculated it. It is really no wonder they are willing to work for what we think are such shockingly low salaries here. They are very friendly though..and when you are out at any touristy places, there are annoying things like people walking around selling stupid things...and when you decline they get an attitude sometimes...but not in your face. And a few places we went to, the security guards boldly asked us for some money. If you are out where they have stalls that sell fresh pinneapple, definitely get some... mmmmmm we got ours with a chili-salt sprinkled all over and it was sooooo good! another stall had corn on the cob, either boiled or roasted.. we got roasted but they literally take the fresh cob and roast it for a couple minutes and the corn is still way too crunchy... you might want to ask them to take a boiled cob and roast that for a minute or two (I didn't try though as I was happy with my pinneapple). ohhh, as for a must-do recommendation... I would say go up to Munnar... absolutely BEAUTIFUL rolling hills of tea plantations. so soooo gorgeous!!! I think our hotel was the KTDC Tea County hotel... I wasn't too impressed with the room but our balcony had a nice view. If you look on Tripadvisor.com our hotel was #19 out of all hotels in Munnar so definitely check out the top hotels there for a more luxury stay. Since you say you are looking for luxury accomadations, get a private driver for your whole trip. The only thing is...at the beginning I was wondering where our driver slept when we stayed in our hotels... then one morning when we were going out all these drivers were in their underwear washing their cars and we think that the drivers have to sleep in the cars! We didn't ask our driver though... The roads are crazy... sometimes there are two lanes, sometimes only a lane and a half and sometimes only one lane...all for traffic going both ways. They honk constantly as they are driving. Our driver wasn't the most talkative--my husband wished he talked a bit more... but I told my husband its better than getting one who talks too much! oh, and one undesirable thing you will see unfortunately is guys peeing on the sides of the roads.... it happens everywhere. my husband or I would warn each other by saying "there is a mini waterfall" LOL <em>edited by Abaddon on 05/09/2011</em>

Bumping to ask if anyone can confirm finding coconut flour in dubai.

I get mine from carrefour and the co-op--the fresh brand named al-rawdah...i buy the big pack of chicken breasts and freeze them on a tray and them put then in a zip-lock bag... That way they dont stick while frozen. I also but their whole chicken n clean them and cut a few into pieces and freeze on a tray then into a zip-lock bag. I also freeze some as-is in the package. It is more expensive and they are smaller... Especially the breasts... But it is good chicken. I bought chicken breast kabobs from Soinneys once and cooked them at home... That chicken was the nastiest texture ever. They used to sell whole frozen chicken from Germany but I can't remember the brand now... It was good chicken and almost half the price of al-rawdah... But for some reason they stopped selling it.

Hmmmm, I can think of stuff you can put in the container for me! Looool If you like gardening, you might want to throw some stuff in there.... If you like growing tomatoes get some nice "Texas Tomato Cages"... Stuff like greensand, seaweed powder mix, salts/soil amenments etc... there is so many varieties of gardening stuff in the US that they don't sell here. If you want to make money you could bring any of those things and then sell them to me for profit *wink* *wink* If you are picky about your underwear you may want to buy extra... I still buy all my underoos from the US! ha ha ha but I am a nerd who is partial to Hanes Her Way underwear! If you are planning on having cats you should definitely get a nice cat scratching post and/or cat condo... The scratching posts they sell here are the regular short ones... They have nicer taller ones in the US... They sell cat condos here but they are cheaper in the US. I can't think of other things that would survive in a hot shipping container.... because most of the things I always bring back to UAE are food products lol

just remind him that you may be a mother but you are not his mother, and that he should remember this and think about your needs as his wife. you don't always have to look pretty, as some days are going to be more overwhelming than others, but he should be realizing that you have hard days too and appreciate all you do for your children.

ha ha ha ha this reminds me once when I told a Japanese friend he had something stuck in his teeth. He got all puffed and asked "how can you say that, aren't you embarrassed?" and I told him I'd rather know if it was me. He said that its more embarrassing/shameful for the person who has to tell the other that they have something in their teeth!! LOL

I haven't gotten any shade cloth yet.. I haven't even gone look for any either... I am still waiting for my pepper seeds to sprout... I am also still waiting for the mylar blankets to come in the mail for the mulching. as for your tomatoes, hopefully you can get plants that fruit... did you also check if the variety grows well in humidity? if you get your tomato plants to successfully flower, but the flowers drop without fruiting, you may want to try taking a paint brush and lightly brush the insides of the next sets of flowers one after the other to try to spread the pollen. mulch the top of the soil very well to help cool the soil down.

anybody else miss Chipotle Mexican Grill? Awwww those HUUUUGE burritos... nom nom nom.. Baja Fresh Mexican Grill is in Dubai Mall but I prefer Chipotle! ahhhh Sam's club or even Costco... ohhhhhh if one of those would open here! ha ha ha about the American ignorance I've got a couple Arab ignorance stories.... I went to a Canadian friend's home in Al Ain and her sister-in-law's (SIL) sons came to stop by and visit for a few minutes and left. Then a few minutes later my friend's phone rings...its her SIL: SIL "so you have a Filipino friend visiting you?" my friend "no, She is American" SIL "huh? but...my sons say she is Filipino" My friend "no no, my friend is American" SIL "really? but but, they say she looks Filipino" my friend "well, no, she is American... like I am Canadian--she is American. She is half Japanese but she is American" SIL "ohhh she is half Japanese.... " --all still confused LOL Another time in a salon: local woman: "Are you Filipino?" Me: "No, I am American" local woman: "but your eyes..." Me, "I am half Japanese" local woman: "oh, its all the same!" -she was meaning my mixed ethnicity and Filipinos are the same... LOL when I travelled in Turkey people didn't believe I was American LOL I guess you have to have blond hair and blue eyes to be American?

Organic foods & cafe have organic insecticides. I got mine at the one in Dubai Mall. there are two kinds- see my answer in the thread "Lemon Tree Leaf Curl"

go to US's Amazon site and put "furminator cat" in the search and click on the first one to see the photos... its amazing how much hair this thing can take off...

I loooove Hallumi, but its way too much sodium... I reduce the sodium content of Hallumi by cutting it how I am going to want to eat it first, then place the slices/cubes in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for about 5 minutes, then drain and pat dry with a paper/kitchen towel. then you can prepare as normal :) <em>edited by Abaddon on 08/03/2011</em>

Oooh I am so sorry I forgot about this post! I hope you already found the source of your problem... from seeing that you say you find a sticky substance on the curled leaves, it really sounds like aphids... though I don't know for sure they are in UAE... Aphids leave behind a sticky substance behind on the leaves. and they are most active in the weather temperatures we are having right now. They sell organic concentrates to combat aphids in Organic Foods & Cafe... You will need a spray bottle also. you can also look up online for home remedies... There are some that you mix i think its murphy's soap and oil... though I dont know the amounts to mix.