A Masked Evening

 

Me with the girls

                                                               Samia with the girls

Masks, Masks, Masks

Our friends Mark & Samia just returned from a short holiday in Venice. They brought back blank canvased masks for the girls and myself to decorate. On the weekend Samia and I took the 3 younger girls to Dragon Mart to hunt for trimmings and decorations. Yesterday we met at their place for an evening of decorating and pizza. I forgot to bring my camera so I will have to wait until I get some pictures from Mark. The girls did a great job and had a lot of fun. Sabeena and Maya both decorated a Kitty mask each..


Sabeena used different shades of teal paint (to match the centerpiece jewel she had bought the day before). Maya used, hot pink, red and green. Katya and Amani had more abstract masks.


Amani decorated in a black and silver theme while Katya used red, orange, black and silver.


My mask was the same as Amani's and I decorated in Black and white with some silver accent.

Merry Christmas!!!

Okay Google docs was suppose to post our Holiday Newsletter here, but it obviously didn't work. Here is the link if you are interested in reading about our 2009 updates.

Here is a video of Sabeena's Christmas Concert.

Katya is 12!!!!

Katya had her 12th birthday!!  We celebrated by going to Macaroni Grill where she was serenaded in Italian.  Amani took Katya to see The Vampire's Assistant.  Katya has read the entire series.  She is very excited about being in Young Women's and attending all the youth activities, the first of which is a fireside with Dubai ward on Tuesday and then iceskating the following week.

Katya's Birthday Serenade 

Halloween at Sheth Manor

The Young Women had a Halloween Party and Trick or Treating at our place.



As you know the Sheth's love Halloween, Dressing up and having fun.. It was great to share this with the Young Women. Click the photo to see the slide show of the night.

Katya is Rafiki!!!

Katya's Year 6 class did a performance of The Lion King this week. They did an amazing job. Katya had the part of Rafiki, she sang a solo. All the students are so talented and really blew the audience away.

Today the school had an award and graduation reception (tomorrow is their grad party). The year 6's were given a gift and memorabilia paperweight as they leave primary school and go onto secondary. Some students received awards for effort, attainment, and/or improvement. Katya received a reward for French attainment. :)

Tonight the girls had their Ballet recital. I will post photos later, since I was working backstage Ashi took all the photos, so I will have to snag a few from him to share. :)

A New Kitchen Creation

Parmesan Crusted Artichoke dip

½ cup cream cheese
½ cup mayo
1 can artichoke hearts
1-2 cloves garlic
½ cup Shredded parmesan

1. Preheat oven to 350 Celsius
2. Mix cream cheese and may together until smooth.
3. Dice artichoke hearts and cloves, add to mixture.
4. Stir in cheese reserving about 1/8 cup
5. Pour into small baking dish and bake for 15 minutes
6. Add remaining cheese and bake until melted and slightly browned
7. Serve in Bread bowl or in baking dish

Like Mother, like daughter?

A little history..

When I was 9 I informed my father (who was a butcher) that I didn't really like meat and didn't want to eat it anymore.

His replies were simple:

1. That was fine, but nobody was cooking 2 meals so if I didn't like what was being served I would have to fend for myself. Of course him and my mother always cooked plenty of non-meat food in our meat and potatoes home at mealtime, but occassionally I would be making a grilled cheese sandwich.
2. When we ate at other peoples houses I was to eat what was served, I could ask for a small portion though. (Have to respect others and be grateful, and it wasn't a big deal since I was only not eating it because I didn't like it)
   

So, this is the way it was until I got pregnant with Sabeena. In about my 5th month I started having cravings that I couldn't identify. After sending Ashi to bring back many unsuccessful items;

• Rocky Road ice cream, the one with the marshmallows not the swirled stuff.
• Ruffles, plain and Sour Cream and Onion
• Corn nuts
• Ice pops
  
• Strawberries
  
• Watermelon

and I am sure there were a lot more that I don't remember. Well we went out to dinner at one of our favorite places in Manteca, Isador's, and I ordered my salad and Ashi ordered a Garlic & Cheese Smothered Steak. Well within 15 secs of it being placed on the table I told Ashi (I would like to say that I asked politely but NO, I told) to trade dinners with me. I had identified my craving. I still don't eat a lot of meat, but I do eat it now.

Current Day...

Last week I was doing the shopping with Sabeena and Katya after Ballet, and Katya turns to me and says, "Mom, do you mind if I go and get the cheese and yoghurt? I don't want to go down this aisle. I don't want to eat animals anymore and I don't want to see the meat."

Whoa!! back up. This was totally out of the blue. I tried to discover the source, since only the week before she had eaten a cheeseburger. She replied that nothing happened, nothing was said, she just doesn't want to eat it anymore. I asked her if she was sure, we discussed the things she would have to give up, I determined which level of vegetarian she wanted to be. She said she will still eat eggs and cheese and milk since the animals aren't killed to get those.

So here is the latest at the Sheth house:

Katya is now a Vegetarian

We are going to work together to develop some new vegetarian recipes to include at meal time that can also have a meat version for the others at the table. Last week we went out and we had some vegetarian stirfry and buckwheat noodles. It was very good. Even Ashi ate it.

10000 Step Challenge

April is Health Awareness Month. So, I am challenging all of my friends to do 10,000 steps a day. If you are up to the challenge let me know. I have made a tracking sheet and I will email it to you.

A Weekend Fiasco!!!

Friday, February 27 @ 9:15pm
We dropped Katya off at her school with her classmates to leave for her week-long ski trip to Switzerland. At 10:00pm we were waving to the bus as it pulled out of the school parking lot heading to the Abu Dhabi airport. Once at home I fretted as I do, totally nervous hoping everything is going okay. We finally get to sleep at half past midnight, I left my phone downstairs.

Saturday, February 28 @ 1:03am
My phone rang, but I didn't hear it. 1:05am Ashi's phone rings. It is Mrs. Stedman telling us that Katya has arrived at the airport with Sabeenas passport. Plane leaves in one hour and 5 minutes. Ashi jumps outta bed, grabs passport and heads to Abu Dhabi. I am at home trying to locate directions to the airport. The airport website-No Map!! 3 other websites-Map, but NO Directions!!, Google Maps-No Directions available. So I tell Ashi it says it is between Hwy 11 and Hwy 10 and both of them run alongside the airport, but there is no exit mentioned hopefully there will be signs. (This is not always the case here in Dubai) I call the airport, the lady tells me, "look for the Amiri Flight sign." I relay this message to Ashi. 2:10 am passes. My little girl is now all alone at the airport with a stranger (Night shift Mgr.) I am a mess, really upset and crying. (Katya-being her very stoic self was obviously a lot better at handling the situation :) Ashi arrives at the airport at 2:25am. He tries to work out with the airlines how to get her to her classmates. The next flight where she can use her ticket in on Wednesday, March 3. The trip will be practically over. Katya calls me and tells me what is going on and that her Daddy is fixing things so she can get there soon. (She knew he would fix it and make everything okay, she didn't have any doubts so she didn't stress about it at all) There is a flight on Sunday am at 5:00am, Ashi books it and tells Katya they will continue to look for a better option. They head home.

Saturday, February 28th shortly after 5:30am
Ashi calls and says they are almost home. I am still on the computer looking for flights. When they get home I am so happy to see how well Katya is handling everything. Don't get me wrong, she was upset about the delay in her trip and missing out on being with her friends, but she was very mature in accepting that mishaps happen and that there is no point in "crying over spilled milk." We went to bed, EXHAUSTED!!!

Saturday, February 28th 8:30 am
Time to get up and get ready for the Fujairah Trip with the Church YW group. (I am over the 14-16 yr olds) I start getting the girls packed, then I decide to look and see if there are any flights earlier then the one Ashi booked again. I refresh the page I had been reviewing the night before and there are 3 flights that weren't there before. All 3 are with the airlines that Katya was suppose to fly with the night before. I start calling. One of them leaves at 1:30, I look at the clock it is 9:50 Ashi and her would have to leave soon. She would arrive at 10:50 that night. Ashi checks with Mrs. Stedman, the bus can't collect her at that time. Look at t he price again and it is more than the one Ashi has already booked. I call the airlines directly to see if her ticket can be transferred. The agent tells me he has another flight as well, but that I have to call another number to see about transferring her ticket. Ashi gets on the other phone, No answer, 3 attempts, No answer. 10:30, I am suppose to be picking up Amani and her friends from one of her friend's house. Mobile starts ringing, it is Amani!! Airline agent on phone still punching in numbers, Ashi still getting no answer. I hand airline agent over to Ashi, call Amani back and tell her I will be there shortly. The airline agent tells ashi it would be better to go to a Travel agent to see all his options.

Saturday, February 28th 10:45 am
Sabeena & I head to pick up the YW for Fujairah, Ashi and Katya head to the travel agent. They aren't going to make the 1:30 flight now but there is another at 5:55pm they may make. I am very sleep deprived at this point, Sabeena is thrilled to be getting to go out with the YW. Amani wants to drive with the older girls in a car with a CD player :P, (understandable I guess, since I don't even have any music tapes to put in our historic tape deck). We drive in a caravan of 4 cars to Fujairah. We get a little turned around. Finally arrive at 12:30 pm at the Winn's House. Brother Winn has arranged for the youth to go out in boats, however 1 has a hole so there will only be one boat instead of two so we will have to go in shifts. Ashi calls, they have finished at the agency and have confirmed the flight they had booked the previous night, but there is one leaving from Dubai so they will take that one. They were able to confirm Katya's return flight with her classmates. However, Ashi will be stranded in Switzerland for 3 days. Him and Katya go to lunch, me and my group head out to the water. My group is suppose to be heading back home around 3:00. It is 5:00 when we load the kids into the car. We are waiting. None of the boys are in the car, why? Well one of the car's window broke and it is now being repaired.

Saturday, February 28th 6:00 pm
We are on the road, heading for home. We get to the meeting point just before 7:30. Unload the YW and reload my 2 girls and head for home. Ashi and Katya had picked up dinner, it is a bit cold since they were expecting us around 5:00. I reheat the food and we eat. We have family prayer and Sabeena goes up to bed. Katya and Ashi make final preperations for their departure to the airport at 2:00am. I head to the computer to do my homework, which needs to be done before my 6:00am meeting with my classmates.

Saturday, February 28th 10:00 pm
I finish my homework, hand it to Ashi to proofread and braid Katya's hair for the plane ride and Amani's for bed. I am falling asleep as I sit there. Amani is off to bed, I want to spend a little more time with Katya before she leaves and her and Ashi have decided they will stay awake until they have to leave at 2:00. I fall asleep with Katya sitting next to me.

Sunday, March 1st 1:20 am
Ashi wakes me telling me it is time to get ready for them to go. Katya is asleep on the other couch. My blood sugar is high. Couldn't be due to the stress now, could it??? Ashi decides to just take the car and leave it in Long-term parking, this way he will have it when he returns too. I say goodbye to Katya has she heads off to Switzerland for the 2nd attempt, and to Ashi as he will be going as well now.

Sunday, March 1st 5:26 am
They are on the plane and ready to go.

Sunday, March 1st 5:55 am
I have already hit snooze twice, I have to get up now, my computer is downstairs and my class meeting starts in 5 min. I wake up Amani and Sabeena. I head down and log in for my class session.

Sunday, March 1st 6:52 am
Katya and Ashi have landed in Doha. The other girls are getting ready for school. I forget, am I suppose to drive today since Paul is gone? I send a message to Allie. Nope, she is driving. I can breathe a moment. I make Sabeena's lunch and then they are off. Sabeena forgot her clarinet and runs back in. (Ashi is much better at making sure they have all their stuff)

Sunday, March 1st 7:30 am
I head in to work early to make up time that I will be using to do the additional car runs in Ashi's absence. Katya calls me to let me know they are on the plane.

Sunday, March 1st 8:36 am
They are ready for take-off

Well that was my weekend!! How was yours????

Elder & Sister Holland Come to Dubai

Tonight I attended our Stake Leadership training. Elder Holland gave the welcome before we were separated. His wife Sister Holland and Sister Causse spoke during the Women's auxiliary meeting. I will share some of the highlights of what they spoke about.

Sister Causse-

• Make friends with those you serve with.
• Always show your love for others
• Those you are serving (primary children, YW, sisters of the ward) will sense how you feel about those that you serve with.
• Love can even show in situations where their may be a language barrier. (She shared a story of her daughters first year in YW being the only girl who spoke French and how her daughter knew that her YW President loved her even though she only spoke English)
• Let those you serve (primary children, YW, sisters of the ward) know how much you love and care for them.

Sister Holland-

All auxilliaries are striving to reach the same goal. To help those they serve return to live with their Heavenly Father. We can do this by:

1. Keeping the spirit with you
2. Showing your love for others. Let them know that their Heavenly Father loves them in spite of their mistakes and shortcomings. His love is unconditional. Encourage them to understand and develop their relationship with Him.
3. Reach out to the one. Don't let anyone feel left out. Strive to reach them all.
4. Do the things the Lord ask of you. Pray for help and guidance. A way will be provided for you to succeed. (Revelation, listen for answers to your prayers)
5. Teach them to keep the spirit with them. Teach them to pray. Teach them to have the spirit in their home. Don't let the fluff get in the way of spirituality. Have an open heart and again listen for the answer to your prayers. Let them know that they are wonderful just the way they are.
   
6. Be Humble. Moroni 8:26 And the remission of sins bringeth ^ameekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the ^bHoly Ghost, which ^cComforter ^dfilleth with hope and perfect ^elove, which love endureth by ^fdiligence unto ^gprayer, until the end shall come, when all the ^hsaints shall dwell with God.
   

Humility will help us to serve better.

Some quotes I found to be special-

We're here because the Lord needs us to be here. "Your are here because the Lord needs you to be here, not just because your husband or you received a job. There is a purpose, a divine calling for you to fulfill here. You may not know what it is at the moment, but it exist." (Sis. Holland)

"Lead the sisters not the program" (Sis. Causse) in comparison to Teach the child not the curriculum."

"Learn the needs of those you serve, what does Heavenly Father want for them? Pray for revelation." (Sis. Alexander, Stake RS President)

Well, I didn't have my camera with me. So I found a talk given by Elder Holland on YouTube that fit the them and have included the link here. I only got to here him speak for 5 min. He was very funny and enthusiastic. He came and spoke to me and shook my hand before the meeting. He and his wife have a wonderful spirit and were very kind and encouraging.

Enjoy the video.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: How Do I Love Thee?

Amani Got her Braces Off!!!!

Amani With her Braces!!

Amani's New Smile!!!

A student & A teacher

I have officially become a student again. I have begun to work on my MS degree with an option in online teaching and learning. I am keeping a separate blog to record my journey. You can find it here if you are interested. This blog will be serving a dual purpose as my online journal for my class. I will hopefully also be able to keep up on the family log. I may have to get Amani to start making some of the post and upload photos.