Simple Arabic-English Lessons Part 8 (Common Everyday Words

CAR-RA-BA  :  electricity

GU-LI  :  say, talk

GU-MI  :  stand

THA-GIL  :  heavy

SA-AB  :  difficult


DA-IF  :  thin

SA-MEEN  :  fat





#arabiclessons

3 surprise eggs for you!

Please visit Youtube for the new video!

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New Youtube Channel is Up!

Please visit our new Youtube channel for your surprise eggs fix and a whole lot more!

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Lucky Ally's Fun Toys Channel

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Arabic Lesson : Numbers

1.  Wa-hed

2.  Ith-nen

3.  Tha-la-tha

4.  Ar-ba

5.  Kham-sa

6.  sit-ah

7.  sah-bha

8.  tha-ma-ni-ya

9.  tis-ah

10.  ash-ra

one-half : nisf

zero : sifr

#arabiclessons

Simple Arabic-English Lessons Part 7 (Lazy, Tired, Work)

TA-BAN : tired

KA-SOOL : lazy

NOM : sleep

SI-YA-RAH : car

RI-YA-DA : sports/exercise


YAM-SHI : walk

YAJ-REE : run

CAR-BAN : broken

AH-MAL : work

SHO-GUL / SHO-KUL : work


BUK-RA : tomorrow

GHA-DAN : tomorrow (same with BUK-RA)

AG-GRAD : things (utensils or things in the home)

HA-DI-YA : gift

KOF : scared

DA-LAM : dark



#arabiclessons

Simple Arabic-English Lessons Part 6 (Vegetables and Meat)

KHU-DRA : vegetables

JA-ZR : carrots

BA-NA-DU-RA : tomato

BA-DIN-JAN : eggplant

BA-TA-TA : potato


FA-QI-HA : fruits

HA-YA-WA-NAT : animals

KAN-SIR : pig

DA-JA-JA : chicken

BA-QA-RA : beef


LAHM : meat

KHA-ROOF : sheep

SA-MA-KA : fish

TA-BAKH : cook

MAT-BAKH : kitchen




#arabiclesson

Simple Arabic-English Lessons Part 5 (Color)

KA-RA : shit (cursing/bad word)

MU-SA-A-DA : help

LA-WON : color

AKH-DAR : green

AH-MAR : red


AS-FAR : yellow

BUR-TU-QAL : orange

BA-NAF-SE-JI : purple

AS-WAD : black

AB-YAD : white


AZ-RAQ : blue

QO-RON-FO-LI : pink

BU-NI : brown

JA-MI-LA : beautiful

JA-DEED : new






#arabiclesson

Simple Arabic-English Lessons Part 4 (Fruits and Vegetables)

RO : go

UR-GOS : dance

BIB-KI : cry

KHUBZ : bread

TO-FAH : apple


BUR-TU-QAL : orange

EI-NAB : grapes

I-JAZ : pear

BA-TA-TA : potato

BA-SAL : onion


THUM : garlic

SUK-KAR : sugar

JO-BN : cheese

MO-RA-BA : jam

A-SEER : juice



#arabiclesson

Simple Arabic-English Lessons Part 3

15 more words to memorize :)


FU-LOOS or FLUS : money

SHUR-TA : police

AKH-EL : eat

MAH-MUL : dates (date fruit)

QA-WA : coffee


SHAY : tea

MA-FI MUSH-KI-LA : no problem

A-REF : understand

LA A-REF :  (i) don't understand

THA-LA-JA : fridge (refrigerator)


SHI-TA : winter

SAYF : summer

MA-LA-BIS : clothes

RA-KEES : cheap

GHA-LI : expensive




#arabiclessons

SImple Arabic-English Lessons Part 2

MUSH-KI-LA : problem

MUM-TAZ : good

BEYT : house

TAK-RI-BAN : almost



YO-GHA-NEE : sing

BA-RA : outside

SI-DA : straight

BAB : door

SHAMS : sun



SA-DIQ : friend

AR-BAB : boss

QA-DA-MA : maid

RI-MAL : sand

TA-A-LEE : let's go! or come!



#arabic #arabiclanguage #arabiclessons

Why A Louis Vuitton Bag (Or Any Other Expensive Bag) Is Not For Me

The sight of Louis Vuitton (LV) bags in malls, parks, or even in zoos is very common here in the UAE. Woman or man, young or old, can be seen carrying these expensive bags. But it's not just the LV that's common here. In this region where luxury is synonymous to Dubai, well, let's just say there's no shortage of luxury here, from houses to cars and gadgets, if its luxurious, you can find it here in the UAE. Let's just focus on the bags for now and the most common luxury bag here is LV.

LV's prices start from 1500 dirhams to higher than 15,000 dirhams per item. That's already a small fortune where I am from! Of course I dream of owning a LV (who doesn't?) in the future where I see myself swimming in money, but in the present, these are the reasons that hinder me from actually buying one.


For one, I don't own a car, I use public transportation. I would probably save money first for a car rather than buy a LV. If I can't afford a car, that means I still can't afford a LV. There are times where I imagine myself clutching a LV bag tightly for fear that it might get snatched or slashed while inside the public bus in my country. Oh the perks of living in a third-world country.

An original LV would look fake if I carry it. I kid you not. I am not the well-dressed type of woman. I don't keep up with the trends and insist on my simple yet dependable wardrobe. I go to the hypermarket in ratty old sweatpants and loose shirts, if I see someone in the same outfit wielding a LV, even I would assume it's fake.

I don't own a house. I will save money first for my house before I buy a LV. No house, no LV.

I would rather buy gold jewelry than buy a bag. The jewelry I can sell for a higher price if I would need money in the future, but the bag, I don't think I can sell it for more than what I paid for. I see bags as liabilities and not as assets.

I haven't saved enough money. If I buy a LV, it would make a huge dent on our savings and saving money is one of our priorities since we don't want to be expats forever. We need to save so we can go live a simple and decent life back home. 

I easily get tired of using the same bag for long periods. With LV's, in order to get more bang for your buck, you have to use the bag every chance you get. And I think it would take years to get your money's worth.

I also think about the people who barely have enough to money to feed their families and here I am contemplating whether to buy a bag that would probably buy them a year's supply of food. I get guilty just entertaining the thought of buying an expensive bag. 

I'm usually content with my bags which I bought for about 80 dirhams each back home. But there are occasions when I find myself regretting not having a LV, or any designer bag at that. Like the times when I go out with friends and all of them are carrying LV bags and wallets, well, you get the picture, I'm the ONLY ONE without LV. Don't get me wrong, I love my bag. It's simple but pretty, it serves it purpose well by carrying the things I need, it's waterproof, it's just the right size, but then again it's not LV. Alas, peer pressure is still present even now that I'm no longer in school.

Several times I almost succumbed to the pressure of owning a LV. But then I think of the reasons why don't buy one in the first place and I get sad for a few moments, then carry on. It's just a bag. There are other things more beautiful and rewarding to spend that much money on.

Maybe I am practical, or maybe I'm a cheapskate. Whatever it is, I'm sticking with my bag. 

Simple Arabic-English Lessons Part 1 (Family)

As I've written in my last post, I have been trying to learn Arabic lately with the help of my neighbor. Here are a few words that I remember from our lessons.


HA-I-LA : family

BA-BA : father

U-MI : mother

AW-LAD : children

JAD : grandfather

JAD-AH : grandmother


BI-LAD : country

HARB : war

MAWT : dead

HA-ZEN : sad


MA-FI : none; don't have

ZI-YA-DA : many (same as KA-THIR)

SHUF : look

SHU-HAY : what is this?

O-HEB : like or love.


Our lessons are actually just small talk/chat, nothing formal. My neighbor and I are both stay-at-home-moms so we have quite a few topics to talk about.

I learned Arabic faster by talking with a native speaker than in the school. I'm not discouraging those who want to enroll in Arabic Language classes though. It is because I already know a few Arabic words from school that I am able to understand some of the words my "teacher" is saying. I only attended 2 introductory lessons, and even if I wanted to attend the succeeding lessons, time and money became a bit scarce so I was forced to put the lessons on hold.



#arabiclessons 

So Sorry

I apologize for not being able to continue with my 30 Surprise Eggs Project.  I will get back to that as soon as I come back from our vacation. Thanks!


ourdailyegg.blogspot.com

#30surpriseeggsproject #sorry #surpriseeggs

Why I Want To Learn The Arabic Language

For almost 6 years, I have been living in Abu Dhabi. I know how to speak in English and my native language, but I can't carry a conversation in Arabic.

A few years back, before I had my daughter, I went to Mother Tongue Arabic Language Center. I studied for 2 introductory levels. I learned how to read Arabic (a little) and some words and grammar rules that I already forgot by this time.

I have never worked in the UAE, I am a Stay-at-Home-Mom and I don't really have a lot of opportunities to meet and talk to a lot of different people. I wasn't able to practice my Arabic because, well, there wasn't really any one to talk to.

A few weeks ago, I was approached by my neighbor as I was chatting away with a friend while my daughter was playing with some kids from within the villa. She was an Arab woman, a Syrian, who knew English as much as I know Arabic.

We usually exchanged polite smiles whenever we see each other but never really talked except for the occasional Marhaba's and Hi's. Through body language we were able to understand that she wanted us to sit (she took out chairs from her house). For a few minutes we sat in silence, then she spoke in Arabic mixed with a few English words, while my friend and I reply in English, by that time, the 3 of us were already frustrated and confused. Luckily our 9-year old neighbor passed by, she knows English, Arabic, Sinhalese, and Malayalam (Yes, she is awesome) and she was able to translate for us. My neighbor asked if I can teach her kids English. Without any hesitation, I said yes.

It's a win-win situation for us, my daughter will have someone to play with (4 girls to be exact), I can learn Arabic, my neighbor will learn English, and I will be able to help her kids fare better in the future because they know how to speak in English.

In the afternoons when we both have free time, I teach her and her kids English while she teaches me Arabic. It isn't the formal school-type lessons and we usually talk with the help of Google translate. The first few days were frustrating. I am no teacher and my patience isn't very long, it's a good thing that the mother was a teacher back in Syria (I think) and she is able to explain to her kids what I was saying.

After a few days of lessons, I decided to teach the Mother first so she can teach her kids. I know she's as chatty as I am but the communication barrier really suck.



Here are a few reasons I can think of why I want to learn the Arabic Language



Reason Number 1 I want to be able to teach the kids better. I want to be able to explain and translate. I want to be able to answer their questions. I want to be able to speak to them and understand what they're telling me. Sometimes I feel they're already making fun of me, and I have no clue what they're saying. It makes me feel stupid.


Reason Number 2  I want to understand what the naughty kids in the streets are saying. These are the kids who will stop in front of you, with smirks on their faces, tell you something in Arabic, and run as they laugh leaving me perplexed as to what has just been said to me. I know it can't be something good judging by their smirks, or can it? I don't know and I hate not knowing.


Reason Number 3 Because I want to start a conversation with random friendly-looking strangers who I think also want to talk but doesn't have a whole lot of English words with them. This would be handy especially when asking for directions.


Reason Number 4 I want to be able to watch news, TV series, and commentaries in sports and actually understand what I'm watching. There was a time I was watching a basketball game on TV and the commentator was so enthusiastic I just wished I knew what he was saying.


Reason Number 5 If I ever look for work here in the UAE, it's an added point in my CV that I can converse in Arabic.


Reason Number 6 It makes me feel good that I (will soon) know how to write and speak in Arabic. I will no longer be bilingual, but multi-lingual! Yey! It definitely a boost in one's confidence to be able to speak more that one language.



According to Wikipedia, there are 295 million Arabic speakers in the world. Living in an Arab country, what are the chances that I'll get to meet an Arabic speaker? Hopefully in a few months, I will be able to greet Arabs with more than just Hi! and proceed to talk about anything under the sun, in Arabic of course.

Shukran! :)



#arabiclanguage #studyarabic

Another Gif

Surprise Egg Number 13

Now up at ourdailyegg.blogspot.com.

#day13 #30surpriseeggsproject #mickeymouse #hotwheels 

#ferrari

GIF... created by Google+ Auto Awesome Motion

Rainbow Loom at Journey Toys UPDATE!

We called the store this afternoon (around 4pm) for updates regarding the availability of the Rainbow Loom kits and bands... they still have stocks!

For the bands, they have :

blue (i wasn't able to clarify if they have the jelly or opaque)
yellow
green
black
gray
navy blue
glow-in-the-dark white
camouflage mix
mixed colors (like the one included in the kit)

I can't remember what tie-dye bands they have though, but the colors I listed
above, I'm sure they had them during the time I called.

For inquiries and reservations, call this number 02-441-1208.

store facade

You're welcome!



#rainbowloomkit #rainbowloom #loombands

Day 13 Surprise Eggs Preview : Disney Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Surprise Egg

Mickey Mouse!

Please visit ourdailyegg.blogspot.com for daily egg unwrapping!
Thanks!

#surpriseeggs #day13 #30surpriseeggsproject

#mickeymouse #hotwheels #ferrari

Day 12 Surprise Egg Preview

Yupo Funny Egg with our little space Monkey and Ferrari Hot Wheels  car

Please visit ourdailyegg.blogspot.com where you can find daily
surprise egg unwrapping!

#day12 #surpriseegg #30surpriseeggsproject

What Loom Band Design Is This?

#rainbowloom #loomband

More Flat Hexafish

4 more Flat Hexafish in the making! :)

#loombands #rainbowloom

Day 10 Surprise Egg

#day10 #30surpriseeggsproject #minniemouse

Daily Egg Surprises at ourdailyegg.blogspot.com

Day 9 Surprise Egg now up!

Get your daily surprise egg fix at ourdailyegg.blogspot.com.

Egg Number 10 tomorrow! :)

#30surpriseeggsproject #day9 #disneyplanes

More Surprise Eggs Waiting to be Opened! Plus Day 8 egg Preview

9 more eggs to be unwrapped as part of the 30 Surprise Eggs Project at ourdailyegg.blogspot.com.

Disney Cars, Disney Planes, and Disney Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Surprise Eggs available at Hamdan Centre in Abu Dhabi City.

14 dirhams per box of 3 surprise eggs.

Egg Number 8! :)

Daily egg unwrapping at ourdailyegg.blogspot.com

#30surpriseeggsproject #day8 #DisneyPlanes

One Way to Ask Someone To Make You a Loom Band

My husband wanted me to make him a loom band. Here's how he asked me :

hehe :)

:)  

#loombandcraze #loomband 

Day 7 Surprise egg of the 30 Surprise Eggs Project

Now up at ourdailyegg.blogspot.com

Surprise Egg number 7

#30surpriseeggsproject #day7

My New Rainbow Loom Rubber Bands

After several days of waiting, new stocks of Rainbow Loom products are now available again at Journey Toys in Abu Dhabi.


Here are the bands that we bought:

7 packs of bands 

Navy Blue Jelly

Glow-in-the-Dark White

Lime Green Jelly

Ocean Blue Jelly

Gray Opaque

Camouflage Mixed Colors Pack

Black Opaque

A pack of 600 rubber bands sells for 20dhs/pack which includes 24 c-clips.

Btw, these are exactly the colors that I was waiting for. The store ordered many colors from Rainbow Loom but most are out of stock. Hopefully when another delivery comes, more colors will be available at Journey Toys.

#rainbowloom #loombands #journeytoys #abudhabi

Rainbow Loom Products Available Again at Journey Toys!

As of 7PM Abu Dhabi time, Rainbow Loom kits and bands are available at Journey Toys in Abu Dhabi.

We happened to call the store this evening and were told that new stocks are in. Yipee! :)
Luckily, we were on our way to the city and so we stopped by their store to see the new arrivals.

Rainbow Loom kits

still inside the box!

nice colors! :)

these are the colors available

JELLY:

Ocean blue

Navy blue

Lime green

Orange

OPAQUE:

Red

Yellow

Lime green

Teal (?) 

Purple

Gray

Black

Fuchsia

Glow-in-the-Dark White

MIXED PACK:

Camouflage

Mixed (like the one included when you buy the kit)

2-COLORS in A BAND (TIE-DYE) : 

Pink and White

Green and Yellow

You can call the store at 02-4411208 for inquiries.

You're welcome :)

#Rainbowloom #loombands #Journeytoys #abudhabi 

Day 6 Surprise egg

Mickey Mouse

Visit ourdailyegg.blogspot.com for daily egg unwrapping!

We'll be posting videos on unwrapping soon!

#day6 #30surpriseeggsproject #hellokitty #MickeyMouse

7th Surprise Egg to Unwrap!

Day 7 surprise egg

Please visit ourdailyegg.blogspot.com  for daily surprise egg unwrapping.


#day7 #30surpriseeggsproject #surpriseeggs
#snowwhite

New loot! :) More Surprise eggs to unwrap!

Our eggs for the next 12 days :

9 Kinder Joy

3 Ulker Yupo funny eggs

Daily surprise eggs unwrapping at ourdailyegg.blogspot.com

#kinderjoy #surpriseeggs #30surpriseeggsproject

Day 6 : Disney Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Surprise egg Preview

Hello Kitty! :)

visit ourdailyegg.blogspot.com for daily surprise egg unwrapping!
watch out for egg number 6 tomorrow!


#hellokitty #mickeymouse #day6 #30surpriseeggsproject

Day Five : Kinder Joy Surprise egg preview

see more daily surprise eggs unwrappings at ourdailyegg.blogspot.com




#day5 #30surpriseeggsproject

How I cleaned my daughter's VIOLET (by LeapFrog)

My Pal Violet by Leapfrog (image taken from ToysRUS)

                         

It's cute and cuddly, can sing nursery rhymes, play lullabies to put a child to sleep, and can even call my daughter by her name. Violet can be personalized by downloading content on Leap Frog's website via mini-USB connection (the recent version of Violet have an audio jack connection instead of the mini-USB). It's quite sturdy too! Usually when we have plush toys, the ears and tail are the first ones to get detached but with our Violet, all it's parts are still intact even though my daughter pulls Violet by the ears and tail especially when she was just a year old or so.

Violet is my daughter's favorite toy. She will play with different toys in the morning, but come night time, she would always have Violet beside her, make it sing, before she would sleep. It comes with us almost everywhere, to parks, malls, airports and we make sure never to leave it behind especially on overnight trips. Violet has been spilled with (but not limited to) milk, water, chocolate. Smeared with jam, chocolate, cheese and lots of other stuff. It's VERY dirty. Sometimes I spot-clean Violet. I would get a toothbrush, dip it in a cup with diluted baby bath soap, and clean the areas which are too dirty. Then I would wipe those areas with a wet cloth and hang it to dry. And though there are times when I really should have washed her, I didn't for fear that I will damage the electronics inside and my daughter will lose her comfort object. 

It was an overnight stay with my daughter (and Violet) at the hospital that forced me to wash Violet. With the MERS virus scare here in the UAE, washing Violet was the sane thing to do, even if it meant damaging the electronics inside it. Violet was already becoming too much of a health hazard for us all.

First, I told my daughter that WE (me and her) will wash Violet. Then I let her watch as I removed the battery cover and batteries, placed them on the top of the fridge where she can't reach, and told her that after Violet dries, we will place the batteries back.

I then put water on the tub, only a few inches deep but enough to submerge Violet.

As I put Violet on the water, sure enough, the water turned grayish within a few seconds of coming into contact with it. I diluted baby bath soap in a cup and poured it on Violet. After I gently scrubbed-clean it, I also let my daughter scrub Violet for a few times just for her to feel that she's involved in bathing her favorite toy.

We rinsed Violet until there were no more soap suds coming from her.

I pressed Violet's head and legs between my palms but not too hard so I won't damage it's wirings (if they were not damaged yet by the water).

Then I hung it to dry.

It's finally clean!

I washed Violet early in the morning so I will have the whole day to let it dry. Luckily, it was dry come sleeping time.

I did not put batteries immediately after it was dry (evening). I replaced the batteries only AFTER 2 WEEKS so Violet will be completely dry even on the inside.

When I replaced the batteries and heard the first bark, I was so happy that my gamble paid off. The happier part was seeing my daughter's smile as she heard Violet's voice again.

I don't know if this procedure will work with other toys with batteries as I haven't tried it yet. I don't even know if this procedure will work with your Violet.

And of course, each of us have our own interpretation of the word "gentle", what may seem gentle to me may be rough to you, or vice versa. I DO NOT GUARANTEE (just to be clear) that your Violet won't get damaged when you wash it. Maybe I was just lucky that even after I submerged Violet in water, it still works. Maybe the heat here in the Abu Dhabi was a blessing in disguise because Violet was able to dry fast that's why it wasn't damaged, I am not sure. This procedure worked for me and I will do it again but not so soon. I wish I would still get the same result.


#violetbyleapfrog #mypalviolet #cleaningtoys

Loom Band : Another Flat Hexafish

My design was supposed to have a green band between the yellow and blue bands as I was going for the colors of the rainbow, unfortunately, I ran out of green bands. I continued making the bracelet anyway and I think it turned out nice even without the color green. It's really hard to find colored bands or even the rainbow loom kit here. I only know 2 stores in Abu Dhabi that sells rubber bands for the looms, one is Virgin Megastore in Al Wahda Mall, and the other one is Journey Toys located along the Old Airport Road in Abu Dhabi City. I'm hoping that these 2 stores will have rubber bands available when I do get the chance to go to the city.

PATTERN

3 white
4 pink
3 white
4 orange
3 white
4 yellow
3 white
4 blue
3 white
4 purple


#rainbowloom #flathexafish #Journeytoys #abudhabi
#loombands