Celebrating the close of 2011 in Al Hadheera, Bab Al Shams desert hotel style!

Ending 2011 in the desert…Al Hadheera style!

2011 is coming to a close…a year which started with an old flame, but with a new love. 2011 was certainly a milestone year of CHANGE. I wished for change on our LDR anniversary and I did get all of them.

First off, for those of you who are still oblivious to the news, Dodong and I got married! It was an intimate and very happy celebration with close family and friends after 9 long years of being together as boyfriend and girlfriend. And after three years of being in a long distance relationship, we finally put this chapter of our lives to a close. Inday I. Nagintay is now Inday Nag-arrive because I definitely arrived in Dubai. This is the second major change in my life this 2011: a new life in the desert with Dodong, a new chapter of my life with learnings, adjustments here and there, plus loads of adventures and misadventures (a luxurious Six Senses Zighy Bay honeymoon here, here and here, an epic fail Britney Spears concert with new Dubai friends, my first Christmas away from family and our first Christmas as husband and wife, among many others).But ultimately, with the changes, I am loving every waking moment with Dodong beside me.

So last night, because we had a sweet The Entertainer voucher discount (discounts always count in an expensive place like Dubai!, we travelled deep into the desert for an Arabian feast at Al Hadheera restaurant at Bab Al Shams resort hotel…

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Our First Merry Little Desert Christmas

Print from Barn Owl Primitives (http://www.etsy.com/shop/barnowlprimitives)

Last night, Dodong and I hosted a noche buena for a few friends, who were also left in the cold desert to celebrate Christmas, in our shoebox of a flat. We had a humble Noche Buena feast of pork BBQ, crispy pata, kare-kare, chopsuey, hammour in oyster sauce, palabok, rice (of course!) leche flan and a few bottles of beer. I say feast because the food was good enough to feed a good 20 people when in fact we were only 8 ravenous people! It was a merry night of good food, stories, Christmas carols (alongside boy band songs), and drinks in our little home. We did have a merry little Christmas indeed! Or so I thought…

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A Big Welcome Back Bear Hug to the Desert

Dodong and I have been apart for more than a month. Eight (8) months in fact was the longest we’ve been apart. But somehow, the month apart seemed like eight months too…

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A Letter to the One I Left Behind

Photo by Sherri Conley (http://www.etsy.com/shop/sherriconley)

Dearest Dodong,

So this is how it feels…leaving someone behind. I used to think it was quite easy. How come you make it look so easy?

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The Clash of the Long Distance Lovers: Part 2

It's part of being married (photo by Toto Villaruel)

I did say that the this clash of long distance lovers wasn't over right? Dodong and I have three main differences. But here are more of them…

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