Hehe just typing the title brings a smile to my face. It’s like when someone pokes you on Facebook and you poke back. Do they even have that function anymore?

So guess what, I was nominated by… the lady ( I don’t actually know her name haha! ) behind Blonde on the Move, for a Liebster Award!!!!! Thanks so much for reading my posts over the years, it’s realllly nice to be acknowledged and to know that someone appreciates the random posts that you’ve written!!!!!

I don’t know much about the Liebster Award, but apparently as explained by her in this post here as well as explained in the rules, the award itself is the nomination itself  and your post is the acceptance speech, and the next nomination of awards. So cool, and doing these kinda posts, or any part of these in My Random Rambles are my favourite parts of blogging!

When Blonde on the Move nominated me, there were some queries, which I will need to answer. So here goes! It’s like those questionaires you fill in when you’re in school hehe! This is probably the most that you’ll get to know about me as I don’t tend to write toooooo many things about myself in my blog posts 😉

1. Have you seen a shooting star and if so, where?

Must be a few times, but the one that comes to mind is at Windsor Reserve ( I think that’s the name of the park ) in Devonport, Auckland. The skies in Auckland ( or in New Zealand in general ? ) are really clear at nights ( less pollution ? far away from the rest of the world ? ) – maybe that’s why you see more ? I don’t know, hehe.

     2. What is your all time favourite dish or cuisine?

Cuisine – quite apparent from my blog – south-east-asian or east-asian. To narrow it down, I’ll choose chinese and japanese. We cook and eat chinese every night at home. Food, that is. I don’t have an all-time favourite dish per se though 🙂 Might as link to my blog if you were interested to see all the many posts I’ve done on asian food, hee.

3. Which is your favourite country to visit?

There isn’t a specific country that we have returned again and again, as much as we would love to travel so often! To choose one country that we’ve had one of the better holidays at, that would be Georgia. Such a beautiful country, and so unknown it seems, though as of the last two years more and more people (and bloggers too) have started going there. Click here for my write-ups on our holiday there!

4. In your home town, or the town/city you currently reside in, which restaurant is ‘off the beaten path’ but that you would recommend to any new person to the area?

We live… quite obviously in the marina. There isn’t a lot of restaurants here that are ‘off the beaten path’, hmm. We used to go to Hanoi Cafe in JLT a lot for their special pho, until they no longer do the special beef balls – it’s still good though! We go to Pots Pans and Boards in the Beach a lot because they have a play area for our monkey, and they do a great fish pie (with the Entertainer, yay!). The Peacock at Sheraton JBR does the best yum cha. Shanghai Chic in Movenpick Ibn Battuta Gate which we’ve been a million times does an awesome unlimited tasting night as well.

5. What is your take on the Kardashians?!

Haha, funny question! I watched a few random episodes but that’s about it. No opinion on them really.

6. Champagne vs Prosecco… go!

Both? Hehe. I’ll go prosesco. I haven’t had enough champagne in my life to appreciate it to the fullest.

7. What is your biggest achievement in life?

As I’m still home-based, returning to work (very very soon), the biggest achievement so far is making a little person mid last year. I’ve enjoyed every moment with her in the last 11-months or so, even if it means that I can’t go to this and that fancy bloggers event 🙂 She’s a handful, as babies are, but the cutest thing you’ll ever see (obviously I’m biased)…. 😉

Click here for my very few mummy life blog posts!

8. Who is your most embarrassing ‘celebrity’ crush?!

Hmm! So many! Brad Pitt when I was 11? I have three folders of him at home with clippings that I cut out of magazines which I borrowed from the local library, hehehehehe! Legends of the Fall, all the way! What do you mean you don’t know that movie?

9. Which is your favourite grocery store, and why?

Hahaha that’s a random query! There’s a chinese supermarket called Wen Zhou in Dubai International City, which we’ve only discovered last year. They have their own farm and all the asian vegetables are locally grown, so it’s all fresh and so good. We used to drive all the way there from the marina to stock up on asian greens, then later found out they deliver!!!!!!!! The website is all in chinese though and I’m not going to share you the link, nor teach you how to order in case they get too busy and no longer offer delivery 😀

10. If you could have dinner with two people, dead or alive, one from your personal life and one from the wider world, who would they be and why?

Tough one ay. I’ll pick G (the husband) – simply because 🙂 And from the wider world…… that’s a tough one. Someone fun for us to eat together with…..someone we can ask lots of questions and learn from, maybe Christopher Howard, the motivational speaker, or Dale Carnegie?  I don’t know!!!! Hahaha.

 

So there’s that. Hope you had fun getting to know a little bit more about me.

Next up, we have to write a 150-300 word about your favourite blog and why.

I don’t follow a lot of blogs. One of a very close of mine from home writes about his travels and I love reading about what him or he and his family, are up to. His blog is simply titled Yoho Photo Travels. It’s a good way to keep up to date to what they’ve been, and he’s really good with taking proper photos. In fact he offered to do photos for us when we were engaged, which we later on used on our wedding invitation card!

The family came over to the region last year and he did quite a few write-ups of the entire trip – click here to have a look!

I have a lot of admiration for people who actually write so much on travel. I am soooooo lazy when it gets to travel blogging…. I mean, look at my write-ups on trips, i.e Jordan.. we spent 4 days there and I only managed to do three posts on the first day (click here to read!). Then I got bored. We spend a lot of time planning our trips… which metro to take, which hotel to stay in, where to eat… and it will probably be awesome material for blogging so other people can use it, but it’s not for me to write it all out again. I pick and choose. Yoho manages to do write-ups of most of the trip and he breaks it over months! I nominate him for the Liebster Award as well 😉

And here goes, my nominations for the Liebster Award, who have 200 readers or less. I wish I could nominate Blonde on the Move back, hehe!! So to pass it on (you don’t have to carry it on… so don’t beat me up for this!)… :

1. Yoho Photo Travels – Reasons above!

2. A to Zaatar  is a food blogger based in Dubai. She writes in her own style, and is one of the very few bloggers I feel that write with an unbiased viewpoint. Funny on screen and in person, I highly recommend you follow her if you want to know what’s new and good to eat around Dubai and beyond!

3. Mitzie Mie  is a travel blogger, whom I’ve known for a few years now. We live in the same area which makes it quite easy to meet up, considering how often she is travelling! The first time we “interacted” in the real world was when we found out we lived in buildings across the marina and I attempted to shine a torch light, and even took out a pillow to see if she could see me, hahaha. She writes often, and is amazing with her camera as well.

4. Green Chic Me is a beauty blogger, who recently launched her own business selling organic skincare products in the UAE. She is a dear friend of mine, and I am always amazed at people who have the courage to start their own business. I always have ideas of what I can do, but I never really go about it – a year ago she talked about this and now her business launched. She writes about health and skincare – things I probably need to work more on 🙂

5. The Peckish Explorer writes about food and exploring in the UAE and beyond. I’ve only started to follow her recently, and from her instagram posts and blog posts, she’s also one of the few bloggers who write with an honest viewpoint. She does a lot of trips around the UAE which I envy as it makes me think that we haven’t explored this region much at all!! 🙂

And lastly, questions for you guys should you want to carry this on. Don’t stress, you don’t have to, haha.

1. Out of all the countries that you have been, which one would be your favourite, and why?
2. Of all the many resorts that you have stayed in and around where you’re based, which one is your favourite, and why? 
3. Name me one restaurant that you’ve been during your travels that is the most memorable, and why? 
4. Best memory from a road-trip done in your country (or where you’re based), something that you bring up again and again when you catch up with friends (if those are who you went on the trip with), or your loved ones.
5. Still or sparkling? 
6. If you were to dress up as a fruit in a party, what would you be and why?
7. If you were to become an animal for a day, what would you be and why?
8. Durian? Have you had it? Did you like it? 
9. Camping or 5-star hotels? 
10. Scariest thing you’ve ever done in your life. 

So that’s that.

I’m glad I managed to get this done before I start back in the corporate world again – will be a lot less blogging I’m sure, boo hoo! To Blonde on the Move, thanks so much again for the nomination. This was such a fun post to do. Something different 🙂 You keep up writing the way you do – love reading your posts. Always cracks me up.

Cyber hug back. And to those I nominated as well!