glop

glop

get
lost
on
purpose

if you steal it and use it without giving me credit, i will hunt you down. :)

so! we've done quite a lot of exploring, mostly at night. and my camera hasn't been operating well so therefore, I haven't taken a ton of pictures. but! tonight it worked fairly well.... hence... the blog post!

the gold souk or gold market, is one of a few markets on the shore of deira, in the northern part of dubai. there is a veggie souk, spice souk, textile souk and gold souk. obviously, we checked out the shiniest one first.

making friends while finding the souk

in my mind i pictured stalls. sweaty men haggling me to buy their gold.
but there were stores, with AC (should have known - Dubai is a constant hunt for the cool air). 

side alleys also sold souvenir type trinkets. and these dresses. which people buy. and wear.

we walked, and were haggled a little, but mostly because i had my camera and my big purse. which was super dumb and touristy of me. but whatev. you live, you learn.

the first thing you walk up to as you approach the souk is this Guinness World Record Breaking ring. the heaviest gold ring in the world. the diamond isn't real. but i like to imagine that it is.   

this is the typical window. rows and rows of beautiful gold. the gold market is heavily monitored by the government here so that they don't earn a bad reputation of ripping people off. smart. smahhht.

little did he know he was modeling for the camera. muah haha!

we walked. we talked. i asked dave if he was sure he didn't want to buy a supremely large gold ring to replace his $25 ring from etsy. he was sure, despite my efforts.

i blend. 

 

Across the water we saw a ton of people. still couldn't figure out what it was, but when we have more time (we were picking friends up from the airport) we are going to GLOP in this place.

and as we were leaving, there it was. a loud chant coming from the most beautiful mosque hidden behind some buildings. the last call to prayer for the night. all of the sudden, the streets were flooded as people fled to the mosque.

more adventures to come :)

Coupling

i got married. can't believe it happened so fast. so effortless. it's an odd parallel between seeming like it was just yesterday he was visiting me every weekend versus when i walked down the aisle. how these things happen so quickly i can not describe but they are magical.

i had no real preconceived idea of what it was going to be like to be a wife. i was constantly surrounded by women i knew i looked up to and wanted to imitate in certain areas, but i was also holding out for the side of me to show up that has longed to be a wife. i knew that god had made me to be exactly who dave needed me to be, but it also takes a little effort to not let the enemy sneak in and tell you you are not doing enough.

in dave and i's first couple of days, i have never been so busy.

flight to boston.

dry cleaners.

laundry.

dinner.

grocery store.

trip to storage unit.

4 realtors in 2 days.

3 apartment showings.

bank.

leasing office.

campus to find a printer.

throw in another 7 trips to the storage unit.

searching the internet for info on an Indian visa.

getting health insurance.

missed our bus to NY so we caught the next one.

and we're not sitting together.

on the flight over, dave was working. he is such a hard worker and i know every wife probably says that about their husbands, but he is navigating relationships that i know he never thought he would be in. he's making tough decisions and telling these ceo's what they need to do better to gain profit in their businesses. it's crazy!
and he's really good at it :)

hidden underneath that shoulder of a man is his little iddy biddy son who just talked the whole flight. "daddy daddy daddy", so filled with questions. at one point the dad opened the window to reveal this sunset the the wee one says "wooooooooowwww". it was priceless. 

our incredible photographer has recently posted some of our wedding pictures on his blog, so until I get them all to post, this one is my current favorite. 

once we get to NY, I'll take more pictures and post them for memories sake. i posted a status on facebook knowing i would get a million responses but i still thought it would be worth it to ask for people's #1 favorite spot in NY. one of the things we know we want to do is see a broadway show. neither of us have ever seen one before! i'm stoked. 

i feel like i'm supposed to close this blog and say something super insightful or precious about what it's like to be married. 

that sentence was my segway so I could say something and it not be awkward. 

marriage is right. it is true and holy, it refines you, it is fun, it is crazy and busy, it is worth it. 

marriage is servanthood, the opposite of selfishness, 

everything you ever dreamed it could be and more. 

marriage has scarred a lot of people, but marriage is a gift of god, 

created by him and can be healed by him. 

marriage is a dream come true and has turned me into the woman i have wanted to be for so long.

I get to spend every waking moment with my best friend. who wouldn't want that?