HELLO, BLOG! Yes, it has been a while.
And Happy New Year! WOOO! Turknoys have been so busy and writing just can't keep up with us.
Life is way too beautiful and now we are sitting back for a while trying to re-collect things and appreciate all the events that had happened the past year.
The Year That Was 2010 brought back very good memories and reminded our family how we were - the things we thought were a big deal before may not be as big as we think of these things now. Funny thing is we realize how we grew up when we look up.
The Year That Was 2011 is a Turkey year as we visited the country four times, got pregnant with our dear bunso there! The great year ender is a big YAY (we look at this now) - as The Turk got let go at his job. What happened next are ALL ALL good!
So here are the details of what happened last 2012 and it's all about EGGS and POO!
With one of us unemployed and we are pregnant with our third, January is the month we learned that EGGS are fragile and we need to save lots of eggs in different baskets! We started investing and it has been a roller coaster ride - we didn't know what will happen, we get scared and we get elated. We got hooked and we love every minute of it.
February is fun, although we keep on insisting to find a job for the husband even though it was quite clear that we need to do something different.
March is great, too. More job hunting, more rejections but other investment is keeping us up to our toes.
April is GREAT! We welcomed Kayra Demirkol, a beautiful bouncing baby girl to our family. Grandmother got back to Doha to help us with our youngest Tita Minay to find job. She is the last one to graduate in my family so there goes the responsibility for the eldest. The day she graduated, the day I shout - Freedom! And I happily pass the buck to the them. Bow.
April is also the month we realized that real friends are important and that it made us realize that just because we "fit in" our existing environment, it doesn't mean that we have real friends. Well, it is difficult for us as both The Turk and I are anti-social and have few real friends growing up, not to mention we do not conform to some traditional thinking. I think this is the month we decided that we will let it be. We'll embrace US - the way we want US to be. (Yes, deep - but it played a very important part in how we live at the moment!)
Husband found another job May. Right at the moment, we got hired, we knew that it will only be a temporary thing - we just wanted to feel "normal" at the moment. Another thing we were able to change last year - we are now comfortable of being a non-conformity.
He was only employed up to February of this year. And he quit that time. Big applaud to him, please.
June is a start of another investment. We moved in from a two-bedroom flat to a 5-bedroom villa with a big garden and parking space. It's AWESOME. We finally started to work smart and not work too hard. Thanks be to God and we pray hard that we will be able to sustain this.
And Kylie got the top of the class award in Year 1 - unofficially. Not that it matters - we also have high opinion of how it is not important to be best in class - what you learn and what you apply in life is of outmost important.
July is adjustment month. Perhaps the biggest challenge for us this month is potty training our 2-year old. Oh the nappies we use with a baby and preschool still not yet potty trained. Sorry, Mother Earth for the daily garbage!
August we started traveling. A great way to celebrate our birthday and anniversary month. As a start, we visited Dubai and stayed in Atlantis. We toured Ski Dubai, Mall of Emirates and the Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower in the world. We knew that we will travel more as family in the future. We are happy, we are letting things go.
September is another great milestone. We now have two kids in school. Kerim started school - big boy already! Kylie is in Year 2 and Kayra is growing up to be a very beautiful baby girl! Life is blissful.
We visited one of my greatest friend, spiritual adviser and mentor in Indonesia - another travel destination with lots of lessons learned and memories gained! We rode an elephant - one item in bucket list checked!
October is huge change in lifestyle and attitude towards extended family. Our sisters moved out of our house as they have their own path to find. It's a mutual decision with almost no-drama. It's refreshing and it's a very good change. Time to focus on Turknoys. Grandmother also left to Philippines. We are again back on our own - with three kids this time. Not easy, but that's how family life should be.
November is more EGGS in different basket. Some eggs we dropped, some eggs flourished. And yes, our 3-year old now use the toilet to pee (to use toilet to POO) is a totally different story.
We are so psyched about traveling next year that we booked for Disneyland Paris and availed their promotion. And the planning for Europe Tour begins.
December is a month long celebration of the Christmas season. We particularly love the Qatar National Day as Qatar Airways has a one day promotion for plane tickets 40%! Boom, tickets to Paris was booked!
Don't you think our 2012 is awesome!
January 2013 came and more planning and investing happened. February is a milestone as husband started officially the business in Qatar and then off we went to France and Italy March 2013!
And here's the beautiful NOW moment! - we are planning our first tour to Turkey this May through Istanbul Dreams.
Life is indeed good.
KEEP EXPLORING!
