View From Here // Crescent Moons

an image // from the week // no words

♥, Molly

Instant Love: An Instax Here & There Holiday

Christmas break was a lovely mix of travel and relaxation.  I was able to spend a week in Germany with dear friends, a week camping and being outside, and a week at home in UAE.  The resulting photos show some of the beautiful sights and quiet little moments that made this holiday so special.

♥, Molly

Little Maren Mouse, Lisa and Justin's 2 year old daughter (Munich)

The littles and Lisa on their way to "Wilderness Kindergarten" (Munich)

Lara and the littles at home after venturing out in the cold to get our Thai take-away (Munich)

Standing tall (Munich)

The swans at Nymphenburg Palace (Munich)

Market on Christmas Eve (Munich)

Christmas Day with Hannah Hardy ♥ (Abu Dhabi)

Sandy! by Hannah, Allan, Molly, Brent (Abu Dhabi)

Family photo with Sandy (Abu Dhabi)

In Liwa it's nothing but dunes for miles and miles (Abu Dhabi)

Dutch Blitz Tournament in Liwa with Alex, Bethany, Evan, & Bella (Abu Dhabi)

Fort City near Nizwa (Oman)

Wadi Damm in the distance (Oman)

Goodbye . . .

Last year I made some resolutions.  (Yeah, like 12 of them...) 

1. Send home ____ dirhams each month. My monthly savings plan worked for about half the year.  Now I'm behind schedule!

2. Learn how to change a flat tire on my bike.  Learned, but never really practiced.  If I had to change my own tire now it would be quite an ordeal.  Praise the Lord I didn't have a flat tire during my Oregon Coast bike tour!

3. Figure out imovie.  Yes, to make this little film.  However, doing it independently still seems so daunting that I haven't even tried to make another one.

4. Practice planning ahead, doing little bits along the way, and avoiding last minute crunches.  Sometimes.  I did better before I got a little distracted by a certain someone. 

5. Go on a hot air balloon ride. Yay!

6. Respond to emails within 1 month of receiving them.  I'm a little itty bit better than before. 

7. Finish reading my camera book. Halfway there . . .

8. Set better boundaries.  Hahaha.  Does it count if I ordered a book on the topic?

9. Practice more consistent giving.  Online giving makes things easier!  Someday, I'd love to do a series to spotlight some of the incredible projects out there.  It's encouraging to see the different ways people are helping build a better world.

10. Declutter, organize, and back-up my electronic life.  It's sad when you dedicate 5 full days to this but don't really have much to show for it.  Oy!
11. Ride my bike without hands. Woot!  I can even go over speedbumps without hands!  And although I'm incriminating myself by saying this, when I lived along the Corniche I was in the habit of texting while pedaling.

12. Rehabilitate my shoulder so I can do yoga, lift, and rock climb pain-free.  After 3 months of physical therapy and several trips to the neurologist, things aren't any better.  It was a bit of a disappointment to learn that the damage to my nerves is permanent.  Or so they tell me . . . 

As you can see, meeting 3 out of 12 goals leaves some room to grow. Wellll, LOTS of room.  I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't quite get where I wanted to be, but a wise woman once told me that a little bit is better than nothing.  Yes, a little bit is better than nothing.

♥, Molly

Christmas Greetings 2012!

Although Jill and I may be half-way around the world from each other (Hey there, Australia!) we still wanted to make our annual Christmas video.  (Hello 2009, 2010, and 2011.) Admittedly 8000 miles was a bit of a set back.  However, we dusted off some footage, added one of our very favorite holiday songs, tossed in a picture from our last trip together, and voila:  a wonderful Christmas time!

Wishing you a Simply Wonderful wherever you may be!

Christmas 2012 from Jill Cox on Vimeo.

Much much love,
Molly (& Jillie)

Ho Ho Ho!

credits from The Northern Light

This year my grandpa was asked to play Santa at the Christmas celebration in his little town.  Don't know about you, but between this kid and I, we think he's the real deal.

♥, Molly

View From Here // Frida Kalho

inspired by {this moment} by soulemama
an image // from the week // no words

♥, Molly 

Sweet Land of Liberty

July 4th, 2011 & July 4th, 1985

Happy Birthday America!  I'm excited to see you sooooon!

♥, Molly

Happy Summer Solstice!

A hazy sunset from the Burj Khalifa

Oh, sweet summer!  I'm so glad you're here!
♥, Molly

February 29th

 since i only get the chance once every four years . . .

hope it's a good one!
♥, molly

New Year in the Northwest

No better way . . .

I can't think of a better way to start 2012 than with my dad, Wendy, and their 4 lively critters.  

I woke up to a special breakfast of green eggs and ham (my dad's pretty clever like that) and homemade toast.  Mmmm.

After breakfast we had enough energy for a full round of fort building.  Our little party was going strong until a gang of stuffed animals crashed the scene and brought down the house.  Literally. We recovered the victims, assessed the damage, and decided it was too difficult to rebuild.  Time to move on to the next thing.

Naturally, that meant fingerstaches.  Mustaches are probably considered to be an overused source of humor by now, but we still had a good time laughing at one another anyway.  It was a nice excuse to be silly.

The rest of the day included reading (I finished this), taking care of baby dolls with Nona, playing games (mostly this and this), eating too much homemade candy, drawing pictures, and staying warm and cozy by the fire.  It was a lovely, lazy, and wonderful way to ease into January.  

Now, after a perfectly relaxing start to New Year, I'm hoping the rest of  2012 will follow in the same way... Ha.

♥, Molly

P.S.  It's really hard to take photos inside a blanket fort.

Christmas in Stop Motion

It's never too late for a little jingle.

Merry and Bright from Jill Cox on Vimeo.

Many thanks to my dear friend, Jill, who made this little video after our Hump Day Christmas party.
♥, Molly

'Tis the Season

. . . for a little Christmas recap.

I spent the days leading up to Christmas with my mom in Western Washington. Looking back, it seems like most of my time was spent with family, friends, and finding ways to sit by the fire in my unending quest to stay warm. It was so nice to be back, to have face to face conversations, to walk arm in arm, to hug, and to be in the same place at the same time with the people I love.  Most of that is hard to capture on camera, but I do have a few digital memories to share.

Christmas Morning -- surprises under the tree, my favorite toast for breakfast, stockings, and relaxing in our pajamas.

Christmas dinner . . .


 

Family game night -- complete with baby Eli, Grandpa's slideshow, and some funny Minute-To-Win-It moments.

And my mom's lovely little Christmas tree.

 

♥, Molly

Ramadan Kareem

The hilal, or crescent moon, has been seen! Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic year, has begun.

from the streets of Abu Dhabi
For Muslims, it is a time of dedication, prayer, holistic fasting (abstaining from food and water, as well as undesirable emotions and sinful actions), charitable giving, and family time. To put it in North American terms, the season reminds me of a mix between Lent and Christmas.

For non-Muslims, life also changes a bit.

• It is illegal to eat, drink, chew gum, or smoke in public during daylight hours. (This includes your car as well.)
  
• Cafes and restaurants are closed during the day.
• There is no swearing, singing, loud music, or dancing allowed.
  
• Everyone is expected to dress more conservatively.
• Most business and companies work a shorter day.

Urban legend says that if you break these rules, you will be put in jail until the end of Ramadan. Or maybe you will just get away with a big fine? I'm not exactly sure and don't plan on finding out!

After sunset, many Muslims break their fast by drinking milk and eating dates. (This is what Mohammad did.) They follow this up with an Iftar meal. I was able to attend an Iftar my first year in Abu Dhabi.


The food is laid out and ready while we wait for the signal that the sun has set.

Time to eat!

Everyone sits together on the floor. Instead of forks and knives, you eat with your right hand.


1. A big spread
2. Lime and mint juice; local water; milk
3. Waiting for sunset
4. Desserts: sweet, syrupy, and fried

رمَضَان كريم
Wishing you Ramadan blessings!
♥, Molly