Out of the Desert, back to The City

After an amazing week in Dubai, it's back to rainy England and back to work. As much as I didn't want my holiday to come to an end, I was looking forward to getting back to a routine. Having Crohns and being spontaneous is very difficult. I always have to be prepared with medication and food and I find that even the slightest disruption to my normal day affects me. Even on the weekends my body is different to what it is Monday - Friday. So being on holiday was like an extended weekend!

Dubai is such an amazing place and I totally fell in love with it. It was my first time visiting and I really didn't know what to expect, but it was so much more than I could've imagined. The sights were incredible, and it was so strange being on the beach but being able to see the city and all the tall buildings. I guess it is a city like London, but on a beach?! Very cool.

My holiday came at the perfect time. I had been feeling really low and sad, so sunshine and fun was just what I needed. I fully prepared myself before going by packing relevant medication, pain killers and my aloe gel. I also had intentions to eat well and mostly avoid alcohol. At the airport we went to Wagamama's (my favourite!) and I had chicken & rice with a pressed juice which went down very well. I felt ok after eating but was very tired and weak. When I am on a high dose of steroids my face gets very hot and red which makes me feel faint and this was how I felt in the airport. I thought I actually was going to pass out at one point so quickly sat down on the floor in the middle of the airport - quite embarrassing! but would have been more so if I actually passed out ha. As we were in a big group I felt bad and I didn't want to hold anyone up, so my dad came to the rescue and got me a wheel chair so I didn't have to walk around. To make me feel even better, my boyfriend treated me to the Tom Ford sunglasses I wanted. Given he was tricked into paying as I 'needed to borrow his card', but still ;) I felt like a right diva getting wheeled up to the plane in my new sunnies! The plane was really nice, and I had a nice comfy seat. As we had a night flight I really wanted to sleep so I didn't feel too tired, but I think I only ended up getting an hour or two, but still better than nothing. We got food on the flight as well, and I had a gluten free meal which was actually really good. So we arrived in Dubai early in the morning to be met by our friends who picked us up. We were in Dubai to celebrate my friends 21st so that's why there were such a lot of us. After a quick shower and change, we headed to the pool to lay in the sun. Outside it was SO hot.
I couldn't comprehend how people actually wore clothes in this heat!! I was in a bikini and melting ha. I laid on the sunbed for a while and ate some lunch (a chicken salad) but started to feel really claustrophobic. I think it was feeling tired and poorly and the mad heat. I said to my boyfriend could we get out of the sun for a bit, so we went inside to explore the Atlantis hotel which was nice and air conned!! The hotel was amazing, and had an incredible aquarium. I could have stared at it for hours, it was so relaxing. My boyfriend's favourite place was the Cold Stone ice cream parlour. It was very cool in there (literally!) as they mix up they're ice creams in front of you whilst throwing them around and all sorts of stuff. He had an 'oreo dream' and got it all round his chops! Haha. I felt much better for getting out of the sun, and soon it was time to get ready for the evening and go for dinner.
Our first night in Dubai was lovely, we went to a steak restaurant but I of course had chicken! The chicken was super yum so I didn't feel too jealous of everyone's steak. We all felt pretty tired, and as the big party was the next night, decided not to have a mad one. So we finished up relatively early in prep for the big day.

Sparkly views of the Atlantis on our first night

Friday I had a nice lie in and woke up naturally. For breakfast I had some fresh pineapple with a green tea and it was delightful. I drank lots of water throughout the day as well, as I was planning to drink alcohol in the evening so wanted to make sure I wouldn't get too drunk. It was Jess' actual birthday Friday so it was all very exciting and she'd opened her presents and couldn't wait for her party. We spent the day chilling by the pool and had lunch in the villa. I had scrambled eggs on gluten free toast to make sure I'd had some carbs to line my stomach. The girls started getting ready pretty early so we were well ready in time for 7. I used a can of hairspray on my hair in attempt to keep it smooth and avoid a frizz bomb as soon as I stepped out in the heat but the frizz bomb was inevitable and by the end of the night I looked like Hermione Grainger in the first Harry Potter film. But I didn't care as I had had such a good fun night.
The party was amazing, it was circus themed so there were midgets running around, fire breathers, acrobats, candy floss, sweets and more! I was really looking forward to letting my hair down and having a drink and that I did. I was drinking vodka and water so I made sure I still kept hydrated. I also ate about 3000 marshmallows! I couldn't stop myself! I felt drunk, and for the first time in what felt like ages I felt happy. It made me feel like I didn't have a care in the world, and it was almost like an escape from Crohns. I could let go and not care and just enjoy myself. This feeling only lasted for a short while, and in the morning I was woken up early needing the toilet and spent most of the morning in there. From feeling high and happy I was back down feeling the same as before. Feeling like I could just shut my eyes and it would go away. I knew I was going to feel like this though, as I had drank alcohol and eaten sweets and crisps which I shouldn't do, but in the moment I just felt like I wanted to. I think because I had been feeling so down before holiday, I just thought eff it. I'm gonna feel crap if I don't drink and eat carefully so I might as well feel crap and eat and drink what I want. Usually I don't think like this, as it's important for me to make my tummy better, but I was just in the mood that I didn't care. I got on with feeling crap, and as everyone was hanging, for lunch we ordered Nandos. Dubai is amazing, because everywhere delivers! So we got a Nandos for 14 delivered to the villa which suited me perfectly as I had chicken and salad. I also ordered some mash, as carbs makes everyone feel better :)

Me & the birthday girl!

 



Candy Floss

My lovely boyfriend JJ

 

Over the week I pretty much ate what I wanted. There were lots of sweets and chocolate in the villa which I couldn't help but eat. I still didn't drink much, and only had two other nights where I had alcohol, I just prepared myself for feeling bad the next day. On Sunday night we had a big night out and went for dinner and then to a club.
We went to a restaurant called Zuma where they do Japanese Fusion food and everything we had was amazing. I ate a lot of fish which was such an amazing change to just having chicken!! I had loads of sashimi, and my favourite yellow tail along with black cod. All of it was so good and I ate and ate till I was stuffed. I also had a drink of gin and tonic that lasted me the whole meal. It was presented like how you win a fish at a funfair, in a bag which was so cool. After dinner we had drinks in the bar upstairs then headed to a club called The Act. When we got there it was about midnight and there were performers on the stage and a woman doing acrobats in the middle of the dance floor and it looked like a crazy place. We had a table right next to the stage so was in prime viewing position to watch everything going on. It was the coolest club I've been to and the music was so good. It got me in the mood to get drunk again so I was back on the vodka waters! We kept dancing right until closing time, then carried on partying back at the villa. I finally retired to bed at 5.30am and slept through until midday the next day. The only thing that woke me up was needing the toilet again! I spent the rest of the day chilling out, and staying close to the bathroom. I had noticed that I didn't have bad hangovers, and I didn't know if this was because I was drinking so much water, or just because I wasn't really drinking much alcohol. I couldn't imagine being hungover and having my crohns flare up!

 

Dreamy sashimi!!

 

Me & my sister Ellie at Zuma

 

Dancing on the tables at The Act

 

 

 

 

The rest of our evenings were pretty chilled and we just ate at nice restaurants but we did have one more mad night... Ladies Night! Ladies Night is every Tuesday in Dubai and pretty much every bar/restaurant partakes in ladies having free drinks and 50% off of food. I couldn't believe it, I want London to have ladies night! We went to a restaurant called China Grill which was again Japanese food, so I had lots of sushi. Everyone was eating and drinking and all in the mood to carry on the night after dinner so we headed to Mahiki. I have been to Mahiki in London before and it was pretty much the same but better.
We got a table by the dance floor and were all having such a good night. We were up on the chairs dancing, having shots bought out on surfboards, giant treasure chests with sparklers and all having a good time. We were again there until the lights came on then all headed home in taxis. That night I had been drinking vodka waters mostly, but did have a red coloured shot and also sipped out of the treasure chest. My boyfriend kept catching me sipping and taking the straws from my mouth, as he knew I shouldn't be drinking cocktails. He was trying to help me as knew I would be unwell, but I was again in the mood where I didn't care. I know this is wrong, and I know I should care, I have just been feeling so low that I almost think 'whats the point'... and I know this is wrong. Whilst I was on the steroids and on holiday, I was just letting my hair down and knew that when I was home I would get back to my routine and back to being good and strict with my health.

Mahiki Madness!

 

So we got back on Thursday night after being delayed, and on a plane with broken air con and I was shattered. I felt so tired all through Friday and enjoyed laying on the sofa catching up on TV all evening. Saturday morning I had to be up early for another 9am blood test, so I decided to make the most of my early start and head to the gym afterwards. I dragged my boyfriend along for a spin class and its safe to say he hated it! It was incredibly hard, but I felt so good afterwards. I was proud of myself and him for going and we had worked really hard. We had to burn off the sweets, chocolate and alcohol we had been consuming for the week! I made us a healthy lunch afterwards and it actually felt really good to be getting back to my usual diet. We then went to see my nan and granddad as he had had an operation whilst we'd been away so it was nice to see him. In the evening we had my friends birthday party celebrations, which I decided I was going to drive to and not drink. As I finished my steroid course on Friday, I know I have to be really careful these next few days. I really don't want another flare up as I had previously when I had come off the steroids. So now I need to be really careful with diet. The party was still good fun without me drinking, and it was really nice to see all my friends. I'd missed them while being away!

Post workout lunch

Me, Lucy, Eleanor and Ellie at Autumn's birthday celebrations

 

"A Sunday well spent brings a week of content" and this is definitely what I am hoping for! I did absolutely nothing yesterday and I loved it. I was totally chilled out and relaxed and enjoyed a nice chicken roast dinner then relaxed in front of the telly. I woke up this morning way before my alarm and had to run to the toilet which wasn't the best start to the week but I'm keeping faith. This evening I'm going to see my doctor for a catch up and I think I'll feel better for getting things off my chest, and hope she can offer some help. Then it's an early night for me, as I have my cousins wedding tomorrow! I'll be sure to get lots of snaps of the blushing bride.

XOXO Crohnie Girl