An American Tale

2010-06-10T20:19:00.000-07:00

Today we got some decent pool time...yayness! And I delved in too, and was pleasantly surprised by how warm the water was.

AND....we browsed in my most favourite of all shops...the art & craft store 'Michaels'. Such bliss, I tell ya! I could seriously blow a small fortune in there! We came away with some glossy paper, to try our hands at corn syrup paintings (doesn't that sound intriguing, we'll keep you posted on that one), and our white Tee's to make our South African World Cup shirts. Which, alas, we didn't get round to, due to the fact we were too busy watching the World Cup Kick-off Celebration Concert. It was so great to see so many SA flags flying in the stadium.

I just thought I'd post the official World cup anthem, which is sung by Shakira, and a proudly South African band called 'Freshly Ground'. It was nicer seeing it live on TV today, but I couldn't find the video on the web yet.

Tomorrow's game is South Africa vs. Mexico, so if y'all try call me in the morning, I won't answer the phone!!
Just warning you!

Summer Holidays...part 1

2010-06-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

Well, every day since the summer holiday has begun, the weather has been overcast, with thunderstorms every now and then. So our plan of spending as much time in the pools as we could has ended up with us doing this......

That's the kids, and the dog, laying "in bed" at 10 am in the morning, while it storms outside!

So it's down to plan B...which has included some of this.....

....a bit of this.......

....a whole lot of this.....

...even more of these......

....which in turn led to this.......

Tomorrow however, it's off to buy some white Tee's, so we can decorate them South African style, just in time for the Soccer World Cup on Friday.

So be sure to check back here, so we can show y'all our art work.

One of my many "not so smart" moments....

2010-06-04T20:17:00.000-07:00

How do I know I'm spending way too much time on the computer?

I just tried to change the TV channel, by pointing my computer mouse at the TV screen, and clicking the left button......

Enough said!

I wanna feel what music tastes like

2010-06-03T08:36:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know this about me, let me tell ya. Two things have the power to deeply move me, music and dance.

I find that God speaks to me through both, sometimes quietly and sometimes loudly.

Music that inspires me, challenges me, grips me, pulls me in, and plants itself inside of me, to push it's way through my hard, barren heart. That's the kind of music I surround myself with.

Last night, while watching the new season of So You Think You Can Dance, I was deeply moved and astounded by an amazing young man by the name of Jarrell Robinson. Who loves to dance, and loves to feel the music.

He is deaf.

He made a great statement that struck a cord within me, and I just loved. He said, "I wanna feel what music tastes like..."

I can hear music, I can feel it too, but what does it taste like? Interesting question....it got me thinking. It depends alot on the mood that the music draws out of me. When I'm in church, worshipping God, it tastes like warm waffles on a cold day, dripping with butter and sticky, sweet syrup.

What does it taste like to you?

Humidity, spiders and flies.....oh my!

2010-05-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

It's hotting up around here.

The summer is here, and hurricane season officially starts June 1st. But that's not all that's starting to rear it's ugly head! Along with the heat & rising humidity comes the bugs. In particular, the flies, persistently irritating!

And horror of horrors, the spiders!

Every night for the last week I have had to resort to the Raid and broom. Those nasty, little critters are blatant enough to walk right through the front door, as hubby goes out to put the cars away. Did I say every night? For the whole week?

And yes, the mozzies are bigger in Texas! So big in fact, that I'm convinced I've seen their Stetson hats, as they fly past and land on my legs. And they don't just emerge at night to wreak their havoc, but are equally potent during the day. I've never known mozzies to come out during the day, but here in Texas, that's their M.O.

Nasty, I tell ya!

Inside my head

2010-05-24T20:46:00.000-07:00

My pastor has this knack of getting into my head.
Like. All. The. Time!

Hubby and I have joked before that we are convinced he spends time in our home, without us knowing about it. He just seems to be speaking directly to us every Sunday morning at church. About 2 to 3 times during the service, we will glance at each other, with a look that says, "Guess, who's been listening in on our conversations again!"

Oh, I know that he's not psychic or anything, and he's definately not a stalker! He's just a man who loves God, and is faithful to wait on Him week after week, in order to bring us a message from the throne room of heaven. It's encouraging, challenging and emotional, all rolled into one!

I love that it gives me a lifeline, a rope to cling onto when I feel that I'm sinking. It helps me keep my head above water. I cannot walk away from the service unchanged, or untouched. I like that. I really do.

(Image by aftab on Flickr)

I am thankful for my pastor, and his heart after God. I am thankful that he takes the time to crawl into my head every now & then, and remind me that God loves me...in spite of myself!

Soccer Fever

2010-05-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

While America gears up for the Summer holidays, South Africa is going World Cup crazy! I cannot wait for the games to start, and it's 20 days till the opening ceremony.

Enjoy this Fifa World Cup promo advert.....it's one of my favourites!

Summer Holidays....yay!

2010-05-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

Image by 'smil via Flickr

YAY!!

Just over 10 days of school left for this year. I'm looking forward to sleeping a little later, no morning breakfast rush, no homework (awesomeness!!), no packed lunches to make.....you get the picture!

Coming from South Africa, where the longest school vacation we had was around 6 weeks, I am totally un-used to a 3 month summer holiday. I was at first dreading such a long break, wondering how I would keep my boys occupied without them sitting in front of the TV all day. Now, I am looking forward to making use of all 13 pools we have here in The Woodlands, doing some more exploring, and taking a trip down to the beach now and then. I have a few summer day camps lined up for the kids, which should be interesting for us all, as we don't have those much in SA either. And my mother is coming to visit from the UK for 2 months. There are also some great family summer movies coming out, which we are all looking forward to: Shrek; Furry Vengeance; Despicable Me; and Karate Kid.

So all in all, I think we'll be alright. We have Memorial day weekend coming up, and some friends are finally making the big move from the UK to Houston, and will be flying in next week.....so we are looking forward to their arrival, and showing them around the city! Good times!

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to sing me some Cliff Richard's 'Summer Holiday'......

She will stay with me forever.....

2010-05-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

Lately my 6 year old has been telling me he wants me to stay with him forever.
I know....words that a mother Always.Wants.To. Hear.

On a few occasions he has come up to me, draped his little arm around me, or cuddled really, really close to me, and whispered those few precious words. My heart melts, but also breaks in knowing that I won't always be with him forever.

I tell him that one day he'll get married and live with his wife, and not his Mommy. He thinks a while. Then very seriously says, Mommy, you'll be going on the honeymoon with me!

I don't know what scared me more.....the fact that he's talking about a honeymoon, or that he wants me to go along with him :)

Anyway, this is what he brought home from school the other day, I just had to share it with y'all ....

What he wrote....

My Mom is speshale bicose. (My Mom is special because)

She feds me owase (she feeds me always)

She prextrt me!!!!!!!! (she protects me)

She Love me.

She halps me.

She plas withe me. (She plays with me)

She halps gordning. (She helps gardening...which simply means I help him water his bean sprouts!!)

She wile stae with me forever......

She will stay with me forever!

Proud to be an African

2010-05-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

I have been watching some DVD's I stumbled upon at our local library. As soon as I saw them lying on the shelf, I knew I had to watch them again. They are from a TV series that came out in the early 80's. And they bring such a flood of wonderful childhood memories back to me, and also a yearning for my home country - Africa!

The TV series was called "The Flame Trees Of Thika", and if any of you have seen them, you will understand why they make me so homesick. Even though it was filmed in Kenya, it reminds me of the bushveld in South Africa that I have grown to love and appreciate.

So in my state of longing of all things African, I decided to share this little clip with you. It is a speech from the former South African president Thabo Mbeki, that he recited in parliament. The South African Tourism Board have made a video around the speech, and I just love to watch it over & over (it's on my YouTube playlist).

The country is far from perfect, like any country I guess. But once you have spent a fair amount of time there, it simply gets in your blood, and beats in rhythm with your own heart. It is a beautiful land......

Some fun in San Antonio

2010-05-12T08:45:00.000-07:00

Well I still haven't gotten around to sharing some stories from our San Antonio weekend. So I thought we's chat about that today.

It was a busy weekend indeed, as we had planned a whole day at Sea World, and I had insisted that I had to go to at least one of the Missions too, mainly because I love anything history related, and I knew I could go crazy with the camera.

We did however, make a stop at the Guiness World Records Museum, and discovered some interesting facts indeed......

This was the biggest man....and the 'boys' all had to have a go behind the statue.....

Some other interesting facts....

First Space funeral.

Most clothes pins on a face - 160?????

Longest time in an elevator - 6 days

Largest twister game

The next two records, just creeped me out....

Smallest waist - 15 inches

Largest collection of navel fluff

The kids really enjoyed these two....

Tallest man

Shortest woman

And lastly, my favourite.....

Most official languages - goes to South Africa, for 11 languages in all.

So there you have it, if you didn't know, now you know!

Why Moms Matter

2010-05-07T07:56:00.000-07:00

Image by dawnzy58 via Flickr

Was visiting one of my favourite blogs this morning, and got challenged to link to her post about Why Moms Matter. Do pay a visit to her blog, she's a fellow South African, also now living in the States, she's a great writer. You'll find her at The Gypsy Mama.
Obviously with it being Mother's Day here on Sunday, there's no better time.

Moms matter because, they love us at our unloveliest.
I can count many times in my life whereby I acted disgracefully, but my mom kept on loving me regardless. How was that possible, I often wondered? What causes that unbreakable bond between mother and child?

Moms can be your biggest cheerleader, have unshakeable faith in you, and believe you can do the impossible. Speak to successful people in all walks of life and alot of them will say how their mothers contributed to their success.

Now that I'm a mother myself, I can see how easy it is to believe that my children really can be anything they want to be. I always tell them that. And no matter how angry they get at my discipline, or decisions, and end up saying things like, "Mommy, I don't like you very much anymore". My heart will ache for a little while, but I know my love for them is no less. Because that's just what Moms do.

I think the truth is, that God gave mothers a little piece of His own heart. Because that's exactly how He is with His children. He is our biggest cheerleader, has unshakeable faith in us, and believes we can do the impossible. He truly loves us at our unloveliest. And He just transplanted a little of that into the heart of the mother. It was the first Mother's Day gift ever!

Introducing Mark Twain.....

2010-05-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

Just lately I seem to be really laughing with my kids. Seeing how their sense of humour is developing, and how they are starting to catch silly jokes. We laugh alot, and I'm really enjoying it. To hear Kellan try to copy the Texan accent, by saying the local TV ads.With Connor trying to copy his big brother, and constantly pulling funny faces, it cracks me up all the time.

Kellan is the real little entertainer, he loves to make people laugh and act silly. He copies the contestants on American Idols, and the judges on Dancing with the Stars. He recently had a Living Museum at school, whereby the kids had to be a famous American in history.They had to research the character, dress up like them, and write and memorise a speech about them. The parents got to walk through the class & "press" the button on the table to get them to 'start talking'. It was very well done, with all the kids going to great effort to "become" their character.

So of course, Kellan had a lot of fun with this! We made him up in the morning, which took handfulls of hair mousse, hair spray and finally white hair dye, to get him to look his part. He was Mark Twain, the American writer of 'Huckleberry Finn' and 'Tom Sawyer'. This is a portrait of the "real" Mark Twain -

This is Kellan's version of Mark Twain......

Mom and son definately had fun with that project!

And finally, I'll give Connor the last word, with this photo that is SO Connor! Always kidding around, and always has evidence of the last chocolate cookie he has eaten, all over his mouth!

My gift that keeps on giving.

2010-05-04T09:52:00.000-07:00

It's our 14th wedding anniversary.

And today, I have discovered that I am giving my hubby a gift that just keeps on giving! It is incredible, amazing really.....I am keeping him healthy!

Awesomeness indeed!!

You wanna know how I do it? I'll let y'all in on the secret....

I read an article this morning in the Telegraph.co.uk website that explains it all:

Beautiful women can be bad for your health, according to scientists.

Actress Angelina Jolie is regularly voted world's most beautiful woman. Meeting a beautiful woman can be bad for your health, scientists have found. Just five minutes alone with an attractive female raise the levels of cortisol, the body's stress hormone, according to a study from the University of Valencia.

The effects are heightened in men who believe that the woman in question is "out of their league".

Cortisol is produced by the body under physical or psychological stress and has been linked to heart disease. Cortisol can have a positive effect in small doses, improving alertness and well-being. However, chronically elevated cortisol levels can worsen medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and impotency.

You can read the full article here.

Isn't that just grand! I can now be thankful that I look nothing like Angelina Jolie, or Halle Berry. And keep my hubby's stress levels down in the process - bonus!

Don't ya just love these obscure, random scientific research tests they keep on doing? I've some how never paid much attention to them before, but this one certainly got my attention!

So, I had to just share it all with you.......you're welcome!!

Breakfast anyone?

2010-05-03T08:29:00.000-07:00

We don't mess around here in the Hersey household. When we order breakfast cereal, WE ORDER BREAKFAST CEREAL!!

TEN packets of chocolate Pronutro to be exact. It arrived here from Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday last week, and we are already on our second packet. And it's only my two boys that eat it, so go figure!

You cannot find any cereal like Pronutro here, everything is like Cornflakes, Rice Crispies, Cheerios, and Oats. There are literally over a hundred different types of cereal to be found here.
But. No. Pronutro.

This is a horrifying situation for our household. Kellan in particular, loves Pronutro. And mainly the chocolate flavour. He can eat it at 6 in the morning and 8 in the evening. If all else fails, give Kellan a bowl of Pronutro. Happy Days!!

So we decided if we were going to order Pronutro from The South African Shop, we'd have to do in style. So ten boxes it had to be. I had to rearrange my pantry in order to fit the boxes in.

But, at least I have peace in my home every morning come breakfast time. And I'm not throwing half eaten bowls of Coco Puffs down the garbage disposal! And at least I can sleep at night knowing we're doing our part to help with the recession, there's NO WAY the Pronutro factory will close down with the Hersey's around.

American history....through the eyes of my nine year old!

2010-04-28T10:24:00.000-07:00

Every week, Kellan comes home from school with test and assignments that he's completed. Yesterday he came home with a few more. As I usually do upon receiving these tests, I scanned through them. I either congratulate him on tests that he scored well on, or leave out the ones where he didn't do so well, in order to work through them with him, during that week.

I noticed a test that didn't have such a great mark, and proceeded to look through it.

These are two questions he got wrong......

The first involved a time line showing some important events in American History.

This was the question & his answer....

Yeah...that's my son!!! And the piece de resistance was the next question.....

By this time, I was trying not to crack up laughing, while maintaining the stoic, poker-face of a mother who is about to give the serious 'benefits-of-getting-good-grades' lecture!

In the end, AFTER I had given the good grade lecture and we had corrected the questions, we both proceeded to have a good giggle at the silly answers he had given. After all....you've gotta keep your sense of humour, right?

Celebrations

2010-04-27T18:35:00.000-07:00

It's celebration time in the Hersey household again. This time in the form of Kellan's 9th birthday. Due to his birthday falling on a week day, we decided to celebrate on Sunday.

He chose to go to Incredible Pizza, we all had a great time. And today I made Chocolate Chip cookie dough cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache icing (yeah, I know it sounds fancy schmancy and all, but it was easy peasy!), and dropped them off at school. I had planned to join Kellan at school for lunch, with a surprise of Chick-Fil-A, but was told when I got there that parents weren't allowed to do that today due to certain Grades writing TAKS tests. I was a bit dissappointed, but managed to get Kellan's food to him anyway.
Tonight we have a small Baskin Robbins ice-cream cake for dessert.

Here are a few pics of the celebrations so far.....

As you can see, Star Wars seems to be a recurring theme here!!

Assembling all the Lego models was quite the task, and warm memories kept coming back to me about my own childhood, building houses with some friends' Lego sets.

Only the Lego sets nowadays are HUGELY high-tech!! One needs a degree in engineering to cope with some of these toys, I'll tell ya!

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough cupcakes..........

And lastly, we sang and blew out the candles. All nine of them!! Happy Birthday my boy!!

Food Revolution....Yeah!!!!!

2010-04-23T11:25:00.000-07:00

Image by marymaddux6272 via Flickr

So, I am TOTALLY hooked on Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution showing here on TV at the moment. I have been a fan of Jamie's cooking shows and recipes for years now. (His Yorkshire Pudding recipe rocks!)
And I have heard of the good influence he has had in the UK school system.

Kudos to Jamie for coming to America! As far as I have heard, a lot of the food served in schools here (including my own kids elementary school) are fast foods. Yes, I will also say that a healthy alternative is given at some schools - it is at my kids' school anyway. But I am pretty sure that it isn't the case everywhere.

Yes, I am the mother of a very picky 6 year old, who would much rather be eating cookies, candy and ice-cream. And that's all the more reason why I think this programme is so important! The last few weeks in our home come dinner time, has been one of constant negotiations to get him to eat his veggies. I am not one of those mom's who'll cook 3 different meals every night, in order for every family member to eat and be happy. Agree, or disagree with me, but I just won't do it.

Jamie said it perfectly on the show, when he said the kids might not want to drink the natural milk, over the sugar loaded chocolate and strawberry milk. But take the bad options away, and keep giving them the healthy alternative, and they'll get used to it!

Call me the eternal optimist, but I have always dished up mashed potatoes to my 6 year old......
He. HATES. Mashed. Potatoes!
Can that be normal, I ask myself ???? He hates it probably as much as I hate green beans....and that's a LOT!!! But there is a persistent, nagging, motherly trait, deep, deep, inside of me, that believes.....truly believes....that my son will one day wolf down his mashed potatoes with gusto! (It's my dream, and I'm sticking with it!)

So go on people, have a look for the Food Revolution badge on the right of the screen, and click on it to sign the petition to help Jamie make a difference.....you know you want to!

I'm Sorry!!

2010-04-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

Yeah, that's me......I'm truly sorry for my extended absence. That thing called life has kept me busy, and the first thing to bear the brunt of this was my blog.

Never fear however, I am BACK!!

It's been a busy few months. Spring has truly sprung here in The Woodlands, Tx, and Easter has come and gone in a flurry of eggs and chocolate. We however, spent the weekend in San Antonio, but that's a post for another day, and you can be sure I'll post lots of photos.

The kids have been busy at school, and I cannot believe there are only 6 weeks of the school year left, and the LONG Summer holiday begins. So, I have been busy helping them with school stuff, and we are attending a Grade 2 musical tonight at Kellan's school, that should be fun!

I'm happy to report that the weather is wonderful, although I believe the dreaded humidity is lurking in the not too distant future. The Woodlands, and the Hill country in Texas are truly beautiful in Spring. With the wildflowers painting the highways and byways in stunning colours of blue (from the Texas state flower Bluebonnet) and other bright colours. I took the following photos on the return trip from San Antonio, after much cajoling on my part in getting the kids to sit amongst the Blue Bonnets, and smile on top of that!

I got a few smiles out of them finally. The wildflowers are a wonderful thing to see, and admire. After the dreary months of Winter, the earth is putting on a glorious display and I just LOVE it!!

Catch up

2010-03-05T06:55:00.000-08:00

Well it's been a while since my last post. For some reason I just haven't managed to get the time to sit down and actually write! I have been busy enjoying the new course I am doing, which is tomorrows post (hopefully), and today we are getting some visitors! Yay!!

Our neighbours in South Africa are here visiting their daughter and son who are both staying here in the States. And they have managed to fit in a visit with us, before they go back home. We are all looking forward to catching up.

At last we are experiencing some wonderful Spring weather here in Houston. Blue skies and sunlight...gotta love it!

Today I'm going to show y'all another great advertisement for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. My previous one is over here.

Hope you enjoy it like I did!

Colours of Winter

2010-02-24T14:43:00.000-08:00

Now aren't those colours just glorious?

Just goes to show that you can still find beauty in the dead of winter.
And I didn't have to go far, these beauties were just down the end of my street.

Just wanted to share that with y'all.

I'm talking men's figure skating

2010-02-23T10:58:00.000-08:00

I have really been enjoying watching the Winter Olympics over the last few weeks. Especially the figure skating. I love figure skating. And most especially the men's skating. For reason's I can't explain, they just seem more exciting to watch.

To me, this olympics was really exciting because we had the former champion, a Russian by the name of Evgeni Plushenko. And USA's medal hope Evan Lysacek. Both are really good. And great to watch.

In the end Evan Lysacek won the gold for USA, leaving Plushenko visible upset, as he really thought he had nailed it. My favourite was always Lysacek, to me he skated amazingly, and worked really hard for it.

But back to Plushenko. He is very serious on the ice, like a machine, and performs quad and triple jumps like they were cartwheels.
Okay....thats a bad example as I have NEVER been able to do a cartwheel in my life!! But you get the idea!

Anywaaay.....this is a little clip of his free program that led to him getting the silver medal. Just to give you an idea of the caliber of skater that he is.

(Please excuse the foreign commentators throughout the performance, alternately, hit mute!)

How's that???

Well, you can imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon this next video of him, performing totally unlike I've seen him perform in competitions. It gave me a very different perspective on Evgeni Plushenko: World Champion.
Now he was channelling Tom Jones: Sex Bomb.

Now if you aren't a fan of Tom Jones and this song (like me), go ahead and hit mute again. But the performance is really funny!

Our Happily Ever After

2010-02-12T11:01:00.000-08:00

Hearts abound. Flowers, candy, chocolates, and all things love.

Hubby and I have never been extravagant Valentine's gift givers. No grand gestures, expressions of eternal foreverness or gazing misty-eyed kinda people. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just not us.

To me, it's a growing, familiar, reading one another's minds, and finishing one another's sentences kinda thing. He puts up with all my bad habits and sees me at my worst. He still makes me laugh. And finishes making the tea when I forget (which is almost always....)

He's a great Dad, and my favourite picture of him, is when he's playing on the bed with our two boys, giggling and making up funny stories to get them to belly-laugh.

The best interpretation of love and growing old together is from the Pixar movie UP. It's my favourite scene in the whole movie, because it's so true, and so real.

Hope you enjoy it......and to my best friend, I love you to the moon and back!

Brighter shade of grey.

2010-02-11T19:36:00.000-08:00

This is the view out of my front door window.

It's cold. It's grey. It's raining. It's what I like to call "mizzly". And it's rather dreary. Okay, so we aren't stuck in blizzards under 5 feet of snow like the poor souls on the east coast of the US are.

So I have decided I am going to ponder on happier, brighter, warmer and more cheerful things today. Something along the lines of this....

source

That's better, and how about some of this......

source

Now, I'm starting to feel it! We all want to do some of this....

source

And a whole lotta this.....

source

Roll on Summer!!!!

No fair.

2010-02-10T21:41:00.000-08:00

They say it's a small world.....I don't know. Sometimes, to me, it's a really BIG world.

When cold oceans divide, vast continents separate, time differences clash, and everything in between appears foreign and unfocused. Then we feel really far apart.

And no amount of social networking, twittering, emailing, skyping, nor any other form of communication media can seem to make up that distance. It's not the same. It comes close. But not close enough.

Somehow, I cannot spot the veiled sadness behind the smile I'm seeing on my computer screen. I cannot hear the undertones of pain on the other side of my cell phone. It's the down side of not being close enough. You miss the signs, the body-language, the comments that you'd normally pick up on while having a cup of coffee, or over lunch.

Some days, it just doesn't seem fair. Being so far away. Away from the normal, the familiar, the comfortable. Away from what you know, and understand.

And away from the ones who understand you.

Koeksisters in China Town, Houston

2010-02-08T19:45:00.000-08:00

Wow, I managed to get 3 nations in my title today. Nice!

It was time for the Koeksisters (you can read about them here) monthly get together, and this time it included a trip to Houston China Town, and a visit to a nice Chinese Restaurant in the area. I was really looking forward to this one!

It was a small group of us this time around, and in complete reversal, I was the "tourist" walking around taking photos of all things chinese. It was fun!

The store in the mall we went to, was mainly a huge fresh fish/seafood/meat/veggie/grocery store. And while a few of the ladies spent their time running through their shopping lists (they tell me the fish is great & well priced too), myself and another fellow Koeksister browsed around, just checking out the vast array of items on the shelves. It was an education let me tell you.

Here are just a few of the items that piqued our curiosity.....

Preserved duck eggs........ slimy things which did not look appetizing!

The crabs were HUGE I tell ya. And just sat there staring at us....

The name of this says it all..........smell fish???

This, if you didn't already know , is a Banana Flower. Doesn't look like a flower, or a banana. Although it does look the same colour as the few measly bananas lying in my fruit bowl at the moment..... I've gotta throw them out! I think they are even past the banana bread stage!

These pork uteri were just NOT GOOD!! Hence, no visuals....

Lastly, we have the Jackfruit. I had to google this one, as I'd never heard of it before, it turns out that it's the national fruit of Bangladesh. It's about the same size as watermelon.

The restaurant we went to was very nice, and we were treated to Dim Sum. And as we had a friend of one of the Koeksisters visiting from Singapore, she was able to order for us, and gave us a great selection of food to try.

So all in all, we had a great morning. And if you are in Houston and decide you just have to get yourself some Smell fish with a helping of Banana Flower, you'll know where to go!

Introducing Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvanian groundhog!!

2010-02-02T11:40:00.000-08:00

Back in South Africa, I'd heard about Groundhog Day, but never quite understood it's meaning, and what the heck is a Groundhog anyway???

Well, today is Groundhog Day, and in true 'American Tale' fashion, I have delved into the history of this special day so as to enrich your lives and impart knowledge! (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!)

Let's see....it started off in Germany, where farmers waited till late in the winter months to see the hedgehog come out from his underground home. If the hedgehog saw his own shadow on a sunny day, then that meant another long six weeks of winter were still ahead. And back in his hole he went!

Years later, German settlers in Pennsylvania, brought the old belief with them, and the hedgehog was replaced with the American groundhog.

Today there is a very famous groundhog residing in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. His name is Punxsutawney Phil. Every year, residents and paparazzi await anxiously to see what Punxsutawney Phil's prediction will be.

Will he see his shadow, and sentence us to another 6 weeks of winter, or will there be an early Spring this year.

This is serious stuff here people!!

Anyway, here is this years prediction, as per Punxsutawney Phil from Pennsylvania............

Greetings from Punxsutawney!

Phil Says Six More Weeks!
Phil's official forecast as read February 2nd, 2010 at sunrise at Gobbler's Knob:

Hear Ye Hear Ye Hear Ye
On Gobbler's Knob on this glorious Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2010, Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators awoke to the call of President Bill Deeley and greeted his handlers, John Griffiths and Ben Hughes.

After casting a joyful eye towards thousands of his faithful followers, Phil proclaimed, "If you want to know next, you must read my text. As the sky shines bright above me, my shadow I see beside me. So six more weeks of winter it will be."

(That's not my words by the way, that's actually on the official website!)

So there you have it. If you didn't know, now you know!

Here's a little more about Punxsutawney Phil, in case you are interested........

Plesh-hul-hay-jans

2010-02-01T14:17:00.000-08:00

No, the above title was not a typo! And no, I have not OD'd on my Dunkin' Donuts caffeine.
Let me elaborate.....

My 8 year old started to tell me how he made his school TV debut during his pleshulhayjans.

Pardon me Kellan??

While I was doing my pleshulhayjans mommy...

You're WHAT Kellan???

(Heavy sigh of frustration from 8 year old) My PLESHULHAYJANS!!!!

Kellan.....I'm sorry my boy, but I have NO idea what you are talking about! Give me a clue please......

(Severe rolling of the eyes from 8 year old) Mommy!! You know what I mean....that thing we do every morning at school........

Okaaaayyyyyy?????? (still clueless at this point!!)

It's that thing where we talk about America & the flag.........

Suddenly light dawns! I start to smile, and it erupts into a full blown bellylaugh!!

Kellan, do you mean the Pledge of Allegiance?

(a satisfied grin breaks out on his face..) YEEESSSSS Mommy!!

You gotta love it!!

{photo source}

Going back to my roots.

2010-01-26T11:24:00.000-08:00

It's another one of those days where I'm longing for touches of home....well, African home that is. And I found myself listening to Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and drinking tea. Yes, tea!! I. Love.Tea.
And I love Ladysmith Black Mambazo. There is something about their songs, that just conjour up images of African sunsets, the bushveld, and everything South African. It always puts a smile on face watching the lead singer Joseph Shabalala sing. He makes the funniest faces sometimes, and puts such emotion into it. My mom & sister got to see them perform live in the UK, and I was NOT jealous, NOT. Okay....maybe a little....alright then, I was. OKAY!!

So I took some time to find some fun and totally different LBM songs for y'all to hear. You might to firm fans, or totally new to their music. Either way, I hope you enjoy it. (And I bet you'll be singing the African Alphabet song all day.......)

That one was a double bonus for me as I also love The Muppets.....if loving The Muppets is wrong, I don't wanna be right!
This next one is a little more updated, and does not involve Jim Henson puppet characters....

.....but it did include Dolly Parton. I'm not a big fan, but hey....just seeing Joseph Shabalala's face in that clip, makes it all worth it!

And lastly some vintage LBM. I remember singing this song, and driving everyone mad......"somebody say, i ihi, ihi....somebody sing why, why why....". Memories!

Catching up

2010-01-22T11:13:00.000-08:00

Yeah,yeah,yeah....once again I start my post off with apologies for my total lack of blogging ability over the last few days. Totally unacceptable, I know.......and yeah, I know y'all had sleepless nights waiting for my next exciting story... *nudge,nudge,wink,wink*

Anyways, it's been an interesting week, had some great fun with some of the Koeksister ladies, isn't it just amazing how revived and encouraged you feel after a cuppa tea and a chat with friends? It's like an instant pick-me-up. Who needs expensive and painful Vitamin B shots, when you have great friends and inexpensive beverages!

I had some discouraging news from my doc, but after a good ole dose of Meryl Streep in "It's Complicated" and some friends to enjoy it with, I felt heaps better.

Jingles, our little Daschund puppy, is fine, slightly traumatised after her last bird incident, but going strong. To update y'all, The Bird (as it's now known in our household) has been back almost every day, I didn't see it on the weekend , but it was back yesterday, sitting on it's usual high tree, scanning the surroundings vigilantly. For about 40 minutes.
Jingles is now wary of any creature of the feathered variety, and this morning went running in the house yelping once more. NOT AGAIN.....I thought, and upon looking up, saw that she had gotten scared off by a very scary looking squirrel (well, it was very scary looking to her, OBVIOUSLY!!), that was running across our back fence.

Now not ALL wildlife here in Houston are scary though, just take a look at this. A family in Texas found a malnourished baby deer, and took it in and raised it until it was old enough to go back to the wild and fend for itself. But apparently it comes back almost daily to play with the family dog!

Happy Birthday Jessica

2010-01-20T09:55:00.000-08:00

Today's post goes out to my niece Jessica in the UK.

Hope you have a wonderful birthday today, we love & miss ya tons!!!

There is still hope!

2010-01-16T10:47:00.000-08:00

It's the story in everyone's mouths, on the TV, in the news, on Twitter, Facebook and in the blogosphere, people are talking about the earthquake in Haiti. An already impoverished nation overcome by tragedy once more. A few years ago, they endured 3 hurricanes in one season. And now this.

I cannot begin to say how overcome I am by the generosity of the American nation. Everywhere I look, on the radio and television, they are making it easy for people to donate even a little something to help these desperate people. There seems to be something inbred in the hearts of the American people that in times like this, they have the most wonderful ability to look past their own - sometimes dire - situations and give of what they have. It's an inspiring quality, which I admire tremendously. I heard on the television just yesterday, that up to now the American Red Cross has received 35 million dollars to help with this disaster. That's just incredible!!

And now, the stories of survival are starting to come in, I listened to this video this morning, and it just encouraged me to keep lifting the Haitians up in prayer, as yes, there are still people living under the rubble, and yes, there is still hope.

It sounds like my kinda gum!

2010-01-14T18:04:00.000-08:00

It's not that I don't like cooking....cooking I can handle. It's that dreaded question I ask myself EVERY day, and the energy expended trying to figure out the answer to said question.
WHAT AM I GOING TO COOK FOR DINNER TONIGHT???????

Oh, the horror!! It's the same, boring question day after day. Constantly trying to think of new ways to cook a chicken breast, I mean how many ways can there be?? I scour my cookbooks, go to the internet cooking sites, and even resort to reading the back of the soup cans for new recipes. All this to inspire my
uninspired cooking brain! It seems futile most days.

I open the fridge, and stare in the freezer to check the meat situation. Then I open the pantry and stare inside, hoping 'something' might jump out at me. Then I check the vegetable drawer to see what's lying in there.
On a good day, a meal will form in my head within seconds.......such joy!! Sadly, those days are the exception and not the rule! It's the monotony that gets to me, I think.
I DO try new recipes, don't get me wrong, but the chances that my new Parmesan Chicken will be liked by all 3 men in my house are slim. And if I do find a new recipe that everyone enjoys....woohoooo!!!

One of my favourite scenes in a movie has to be the one from Charlie & the Chocolate factory. In which a young girl by the name of Violet Beauregarde has her first taste of a bubble gum meal. She chews on the gum, and voila!! First, the tomato soup, then the roast beef and baked potatoes, lastly the blueberry pie & ice-cream.

Glorious!!! Can you even begin to imagine how wonderful this would be???
All of my culinary problems sorted. No more humming and hawing in front of the open freezer. I could just pop a stick of gum in everyone's mouths, and that's it!! A three course meal in an instant. *sigh*
Of course, you can leave all that turning blue stuff, and growing to the size of a giant blueberry... that's definetly not a look I want to experiment with!

Close Encounters of the Bird Kind

2010-01-13T11:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, our little 11 week old Daschund puppy was almost taken from our back garden by what looked to me like a hawk. That's right...a hawk!!

The weather has slightly improved here, and she has been valiantly exploring our back yard, playing in the leaves, and chasing the kids's big ball with great gusto. I was sitting at the breakfast nook table about a yard away from the back door, which I had left open to keep an eye on her. In the next instant, I heard this terrible yelping, and fluttering.

I looked out the door, already on my feet. And as I looked out, I saw a huge greyish-brown large bird, about 3 feet off the back patio floor. It happened so fast, and before I could even think of what to do, I saw Jingles land on the floor and she came running into the house with the speed of light. She was crying and scared witless!! The hawk had her, but somehow, miraculously, she got away, and didn't, thankfully, fall far. She didn't have a scratch on her little body, and I think that the hawk just didn't have a good enough grip on her..... or something??

Anyway........the hawk went and perched on our next door neighbours tree, and sat there and waited. it eventually moved off to a further tree, but kept a watch out on our yard, it must have stayed there for about 20 minutes.

A quick search on google, and I have since discovered that 'yes', birds of prey will attack pets, especially small breeds and puppies. I read horrifying stories of people who have lost their pets in this way, with either the pet being taken right away, or falling from the bird's grasp at great heights, and dying from the fall. It was extremely sobering.

Well, little Jingles in fine, she had a very high heart rate for about 15 minutes, and got held and examined and fussed by the whole family for the rest of the evening. She has been outside since, but this time she is being accompanied by an extremely protective owner, at all times. Yes, I am no more than a step away from her wherever she walks, and armed with my big black umbrella, to boot! This bird ain't getting near my pup again I'll tell ya!! And just half an hour ago, when I took her outside again, I saw 2 birds of prey circling the sky near our house, and that was playtime over! Inside we went! And she is now sound asleep next to me on the sofa.......safe & sound!! Sigh!!

Retrospection

2010-01-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

Well it's another January, another year, and I've been rather quiet on the blogging side of things. All I can say is we had a good Christmas, but it was a very homesick one, and we holed ourselves in our house for the two weeks that the kids and hubby had off. We felt quite sorry for ourselves some days, but managed to crawl ourselves out of that, and are now focusing on the year ahead. Looking at new endeavours and exploring new ideas. So things are looking better. Thankfully.
I'm getting the idea for today's post from a fellow blogger, who posted the questions on her blog. And it got me thinking about my own year...... lessons learnt, and mistakes made.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
Sold everything, left our country and moved to a new land. Basically uprooted the whole family, and left all we knew behind....was scary indeed!

2. Did you keep your new years resolutions, and will you make more for this year?
I'm not really into new year's resolutions, so I can't remember having any last year. HOWEVER, I do have a goal I have set myself by the end of January, and that is to get my Texas Drivers license!! Yes, I know......I still don't have it, and am still using my international & SA one. Am trying to get my head around parallel parking on the wrong side of the road, in the wrong side of the car!!!!!?????

3. What places did you visit?
Not many places yet, I am sorry to say......only Galveston, and Vermont. I am trusting that this will change in 2010! I'm thinking Florida, California (particularly the Red Forest), Denver, New England, a cruise to any-old-where-will-do, and Hawaii (I can dream can't I??)

4. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
I lacked patience, that needs to change.......

5. What days in 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Oh......well, the first would be saying goodbye to my dear friends at Johannesburg International airport. The second would be landing at Dubai Airport, and feeling such sheer terror, and doubt at the decision we had made in moving to the US. The third would be moving into the house we lease in the woodlands, and seeing our furniture container arrive with our few items we bought from South Africa....that was a good day!

6. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting through it! Seriously though, anyone reading this who has moved countries can relate to how difficult it can be. Nothing is what you are used to, familiarity is out the window.Comfort zone.......what comfort zone?? It's been quite the ride.

7. What was your biggest failure?
Doubt. Doubting God, our decision etc etc.

8. What was your biggest wake-up call?
If I don't make it happen, it isn't gonna happen!

9. What was the best thing you bought?
My car.....I was totally lost and isolated without one for 6 months.

10. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
My husband, and children's. They have really been great this last year, this moving countries thing is not an easy task, and in spite of our ups and downs emotionally, they are tops in my book!!

11. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Without sounding self-deprecating, probably my own! I would like to have handled things with alot more patience and maturity, and much less selfishness and self-pity.

12. Where did most of your money go?
We had to start basically from scratch when we got here, so that and buying our cars.

13. What did you get really, really really excited about?
Finding a church, and going together as a family. Getting involved with my "Koeksister" group of ladies! Visiting and seeing my good friend after many years, and meeting her lovely family!

14. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Love Story by Taylor Swift. I downloaded this version on my laptop which I listen to over and over....it's one of my firm favourites, and I'm now a Jon Schmidt fan........

15. What do you wish you'd done more of ?
Spend time alone with God, played more games with my kids and exercise!

16. What do you wish you'd done less of ?
Wasting time watching TV, and fretting the small stuff!!

17. What was your favourite TV programme?
Fast-forward, Glee, House, So You Think You Can Dance.

19. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
My hubby took the day off, and we went out for breakfast, and then to a movie to see Blind-Side. It was nice spending time alone....a rare thing for us since we came to the US. I turned 38....wow... seeing that in writing makes me feel really old!!!

20. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
What personal fashion concept???

21. What kept you sane?
My laptop and internet.
My blog.
Skype.
My new car.
The 'Koeksisters'.
My faith.

22. What celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I'm not into any celebrity/public figure, most of them are just over exposed anyways. Although Simon Baker from The Mentalist is easy on the eye....just ask my Mom (big fan she is...)

23. What is a valuable life lesson you learnt in 2009?
Family and friends should NEVER be taken for granted. Not to sound cliched but life is short, and things change, change is constant. Make the most of relationships, and people you love while you can.

24. What is a valuable spiritual lesson you learnt in 2009?
God never wastes your time, and He can catch you up in areas where you feel you've fallen behind.

25. What are you most proud of from 2009?
Getting out of the box of "normal" and the "mundane". My life had become stagnant, and moving like we have, has caused me to re-evaluate what my purpose and passion in life is...I'm still looking for it, but at least now I have a hope of a purpose, and a hope of a passion.

26. What are your goals for 2010?
Like I mentioned in question one, I WILL get my Texas license in January! I also am tinkling with the idea of studying....now don't go falling off your computer chair now....I'm NOT talking MBA or anything quite as ambitious as that. I'm thinking more along the lines of creative writing, and I want to do a good photographic course....we'll see where that goes.

27. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Oh goodness....that's a hard one! You know, the song that spoke to me the most was one by Casting Crowns called "Praise You in the Storm". I remember landing in Dubai airport on our flight out here, and the overwhelming sense of panic at what we were doing, and with tears in my eyes I looked around at the all the foreign people there, and it just got to me. I kept thinking, what on earth are we doing here, and I felt lost and alone, even in the midst of that extremely busy airport, with my family around me. And almost instantly I remembered this song, and the words from the chorus just spoke to me, and comforted me....

"And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I cry
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart will fall
I will praise You in this storm"

In the months to come that song kept helping me....and still does. Here it is for those who haven't heard it before.

Hope y'all had a great Christmas, and are looking forward to the New Year. 2010....here we come!!

The Baby

2009-12-30T19:37:00.000-08:00

Here she is.....she wakes me up any time between 3 and 4 am every morning, I take her outside, and she goes back to sleep again shortly after. She is really quite good, now that we have moved her crate into our bedroom....she no longer howls for the WHOLE night!

Jingle comes to stay.

2009-12-23T09:43:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas has come early in our house....in the form of a little 8 week old Dashund puppy. Her name is Jingle (as you can guess, for obvious reasons....)

I do not have any photos of her yet, as my few feeble attempts have come out blurred and hazy, due to the fact that she is too fast, and doesn't stay in one spot long enough to capture her!

I will try again, of course. And post the photos for you all to see. She is really cute, and is now the star of the house. She likes to chew the bottom branches of the christmas tree, and any thing she can find, including my necklace, which she seems to have a penchant for! And we put her in her doggy crate to sleep last night and she cried for 10 minutes, and we never heard her again the whole night......I awoke at 3 am with thoughts that something had happened to her, because I couldn't believe she was so quiet! And at 7 am this morning I went in to find her sleeping on her bed, but happy to see me.

We are otherwise ready for Christmas, I would like to make some fruit mince pies if I can though, and presents need to be wrapped. I thought I'd end off with a little video once again (I do apologise for all the Tangle vid's, but they have helped in bringing in the Christmas cheer n'all).

The reason I enjoyed this one, was because of the way they end their song. I just love Toto's "Africa" song....I will admit to feeling rather homesick when I heard it. In South Africa at this time of year, everyone is outside in the heat, and sun. Barbeques, or 'Braais' as we call them in SA, abound, and one cannot drive anywhere on a weekend without smelling the aroma of grilled steak, and 'boerewors'. There's nothing like it!

That's what it means to me.

2009-12-18T06:47:00.000-08:00

This little video made me smile.

There are people all around me arguing about the details of Christmas, should we celebrate it, shouldn't we? Was it really in December, or not? Should we be saying Merry Christmas, or Happy Holidays?

One thing I know.....Jesus was born, I don't know exactly when. And without His life, and death.....my life would be meaningless. That's what I know. That's what I celebrate, and why I celebrate.

The Christmas tree, the decorations, the christmas cookies, and stockings on the mantlepiece.....they are all things my family has done since I was little. They are not of paramount importance to why I choose to celebrate, if you took them all away I would still be thankful for Jesus. And I would still celebrate His life. That's what Christmas means to me.

I'm dreaming of a BRIGHT Christmas........

2009-12-17T06:20:00.000-08:00

Coming from a land that doesn't really decorate their homes much for Christmas, which is most likely due to the fact that no-one can see the houses from the road because of the 6 foot walls around them. It truly is a delight to see some of the streets here being lit up for the festive season. Some homes go to more effort than others, and I'm convinced that some streets can be seen from the space station! But they are really worth looking at.

We will be taking a tour through some of the suburbs next week to see some more of the really wonderful lights, and that will be another post for another day...watch this space!

In the meantime, however, I thought I'd give y'all a glimpse at the effort some people go to with their Christmas lights....really amazing!

It's Christmas time........

2009-12-16T08:18:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas time, and my white board in the kitchen has now become a "Countdown to Christmas" board instead of a "helping-me-keep-track-of-my-kids-school-life" board! They have marked the day we had snow in Houston, there are christmas trees and stars adorning it too.

Yes, my kids are excited....super-excited.

In the midst of this, however, I have been racking my brain trying to find ways of bringing their focus off the presents ONLY, and onto more important things. One thing we have decided to do this year, is to make a "present" for Jesus. Each one of us will be making a gift in some form or the other, from our heart. Something we want to give to Jesus to show Him our love and thankfulness for Him. I told the kids we all have to do it on our own, anything we want, and we will wrap it up, and put it under the Christmas tree. Then on Christmas Day we will open Jesus' present first, and tell everyone else what and why we chose to give Him what we did.

I have NO idea, what my kids have decided to do, and look forward to seeing what they choose to give Jesus on Christmas morning. I'm not sure if they even understand what I am trying to get through to them. But I do hope it gets them thinking more about the King of Kings, and a little less about the latest Wii game.

Obviously Kellan has been giving this whole idea some thought though. Because last night during supper, he came up to us and very seriously said, "Mommy, but Jesus is not gonna get a surprise when I show Him my present, because he can see EVERYTHING!!"

Out of the mouth of babes............

Cafe owners VS "Mama's"

2009-12-08T07:07:00.000-08:00

So back home in South Africa, people are gearing up towards the 2010 World Cup Soccer. As far as I have heard from family and friends, electricity is getting more expensive, roads are a nightmare as there are road works everywhere in anticipation of all the traffic. Hotels are renovating and extending. Tourism companies are going all out to advertise and pull in overseas visitors. School holidays are being readjusted to coincide with the big soccer event. And I'm sure the street vendors and traffic-light intersection vendors are preparing 2010 memorabilia to hound the public.

But in spite of all the worries, concerns and scepticism, there is an underlying excitement and I personally can't wait to see the opening ceremony.

I came across this South African advert for the 2010 World Cup, and found it so funny and familiar. For all my South African readers who are still in SA, you will have seen it already, but for those of you who are away from home, I hope you enjoy it and relate to it like I did, it's a real taste of home ( I especially like the "mama" balancing and carrying the soccer ball on her head.....priceless!!)

Ice-Cutters Christmas

2009-12-02T20:51:00.000-08:00

After Thanksgiving, we decided to check out an event that was called 'The Ice-Cutter's Christmas".

It's a family who open up their ranch to the public, and decorate it with christmas lights, and ice-sculptures. T.Jay Maclaskey has been an ice-sculpturer for many years, and now uses the sculptures as their own Christmas decorations. They manufacture their own blocks of ice, instead of buying them, and their ice-sculptures have been published in 'Country Living Magazine'. You can see more of their ice art here. But here are a few I took myself..

We went on a hay ride around the ranch to look at all the Christmas lights, and the kids had a go on the illuminated bungee-trampolines (what a mouthful...).

And then, we were treated to a display of how this huge block of ice gets transformed into a delightful toy soldier. He had us mesmerized, and made it look so easy. We were all itching to have a go, if not to just hack at the ice with the chain-saw!! And it looked like such fun!

This was the final product after he put a blow-torch to the sculpture, to give it a perfectly transparent and crystal clear appearance.

And to top off the evening, all the leftover ice shavings (which now resembled snow), gets loaded into big cooler boxes, and the kids get to have a snowball fight! We didn't go prepared for this however, and after about 2 minutes, I had 2 moaning kids holding out their frozen, numb hands, complaining that the snow was too cold?????

Anyhow, it was a great evening, and we'll definitely go back next year.

Thankful.....

2009-12-01T11:48:00.000-08:00

We are thankful!

We are thankful for every new day, new adventures, new memories being made and old ones cherished. We are thankful for each other.

We are thankful for our first thanksgiving meal in this new country.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday, and one I think we will come to love as other Americans do.
Just a relaxed day of family and feasting.

I made the turkey and stuffing, and we all sat down and enjoyed the time together. We have now eaten enough turkey to last us to next year, so the thought of making anything with the leftover turkey meat and carcass is just too much for me. No turkey stock, no turkey soup....enough turkey.

Gobble,gobble!!

I tried to make the table look a little festive, although I don't have much of a clue how it's supposed to look.

Kellan has been moaning that we don't eat at the normal" dining table but at the smaller table in the breakfast nook, so we took this chance to make it special for them too.

Serious turkey talk........

That's what little boys are made of.

2009-11-24T18:28:00.000-08:00

So I have decided I need to buy myself a shot gun.....yes, they are legal in Texas (I just googled it!). And no, I did not wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

The reason for my sudden interest in the purchase of a fire-arm has been due to my (only recently turned) 6 year old son.

Now, now....before you all have the child protection unit showing up at my door, let me explain!

Since starting school in August, it seems my son has become quite the little ladies man!! Every few days he would return home talking about a lovely young lady in his class that seems to have befriended him. There was one, then another, and then another.

Then he would start asking us if one of these young ladies could come over to play. Now I was starting to get worried! He nagged and nagged.
Then I received an email from one of these girls' mother, asking if Connor could come and play one afternoon at her daughters house. He was to be the only boy with 3 girls.

This wasn't so funny any more. (I'm a mother, for crying out loud!)

Anyway, as it happens we already had plans to go to the childrens theatre, so he never ended up at the play date. Much to his consternation.

The other day, I got asked by him to buy a toy he'd seen on the TV recently, it was a girls toy, and before I started to get worried, he quickly informed me it was for the new friend he had made, so that when she came to play at our house, she would have a toy to play with.......he had rendered me speechless at this point!

And now, to top it all off, he arrived home from school, and promptly took a little scrap of paper out of his bag, and on it was a phone number, complete with the number 2's written backwards, mind you. It seemed he and his new friend had decided they were taking matters into their own hands, and were now swopping phone numbers!

Now....how do I go about acquiring a gun license....it seems I'll have need of one in a few years time, just to keep these girls at bay.....oh my!

Thanksgiving...the Koeksisters way!

2009-11-19T18:23:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is next week Thursday. So it will be our first family thanksgiving holiday ever! And today I got a really good taste (literally and figuratively) of what thanksgiving is all about.

Because today was The Koeksisters thanksgiving lunch!

For my non-South African readers, let me first start of by explaining what a koeksister is. The actual koeksister (and not the wonderful bunch of ladies who meet here in The Woodlands), looks something like this.........

"A koeksister comes from the Dutch word koekje, the diminutive of
koek meaning "cake". It is a South African syrup-coated doughnut in a
twisted or braided shape (like a plait). It is prepared by deep-frying dough
in oil, then dipping the fried dough into cold sugar syrup. Best eaten cold,
koeksisters are very sticky and sweet and taste like honey. Koeksisters are
of Cape Malay origin. The Afrikaner version is much more syrupy and crispy
while the Cape Malay version's texture is more like that of a cake, spicier,
and usually covered in dried coconut. There is also a difference in
spelling, the latter generally referred to as koesister.. " :- Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Hope that helped .......(isn't it amazing what you can learn from reading this blog, you can't say I'm not educating y'all!)

Now, the Koeksisters that I have had the great delight in meeting, and who get together once a month, are a fantastic bunch of ladies who all hail from South Africa. They have been a great source of help and encouragement to me, and today was no exception.

A super time was had by all, we laughed, we shared what we were all thankful for, and we ate.....boy, did we eat! It was a veritable feast!

So, I finally remembered to take my camera along with me, and took a few shots of the occasion, I wasn't going to let this event pass by without sharing it with you all.

Here's a few photos, you can click on the collage to view them larger........

....oh....by the way....that long green stick-like-thing with the green-balls on... (bottom right corner) is actually a Brussel sprout stalk!! Go figure!!! I would never have known they grew like that.......like I said before, you never know what you'll learn on this here blog!!

So, thanks ladies - it was a great way to have my first thanksgiving experience!

Signs of life

2009-11-17T19:08:00.000-08:00

I have taken to looking around my garden lately....with the fall taking it's toll on the leaves and trees, there is more nature lying on my drive way than on the branches. But it's such a beautiful time of year, the mornings here are crisp and cool, yet the sky is still bright blue. It's a treat to be able to take pictures like these, that shows that nature is still fighting the cold to put on one last display of beauty.....

And these were taken in Discovery Green park, in downtown Houston.

It's fast becoming one of my favourite parks, so much to look at with nature right in the midst of the buildings of concrete and glass .

And last week Wednesday was Veterans day, and even though we are not Americans, there was something really touching about waking up that morning to find that someone had put American flags on every lawn, on every street in our area. You couldn't help but feel a sense of pride, it was special.

Ferry to Crystal Beach

2009-11-16T19:13:00.000-08:00

My, I've been away from my blog for what seems like forever, and now I've forgotten how to do things! And we have finally managed to kick out all the gremlins in my computer, and many tears and dollars later, have installed Windows 7 and peace reigns in my home once again! (I am miserable without my computer!)

Well, all that aside, let me share with y'all some pics from our ferry trip across the gulf waters from Galveston Island to Crystal beach. It was a lovely day, and we'd read about the ferry, so decided to try it for ourselves and do a bit of exploring.

It was great fun! We were fortunate not to have long queues, and were able to drive the car straight onto the ferry, the boys seemed rather intrigued by this idea, and as soon as all the cars were on board, we hopped out of the car and stood outside to check out the scenery. We passed the battleship and submarine museums that we decided we have to visit next time around. And were joined by some friendly dolphins who were playing very close to the waves around us, it was great, and the kids really loved it. It took about 20 minutes to get to the other side, and once there, we drove for a while till we came to Crystal beach. It wasn't as pretty as we'd thought it was going to be, but it was very quiet and peaceful! Naturally the kids moaned because we wouldn't let them swim, but we figured they would probably only last in the sea momentarily before moaning they were too cold!

(CLICK ON COLLAGE TO ENLARGE PHOTOS)

Then, it was time to hop back on the ferry and show my mother around Galveston some more. However, it seemed that we had timed our trip to coincide with a Halloween motorbike rally. We were convinced that every biker in Houston descended upon Galveston that day! And eventually it just became too much, getting around the town was a nightmare, and some of those bikers were just downright scary! We didn't fancy getting on the wrong side of some of those dudes, I can tell you. So we made our way out of there as soon as we could, and found ourselves in Kemah.

But that's tomorrows story...........

A.W.O.L.

2009-11-06T06:41:00.000-08:00

Yes, I have been AWOL for the last few days, please accept my humble apologies. We have had a week of sick family members (myself included) and once again my computer has decided to take a few sick days of it's own. I am now thoroughly irritated with it, and my current answer is to throw the darn thing out the window!!

I'm sure sanity will prevail, however.

Or maybe not......

Anyway, computer woes aside, I am now quickly typing this to let y'all know I am alive and kicking, and will hopefully add more later. Got a lot to tell y'all about....out weekend trip Galveston, and Kemah. And my sons 6 birthday, and my last Koeksusters meeting.

So stay tuned.... I will be back!

Lavatory laments.

2009-10-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

If you are prone to a weak stomach and toilet talk, then stop reading and go have a cup of tea, and come back tomorrow! Today I'm sharing with y'all my lavatory laments.

It's gonna get ugly!

No, this isn't a post about my bowel movements, but rather about the very sad state of my blocked toilet this morning, and my even sadder attempts at trying to unblock it! Let me start by telling y'all that I am convinced the toilets here in the US are not built to flush more than a few sheets of toilet paper at a time, and that's one-ply to boot!

No matter where we have stayed since our time here, whether it 's been in the apartment, hotels or here in the house, the toilets are all the same.......those darn things just keep getting blocked! I now have a wonderful, black, rubbery toilet plunger-thingie ready for the next emergency. And so far, it hasn't failed me yet!

Until today.

Today no amount of plunging and sweating and grumbling under my breath could dislodge whatever was down in there. I tried, I waited, I tried again, I waited. No, it ain't gonna happen, I thought. So what do you think I did next?

That's right, I went to my old faithful, and Googled it!! Don't you just love Google? But I have to admit that I've never Googled a question like how to unblock a toilet before. I just wanted to get some other advice, before resorting to an expensive plumber or drain cleaner. And I could not imagine the wealth of advice and tips to be found on this subject. It seems it's a common enough problem alright, which further confirmed my suspicions about the sensitive toilets here. And it was there I learnt about something called a toilet auger. Now, I had no idea what this gadget was, but everyone was giving it rave reviews, so that sold me! Off I went, with mother in tow, to find a toilet auger at Lowe's.

I was expecting a few items stuck in a corner of the store somewhere......this is what I found....

............ a whole assortment of toilet unblocking products. It was like looking at the breakfast cereal aisle in Wal-Mart! What variety...what choice.....wait a minute we're talking about toilet drain cleaners!!! Well, there was every kind of cleaner imaginable. I found the one I was looking for, amid laughter and amusement between my mother and I, come on.....some of these things looked like instruments of torture for crying out loud! Next, I had to find a pair of long-sleeved gloves, if you know what I'm talking about! And off we went back home, to put our new purchase to good use!

I had to dress for the part. PVC gloves, old clothes and even contemplated wearing my hubby's gas mask (more for effect I'll admit!). And soon I was winding and pushing, and winding. To cut a very long, and not so pleasant story short, I eventually heard the sweet, sweet sound of gurgling water, as the blockage miraculously shifted, and I could once again flush away. What joy!

I could rest after a good scrubbing down later, and enjoy a cup of tea, knowing that I had conquered the commode, or latrine or whatever you wanna call it!!
I am the toilet auger queen!!

Just some chit-chit.

2009-10-28T18:19:00.000-07:00

Following on from our interesting day on Saturday, we decided to try out the children's Theatre on Sunday. Now I'm a big theatre fan, and it seems I'm passing on my love to my children. They loved to go to the theatre in South Africa. So they were very excited about our upcoming theatre trip, to see Robin Hood!

Now the actors are all children, some as young as 5-6 years old, but they were jolly good. The older lead actors were about 16. They danced and sang through 2 hours of merriment. And we all enjoyed it. Now the kids want to go to next production of Aladdin, so it seems they're hooked!

To change the subject a tad, today I went to the hair salon. Nothing that exciting I know you must be thinking, well yes, that may be so. But I just happen to hate going to the hair salon. And in the past 8 months since arriving in the States, I haven't stepped a foot into one. So yes, you can only imagine the current state of shapeless nothingness my hair style has been. In fact to call it a 'style' would be wishful thinking! So like it or not, it was time to pay my local salon a visit. I looked something like this.........

...............really!!!

I think the reason I hate going to the salon, is mainly because I'm never sure how I want it cut, and then 9 times out of ten, I walk out looking nothing like I wanted to! Is it just me? Does anyone else ever feel like this?

Anyway, I ventured in and an hour later emerged feeling much lighter! Oh yes, it did feel nice to have a good trim! I can't remember the last time my hair was this short, but I do love it. Should have done it ages ago!!

The end of a thing, is better than the beginning thereof!

2009-10-27T07:28:00.000-07:00

What words can I use to explain the festival we went to last Saturday.....I'm just not sure!

I was trying to post this last night, and add some photo's, but alas...I ended up deleting the photos from my camera BEFORE downloading them onto my computer......don't ask....I have NO idea how I did it, and I ended up battling with Picasa the whole night! Thus no photos today! So you are all going to have to use your imagination, as I am not going back to take more photos! One trip to the Texas Renaissance Festival was enough for me, and my mother, and my children!

Let me elaborate.

I had searched the Internet for fun, family events over the weekend, as Hubby was studying for his exam he finally wrote yesterday (that's a post for another day). So we needed to get out of the house in order for him to have some quiet.

I had found the Texas Renaissance Festival, and it was supposed to be a pirate themed weekend, which I thought my boys would love. I was advertised as being fun for young and old alike, as people dress up in the theme, and there was supposed to be rides and fun things for kids to do.
Well...... we bought the tickets (which were not cheap either), and off we went, early Saturday morning. There were crowds of people streaming in, and a lot of them dressed up in costume. At first, all seemed well, until we got further into the park. And my mother and I started to see some VERY scantily clad ladies (young AND old, mind you) parading around very casually, in medieval theme (i think it supposed to be anyway). We though it might get better, so we started to look for things for the kids to do, and found about 4 sparse games that were geared to young kids. Like a "cage" that the kids were supposed to crawl through. That's it, no prize, no excitement, no surprise at the end, just a crawl through a cage. And it cost $3-00 per child.......to climb through a cage????

We moved on.

The next thing was a round about, that cost $3-00 each, but looked a tad fast for my young ones. So we looked some more.

The only thing my kids went on was a log that they sat on, and were given pillows to knock each other off the log. It lasted 1 minute and cost $4-00. I know I shouldn't have paid that for it, but by this time all I wanted was for the kids to have a little fun, and feel like I was getting my monies worth for the tickets we paid for. Oh, and they went on a "ride" that was manually pushed by a worker there.

So, needless to say, we were very disappointed, and I really felt like I had wasted my money! And we weren't the only ones, as many other families were leaving when we were. We were on our way out, when we saw a parade of quite a few of those scantily clad ladies who must have been in some competition of some sorts. But when I say scantily clad, believe me they were barely dressed. It left little, if nothing to the imagination. Which might have been fine for all the adults standing around watching, but I didn't like it for my 6 and 8 year old boys let me tell you!

We left, and ended up at good ole "Incredible Pizza", and for those of you who aren't familiar with it, it's like a mixture of Magic Company, and Pizza Hut combined! Great fun for the kids, and a whole lot more family friendly! No wandering half naked maidens around there I can tell you!

Later in the evening My mother and I had been invited for supper and games at a couple in our church, and it was great to meet some more American folk, and just had some good ole fun! We had a really wonderful time, and came home exhausted, but happy! As the saying applies to us, the end of the day was truly better than the beginning!

My beef!

2009-10-19T19:25:00.000-07:00

I have a beef!

That's right, and I don't whinge a lot on this blog, so you are just gonna have to let me get on with it. Although I could say it's more a unanswered question than a genuine beef. But anyway, if someone out there can correct or inform me, I will be only too grateful!

My mother, as you probably know, is out here on vacation from the UK. And she had to get some currency changed when she arrived. We found a foreign exchange store at the airport when we went to collect her, but due to excitement and the hour and a half wait for her to get through customs, we forgot to go there.

So, plan B was to try and find the closest foreign exchange to where we stay. Easier said than done!
We tried our bank....they couldn't help us, and didn't even know where to go either.
Then I googled it, and saw that a hotel close to us exchanged currencies. I thought it a bit odd that a hotel would do that, but hope prevailed, and off we went.
No, they couldn't help us either!

Well, back to google I went, and this time I found another bank who said they could change currency. So off we went once again, and this time the nice lady said, "Why, sure we can help you!" I almost jumped over the counter and kissed her.
But, good thing I didn't, as her very next sentence was..."You do need an account at this bank of course...."
Last I checked , my British mother, and first time visitor to America didn't have an account here!
Apparently, by now, the nice lady could see the frustration plastered all over my face, and gave me a brochure of all the foreign exchange centres in Houston. There were three. That's right...three!!

Now firstly, I couldn't believe that in the whole of Houston, there are only three places one can change currency, and secondly, why-oh-why are they all in downtown Houston? Surely they must be all over the place?

Apparently not!

So, after all that, it was back to the airport we go! (I was not ready to deal with downtown traffic, highway changes and GPS malfunctions just yet!!)

And that, dear friends, is the end of my sad saga! Although it did have a happy ending...my mother did manage to change her money, and I conquered my first highway expedition.
So I suppose, all's well, that end's well!

Wheels!

2009-10-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

I am mobile once again......what joy!!!

I collected my car on Saturday, and let dear husband drive it home (alright.....I haven't had the courage to drive on the Interstate yet!!). But once we were home, I took it out for a spin, and it is lovely. Truly!!

And what space!! For those of you who remember me riding around Johannesburg in my green Mazda Midge a.k.a "the little green bomb", then you will appreciate how spacious this car really is. I feel like the Captain of the Starship Enterprise.....(I know, I DO need to get out more!)

My kids think it's "so cool", and all the space to move is really fun, and the fact that they have a choice of chairs is such a novelty!

Our only dilemma, is the fact that since the acquisition of the new car, our garage seems to have shrunk. No kidding!!

We have since learned how to become contortionists. As you can tell from the way we climb and bend our way in and out of the cars, once they are parked side by side in the garage. I have decided that the trick is to do it on an empty stomach. And forget trying to do it in a lady-like fashion...it's NOT gonna happen!

But who cares??? I'm on the move...I have a car!

Moonstruck??

2009-10-09T18:27:00.000-07:00

Image by auburnxc via Flickr

My mother and I have spent the most part of yesterday and today pondering the latest efforts by NASA to blow up the moon. Well...okay.....so they weren't really trying to blow it up. But when they tell me they are sending a rocket that weighs 2.2 tons into the surface of the moon, it sounds to me like they are gonna blow it up!

We did laugh about this, whilst drinking our 3rd cup of tea for the day. C'mon....this is serious tea drinking conversation here!!! We asked questions like........have we not caused enough damage down here, without starting to blow things up, up there? Have they not seen enough apocalyptic-Hollywood-blockbuster movies riddled with special effects, to maybe even wonder if bombing the moon would be a good idea or not? Will the moon really spin out of orbit and wreak havoc on our tides and seas? Should we have another cup of tea? (Like I said.....serious questions!!!)

Anyway, as it turns out, all of our concerns proved unfounded. (Well as far as they've told us anyhow!)
The earth is still turning, the tides are still.......er....um....tiding, and the moon is still hanging beautifully in the sky! I prefer it that way! It works!

Our first visitor!

2009-10-05T20:28:00.000-07:00

Its safe to say that the longest I have ever waited for someone to come through customs at the airport was yesterday.....an hour and a half to be precise!

We were at the Houston Airport to fetch my mother from the UK. She's here on a 6 week holiday. And it's her first time to the US. So we were pretty excited to be collecting her. And aside from the long wait at the airport, she arrived safe & sound.

The kids were so excited to see her, they spent the afternoon making welcome posters to hold for her as she came through the airport. And they started off waving those posters around very enthusiastically! However, as we waited.....and waited....AND waited, they kinda lost their focus, and ended up counting the luggage trolleys instead!

Nevertheless, we are all happy to have family visiting, and I am counting the sleeps till I collect my car.......5 more to go!!

Another bonus, is the gift of British chocolate my mother brought with her....Galaxy AND Cadbury's........now that's chocolate!!!

Friday update

2009-10-02T18:50:00.000-07:00

Don't cha just love Fridays?

I do! The knowledge that I don't have to get up before the sun, two days full of non-weekday-activities....heaven!

It's been a rather busy two days, well considering my life is pretty uneventful, any activity out of the norm is a BIG OCCASION!! For starters, Thursday was my birthday, and dear hubby decided to take the day off and took me out for breakfast and a movie. Good start!!

Then I asked him if we could stop off at a store I had been wanting to check out for a while. It's called Michaels and it's a craft store....my idea of a shopping sanctuary! Being an artsy-crafty person, there's nothing I love more, than to browse through an arts or crafts store, whilst drooling at the endless things I could create! And this is just that kind of place. Scrap booking, beads and jewellery making, art stuff, knitting, framing, decoupage......name a craft, and they have it! I only managed to check out about a third of the store really well before reality caught up with us, and we had to dash off to fetch the kids when they came off the school bus. But the little time I had there was enough to permanently etch itself in my memory....I'll be back!!

The rest of the afternoon was spent with extra tuition for Kellan, and then Open House at the kids school. That's where the kids show us all the work they've done so far, and take us around their class and school.

Then this morning I had my first experience of doing school volunteering duty. This basically entailed helping the teacher with group reading , and then doing odd jobs around the class that freed him up to do more productive things....like teaching!! Was an educational experience for me, seeing how they do things in the school, and I really enjoyed it.

Another milestone crossed today, is that Andrew got his Texas drivers license. Woohoo!! Now I just have to get mine..... But that's a blog for another day!!

My son.....

2009-09-30T08:26:00.000-07:00

The inevitable has happened.....the words that pierce a mother right through the heart. They came from my oldest boy, Kellan. He's eight years old, that's right eight!

Let me set up the scene for you.

I was letting him know one afternoon, that I would be coming to his class this Friday, in my very first school volunteer opportunity. In South Africa, parents don't get to do that, in fact the Principle of the school Kellan was in there, made the statement that he doesn't want the parents anywhere on the school property!! (Maybe he was having a bad morning?)

Well, Kellan sits back and ponders on this news for a while, while mother dearest waits in anticipation for squeals of joy to emanate from his mouth. And these were his following words....

"Mom, just don't embarrass me okay???"

What is that???? I know I was bound to hear these words eventually, but come on....he's eight years old! Eight!! Well, Kellan took one look at my face and started smiling innocently. I couldn't help it, I just started laughing, and asked him what actions he would consider "embarrassing"? He shrugged his shoulders slightly and looking down at his feet mumbled......"I don't know Mommy?"

So I asked him if I came into his class, grabbed him by the cheeks and kissed him all over his face while saying "Hello, my baby!!!" over and over - would that embarrass him?

He looked up at me and very firmly said "YES Mommy!!!!

I'm seriously considering buying a disguise...... you know, those ones like Tom Cruise wears on his 'Mission Impossible' movies. And maybe getting a voice altering device. I can see I'm gonna be using them a lot in the next few years!

Rewind

2009-09-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

I've had a few days of sick children, and probably ended up catching their bug too, so it's been about 4 days of coughing and blocked sinuses. Medicine, nasal sprays and hugs as well. But kids are once again off to school, and the house is crying out for some attention. However, I thought I'd first catch everyone up on what's been happening in the Hersey home lately. (I will get to the housework.....I promise!!)

The kids are doing really well in school. They love it....no, really!! I kid you not!! Never thought I'd hear myself say that, but it's true. They seem to have gotten used to the longer school hours, as opposed to what they were used to in South Africa. They have made friends, and are now starting to say "class" with an american accent! Some things haven't changed however, it seems the game of "kissing catches" is universal, as Connor has been playing here just like he did in SA. Lets hope it's a health conscious version of the game, what with the school worrying about swine flu etc, etc.

The only hiccup we have had to deal with, is Kellan's reading level. It seems SA is much further behind in this area, and Kellan has to have some extra tuition in order to catch up with the other kids in the class. It's actually quite concerning to me just how behind South Africa is, in this regard. I cannot vouch for Private schools in SA, as we only had experience in Public schools. But, I'm trusting he'll be caught up real soon.

Last week, I was invited by some neighbours, whom we have recently discovered are South African expats too, to a ladies get-together. They are all from SA, and call themselves "The Koeksusters". It was really nice getting together with them, and finding some answers on questions I've had since arriving in the US. It was basically the first social get together I've had since we've been here, and because I haven't made any other friends yet, it was great to mix, and meet other people. We had soup and salad, which is a very American lunch menu, and at first seemed a strange mix to me, but I'm really getting into it now. Especially brocolli and cheese soup...yum! It was very encouraging, and in the midst of all my homesickness, and loneliness, it gave me hope that soon I will have friends, and the homesickness will start to subside.

Computer bugs and Witty Wednesday

2009-09-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

Well, apologies for AGAIN getting behind in my blog. My computer decided my life wasn't interesting enough, and caught a Trojan Virus.......nasty little things these viruses!!

So after moving all my documents onto an external hard-drive, and removing EVERYTHING off the computer, we were able to get rid of the nasty and then had to reload all the programmes and documents once again, sans virus!!

So that held us up for a few days. And now my little computer is loaded to the max with high-tech anti-virus software, that annihilates anything that even thinks it's a virus. Nothing is getting past this baby!!

Once again, it is Witty Wednesday. And I especially needed something to make me smile, what with the computer saga behind me. I saw this little video, entitled "Are Women Born This Way?". It did succeed in bringing a smile to my face.

Maybe this is the evidence man has been waiting for, as proof of the fact that women do talk three times as much as men do......even at this age.

What do YOU think of this?

2009-09-18T08:51:00.000-07:00

Well, I read a disturbing article this morning. About an Arizona couple who were accused of sexually abusing their children, after some "partially nude" bath-time photos were found on a memory card stick taken to Walmart to be processed.

Now, from what I read, the photos were innocent photos taken during bath-time play while on vacation in San Diego. The children were 1 and a half, 4 and 5. The photos were shown to police, and the parents were not allowed to see their children for a few days, and did not regain custody of them for a month, while the state did their investigations.

The parents are now suing Walmart and the state, for making defamatory comments that they had sexually abused their children and taken "pornographic" photos of them.

Now, one can argue they should or shouldn't have taken the photo's to the store to be processed, and instead have printed them privately. But my goodness, can you imagine the trauma the whole family must have gone through during this whole ordeal? I can't begin to imagine how I would feel if this had happened to me? Now, I have taken bath-time photos of my kids before, granted they were babies, and young infants at the time....they wouldn't let me come near them with a camera now while they were bathing! But never would I have dreamt that something like this could have happened. It sure does make you think twice about what you take to get processed now.

I just found the whole story very upsetting, putting myself in the shoes of those parents, and trying to imagine how they were feeling while their kids were not in their care. It's a terrible thought.

You can read the full article here.

Witty Wednesdays

2009-09-16T07:34:00.000-07:00

Wednesdays are odd days. It's halfway through the week, still two more days to go until the weekend. And it's sometimes hard to get motivated to push through.

I know I could do with a smile or laugh in the middle of the week to help me feel good about Wednesdays! So I have decided to officially declare Wednesdays my "Witty Wednesday" day!! (well, on my blog anyway!).

I hope you get a smile out of this video....he's one of my favourites.

What's America talking about?

2009-09-14T20:40:00.001-07:00

These are a few of the Buzz words, and things that have and still are getting America talking....

9/11 last week, saw memorials and programmes being shown all over the TV. Still gets to me, even though I've seen the TV footage many times. I still recoil in horror seeing people jumping out of the windows, and seeing those planes fly into the twin towers like they were made of Lego. Unimaginable, and still very, very sad!
1 year anniversary of Hurricane Ike, that ploughed through Galveston and Houston. It was 420 miles in diameter and devastated the coast line, causing extensive flooding and $32 billion in damage. Crews are continuing to pluck shipping containers, sunken boats and other debris from Galveston Bay.
Michael Jackson is still making some headlines here, although maybe it's his family more so. Latoya Jackson, especially, for saying she believes her brother was murdered, and that Michael himself predicted he would be murdered.
Serena Williams for her outburst on the court over the weekend. But she has since apologised.
Kanye West for his outburst on the Music Video Awards. And he has also apologised.
Lady Gaga, for her very strange ensemble at said Music Video Awards.
(Photo by John Carson on Buzznet)
The death of "Dirty Dancing" star Patrick Swayze, at age 57. I can't even begin to count how many times I have seen that movie. (yes....I am one of those people!)
Caster Semenya it seems has the sympathy of the American folk, in general. And people don't want to see her loose her Gold Medal.
The new American Idols judge, Ellen DeGeneres. It sounds like a lot of people like the idea of her being the new judge, and hope she'll bring some humour to the show.
The new US Open winner, Juan Martin Del Potro, who beat former 5 time champ Roger Federer.

Chicago dances

2009-09-11T07:47:00.000-07:00

So I'm not really an Oprah fan, but I did love this. A Flash-mob dance, (no, it's not anything obscene, don't worry!) that is apparently the biggest one to date. Yes, they stage these things all over the place, so I've learnt. And Oprah knew nothing about it, for once it seemed, they got something past her! It was to mark the start of the 24th season of her show, and 21,000 fans joined in with the Black Eyed Peas, who were also in on the surprise.

I liked the fact that at the start of the song, no-one was dancing or looked like they were having fun except for one lone lady in the front. (I wonder what Oprah was thinking then??) But then things picked up.........the explanation of how 21,000 people pulled it off follows after the dance.

Bokomo, Mrs Balls and Bovril

2009-09-10T18:42:00.000-07:00

I know it's serious when dear husband berates me for getting slack with my blog! *hanging my head in shame*

However, I have finally found some semblance of order, and routine. And we even manage to fit in an evening bike ride. And now we all have tennis racquet's and Andrew has been teaching Kellan "some moves". He really seems keen to learn, so we will probably end up putting him in a tennis programme at the local Recreation centre. The kids really look forward to the evening ride now, and are enjoying school, so they are doing really well.

On a different note, we had a delivery the other day.....what joy!!! The parcel from the South African Food Shop.....woohoo!

Since Kellan is a HUGE Pronutro fan, and you cannot find anything like that here at all (which is amazing considering the ENORMOUS selection of cereals here!), we decided to buy 5 boxes. 5 BOXES!!! .....I hear you say.....yes..... well considering we got the delivery less than a week ago, and we are already on our 2nd box, I don't think 5 boxes is a lot...really!!

Naturally we had to have Mrs. Balls chutney....duh! Peck's Anchovette Paste hasn't gone down badly either!

A little taste of South Africa......nice!

I love long weekends!

2009-09-07T08:01:00.001-07:00

Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr

Well, in honour of today's Labor Day public holiday, I thought I'd find out for myself what it's all about.
And thought I'd pass on the information to y'all too. (Whether you wanted to know or not!!)

So here is today's American History lesson courtesy of The Herseys! (don't say you never learn anything from our blog!!)

I cheated a bit and have inserted a piece from the History Web site, but if you feel that way inclined you can learn more from their web site here.

"As the Industrial Revolution took hold of the nation, the average American in the late 1800s worked 12-hour days, seven days a week in order to make a basic living. Children were also working, as they provided cheap labor to employers and laws against child labor were not strongly enforced.
With the long hours and terrible working conditions, American unions became more prominent and voiced their demands for a better way of life. On Tuesday September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers marched from city hall to Union Square in New York City, holding the first-ever Labor Day parade. Participants took an upaid day-off to honor the workers of America, as well as vocalize issues they had with employers. As years passed, more states began to hold these parades, but Congress would not legalize the holiday until 12 years later."

That's it in a very brief nutshell!

Most families however see this day as the last long weekend of the summer
months! And I see that many stores here are having Labor Day sales, so I suppose many will spend their day in the mall.

We, however, will just be chilling out. And maybe look at getting out and exploring a bit.
I love long weekends!

I love my GPS, I love my GPS......really!!

2009-09-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

Well, you probably know by now the love/hate relationship I have with our GPS....if not, you can read about it here.

I have tried to make piece with "Roz", she has after all, helped us out of some sticky situations. (I choose to forget the times when she lost her cool with us, and led us on a wild goose chase to dead ends, and the proverbial street-with-no-name!) Let bygones be bygones and all that!

Take a look at this clip......and this guys take on the piece of technology we all love to hate!

Have bike, will travel.

2009-09-01T07:56:00.000-07:00

This weekend we joined the hundreds of American families around us in the weekend family pastime.....bike-riding! (Well in The Woodlands anyway!)

Yes sir....we all got bikes!

It was originally a trip to the store to buy a bike for mother-dearest, as I thought it would be a great way to get to the shop & the kids school, seeing that I don't have my car yet. Soon however, the kids were on the bikes and riding around the store having great fun. So a purchase of one bike became a purchase of three!

You should have seen the way dear husband got all 3 bikes into his Volvo sedan.....genius!!

Then the bug bit, and soon we were off riding to the park, and later watched the kids ride up and down the cul-de-sac. Sunday came, and dear husband was off to the store again, to purchase his own bike! (We did Walmart proud that weekend!)

My family and I love our new bikes. The same cannot be said however, for my gluteus maximus. It is, at this moment, a slow and steady job to sit down without grimacing in pain. Even in spite of the hi-tech air-gel bike seat that I bought. Oh well, I hope my neighbours think I'm smiling in pure biker-delight, even though I'm actually snarling in anguish!

My wish list...

2009-08-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

A thing you have to love about the American folk, is their ability to make life easier. In every way imaginable. And the one thing I'm referring to today is housework.

It's one thing everyone has to do, like it or not. Oh, I suppose you could just ignore it, and hope it will go away...but that's just gross!!

Anyway, as I was saying...cleaning...there is every cleaning product and tool that you could want or need here. Gadgets that eliminate the need to bend over, or stretch up in order to clean! A vast array of products promising to make things cleaner, whiter, brighter, sanitary, and above all easier. It's wonderful! Never before have I enjoyed shopping for household cleaning products than I do here now! (sad....I know!)

So I got to making up a wish list of household items I would most definitely invest in, if they were out there. Dream items that would make my cleaning regimen even easier!

A washing detergent that cleans, removes stains, softens and folds the laundry!
A duster that eliminates dust on contact, instead of just pushing it onto the floor that was swept a few minutes ago.
Dish washing liquid that cleans the sink after the dirty water has been let out!
A self-cleaning oven...that actually self-cleans!
A gadget that finds the lost sock in the laundry basket (my sister calls them 'rogue socks')
A window cleaner wipe that cleans both the inside and outside of the window at the same time!! (hey, I don't know how they'll get it to do that....I'm just doing the wishing okay?)
Another duster, that not only dusts away the cobwebs but gets rid of the spiders too, so I don't have to hit them with my shoe!!
Self-cleaning mop-heads.
Lime-scale remover that doesn't require vigorous scrubbing with XX Heavy Duty gloves on. I'm thinking an aerosol spray....that doesn't require any rinsing off!
A vacuum cleaner attachment that lifts up and untangles all those irritating wires behind the TV cabinet, before vacuuming.

Well...that's my wish list. Maybe you can think of a few more. In the meantime, excuse me while I go put in another load of laundry!!

More school talk...

2009-08-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I am really impressed with the school my kids started attending 3 days ago. I know it's still early days, but I really can't see it deteriorating any time soon!

Of course the only school systems I have to compare it too, are the ones in South Africa (both my kids school, and my own) and way....way....way back, when I was in school in Zimbabwe and the UK. Back in S.A. my kids were in government schools. My oldest was in Grade 1 with 37 other children, a few of them battled with English, and one couldn't understand English AT ALL!! The children who were doing 'well' had to help those who weren't coping, and became like 'little teachers' themselves, because the teacher just couldn't cope with 37 children all on her own. ( I am not surprised!!) The first grade teacher actually admitted that she had so many "difficult" children, that she spent a lot of her time trying to help them keep up, and was forced to leave the more "advanced" kids to their own devices (so to speak). It is very sad, to see how these teachers battled along. I often used to pass the classrooms and hear them screaming at the kids, I am sure it was often out of pure frustration! Once a term we would have parents day, where we would queue up outside the classroom, and get to spend about 5 minutes chatting to the teacher, to try and make sure all was in order with our little ones.

Since Monday (when the school year officially began), I have had ten emails from the school. That's right.....TEN!! Three from the principle, and the rest from the teachers my kids are going to. I have been to two separate grade orientations, met the teachers personally twice, and met the chairman of the PTO twice. It's actually hard to get used to! I'm not used to having so much interaction with the teachers. The one teacher even said she doesn't mind us phoning her in the evening, just as long as it's not too late!! (can you believe it??)

The classes are not allowed to have more than 20 children in them, and Kellan (my second grader) has 2 teachers. One takes the class for Maths, Social Studies & Science. Whilst the other takes him for language and arts. And they are SO organised! Every parent gets Internet access to their kids school records, I could go and look at everything my child has done at school, his grades, homework, syllabus and textbooks.....EVERYTHING!

So as you can tell, I'm pretty excited about the school here. And what is so wonderful is seeing how excited the kids are about going to school. It makes my life as 'Minister of Home Affairs' a whole easier!!

Chapter 2: Off to School

2009-08-25T06:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day of school, and mother dearest has to admit to being the one who was nervous! Both kids were pretty excited about starting school here, especially due to the fact that they don't have to wear school uniforms (yay!)

New back packs, lunch bags, hair-cuts, school supplies...check!

We decided to drive the kids to school the first day (mainly for the benefit of mother dearest again!). And there were kids everywhere!! Due to the heat here, we hadn't seen many around, as like us, they were all hiding away under the air-conditioning. But, yesterday they all came crawling out from the undergrowth. Did I mention there were kids EVERYWHERE??

I was very proud of my two boys (yeah, I'm going to brag...I'm the mother!!), they marched into their classes, and settled right down to business. And there I left them for 7 hours.......7 HOURS!!!!
As you can tell, I am used to the South African school hours. 4 hours and 5 & half hours. So sending them to school for 7 hours seemed like cruelty to me. Anyhow.....I've just got to deal with it hey!

I picked them up at 3pm and was very relieved to find them still smiling, and

happy - although tired. And they had both made a friend, which is music to any mother's ears. (The thought of my kids sitting and eating lunch alone, with no-one to play with, just kills me.)

So that was Day One, in a nutshell. Kids were in bed nice and early (woohoo!). This morning, the kids were looking forward to catching the bus, and it was really too cute seeing them climb in the yellow and black school bus, and wave goodbye.
Thus begins Chapter 2 of our American Tale!

It's the MOST wonderful time of the year....

2009-08-21T10:57:00.000-07:00

Since my kids have basically been on holiday since March this year........NO OTHER WORDS ARE NECESSARY.........................

My confession.......

2009-08-18T19:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'll admit it!!

I AM A REALITY SHOW JUNKIE! YES I AM!! (don't judge me!)

Now, I must stress that I am only referring to talent reality shows. I'm not into all the other rubbish out there. But give me 'American Idol', 'So You Think You Can Dance' and even.....wait for it.....'America's Got Talent', and I just have to watch! It's in my genes or something. I even have my family watching right along with me, bless their hearts!

There's nothing more satisfying than voting for the underdog, and seeing them rise to the occasion. Pulls at my old heart strings, yes it does! Seeing raw talent and passion pushing people to do more and more, and get better and better.

And I always seem to get my fill here in the US. It's like talent show paradise. Once 'American Idols' finished, then 'So You Think You Can Dance' began. And now that is finished (sob!) and I'm watching 'America's Got Talent'. And in a month or two, SYTYCD will be back on the box (aahh, the joys).

In South Africa there was quite the wait between shows, and going cold turkey like that was just not right! Now all that has changed. And I am a happy camper!

So it's not intellectually stimulating viewing. It's not educational, illuminating or informative. But I love it....it's fun......that's all.....somer net! (Afrikaans language for "just because")

This clip from 'Britain's Got Talent' must be one of my favourites....bear with me if you've seen it already. But I had to add it to this post! Enjoy!

District 9 success!!

2009-08-17T21:01:00.000-07:00

Image by 666isMONEY <3 via Flickr

I was just over reading the latest post on one of the blogs I've started following. And some good news for South African entertainment is the success of the latest film 'District 9', which is a truly South African production! I'm not a Sci-Fi fan, but will have to check this one out.

Please go on over to SA Expats blog to read more about it and see the trailer, if you haven't already.

Could there be another Oscar for South Africa on the horizon?

The Man Drawer

2009-08-14T16:46:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to all women out there with a husband....and a 'man drawer'.

Let me elaborate.

My husband has the unique ability to take possession of one of our kitchen drawers. It doesn't matter which drawer, how big or how small. It has happened in every house we've lived in since we have been married.
That's 13 years. 13 years of living with a 'man drawer'.

Now, it's not the fact that my husband has his own drawer that bothers me, it's the contents of said drawer that boggles my mind.

The spare set of car keys from his first car (that's 5 cars ago). 3 old alkaline batteries. Some odd looking screws and bolts from who knows where? 2 cupboard door keys from 2 houses ago. Pens that have run out of ink, a tube of super-glue that has now stuck to the bottom of the drawer, a few paper clips, and a digital watch.....that no longer works. There has been occasional instruction manuals to appliances we no longer have....actually I can't ever remember having! And that's just a few examples.

Now come on girls.......you know you have one.....if not in the kitchen, then somewhere in the house. I'm convinced it's inherent in all men......the ability to create......THE MAN DRAWER!!

I'm convinced too, that when challenged as to the reason why this strange assortment of objects was being kept, the answer will always be the same........."Well....you never know when you might need it!"

Are you kidding me??????

Now, we left South Africa 5 months ago. We sold alot of stuff. We threw stuff away. We gave it away. We were pretty ruthless. So there's wasn't much left to bring over. Just some big pieces of furniture and sentimental things.

So try if you will, to picture my expression in this next scene. I'm opening a box we brought over and haven't had a chance to unpack yet. I thought there were some of our winter jackets in it, so I was preparing to wash them before packing them in the closet. Then I find lurking at the bottom, an old shoe box. So wondering what it could be, I opened it up, in case it was something we had been looking for. Inside, I find.....yep, you guessed it, the contents of the 'man drawer' !!

He actually packed and shipped (all the way across the Atlantic ocean) the spare key from a car he had years ago! YEARS AGO!!!!

I waited till that evening to tell dear hubby about my discovery. Just to see what he would say.
He didn't fail to disappoint me........."Well dear, you never know when you might need it!"

You gotta love him!!!

The 'man drawer' we bought to the USA!!

Note the film canister.......it's empty!!!...........

An aeroplane toothbrush...pen cartridges..... car keys from 3 cars ago......

Expat life

2009-08-13T10:15:00.000-07:00

I have been doing alot of reading about expat women, and expat blogs in general. And spent alot of my time this morning reading other expat experiences and tips for others walking this same path, and embarking on their own "Great Adventure".
I'd never really thought how important this subject was, until I too, left all behind and began the sometimes exhausting task of rebuilding in a place totally unknown to me and my family. I see now, how wonderful it is to be in contact with others going through the same emotions and experiences as I am. Sometimes sitting here, feelings of isolation and even self-pity threaten to overwhelm me, but knowing that there are others out there (even on the other side of the world) who understand my feelings, just seems to help. And reading their stories encourage me, that things will get better, and this stage is only a temporary one!

Of course, my faith has also provided me with a safe haven.

I can vividly recall our (exhausting) 30 hour trip over here in March. And stepping out into the Dubai airport, at midnight, and wandering around looking for a place to let the kids rest for the next 8 hours. At one point I just slumped down on a step in the airport, looked around me at all the foreign faces, cultures and languages, and just felt overwhelmed. Thoughts of doubt started to bombard ....What have we done?.........We are so far away from home.........Have we made a terrible mistake?........... I just wanna go home..............WHAT ON EARTH ARE WE DOING HERE?

And then God spoke.

I just felt his presence there with me, amongst all the chaos and confusion, amongst all the doubt and fear. He simply told me he was there. Right there, with us. And the comfort I felt at hearing that, was amazing. It gave me the courage to carry on, get back on my feet, and know and understand that no matter where on this earth I go, He is right there with me.

I have drawn on that experience alot since moving here. And I know that I needed to go through that, to get me through the months ahead. It is never easy to sell almost everything you own, leave everything you know, everyone you love, and go somewhere totally new and foreign. Where you know no-one, and have no idea what you are in for. But I DO know, that it will get better, and roots will be put down. And friendships made.

In the meantime, I will keep writing down my emotions and experiences. Sharing with anyone willing to read them. I'll make the most of every situation, and enjoy every place I visit. After all, as my hubby and I often remind each other, how many people do we know who would love to be in our shoes right now. It's an opportunity we have been given, and we are determined to make the best of it!

Late night update..........

2009-08-11T21:35:00.000-07:00

The end of the day......the house is quiet, and ............ALL THE IKEA BOXES ARE GONE!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, that's right folks. After 13 boxes, and 2 weeks, they are finished, assembled and utilised! I was just in the process of finishing off the last item, when Hubby dearest said to me, "We should really make another trip to IKEA soon."
(I wonder if IKEA has flat-pack boxes of spare fingers, and finger-nails??)

DO understand that it is 11:48pm and not wanting to bore y'all with ramblings and sweet nothings, I will keep this post short.

So, aside from sharing my sheer excitement at the disappearance of the IKEA boxes, I also wanted to pass this little video on to y'all. It had the kids and I in giggles.

It's priceless............

Boxes anyone?

2009-08-10T18:52:00.000-07:00

Boy....another week ahead! Am I the only one who is convinced the fast-forward button has been pressed on life? The weekend gets here, and before you can say "TGIF", Monday rears it's head!

So far we have been in the house for three weeks now, and there are still two IKEA boxes staring at me from the hall, waiting to be assembled. Some other boxes in the bedroom that are crying out to be unpacked, and just things in general that need to be moved and put where they belong....and I just don't seem to be getting around to it.

I do have at least one room in the house that looks beautiful however. The Guest Loo!!! That's right!! Looks great, smells fantastic and is just lovely!
So much so, I have considered moving in there, eating, sleeping etc, etc. But that just wouldn't be right!
Okay, so I am making it sound a tad worse than it is. There is a reasonable semblance of order in our home, and every day I get to accomplish another task or two. Just not as fast as I would like.

Oh, but the joy I feel, every morning, when I get up, and the kids are still in bed, and I sit in the breakfast nook with my cup of coffee, and soak up the morning light pouring through the windows. With the peace and quiet all around (alright...we do live in a cul-de-sac!) and I thank God for this wonderful house that He has blessed us with. I am so grateful!

And I'll get round to those boxes....eventually!!

Minnesota Wedding

2009-08-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love weddings?

I have been privileged to attend many weddings in my life, all in South Africa of course. I have seen the casual and formal, the early morning, and late afternoon weddings. The sunny weddings , and rain-drenched weddings too. I hope to attend one here someday too.

In the meantime, however, I have discovered this gem of a wedding video on YouTube, that has already made the news here. So to all of the American folk who read my blog, my apologies, as I'm sure you've heard about this video numerous times already.

To the others, I do hope you enjoy this , as much as I did. In my time here in the States, I have found people to be fun-loving, and spontaneous. And this video confirms that.

It is a wedding that takes place in Minnesota on June 20th.

Credit for the idea of dancing down the aisle goes to the bride , Jill. Who say they only had 90 minutes to prepare for the wedding procession. They only had one rehearsal right before the wedding. The bride's father asked for the video to be posted online, in order for some of his other family members to see it. Up to now, it has received 17,6 million views.

I enjoyed watching some of the guests faces as the dancing starts, it seems they aren't sure what's happening.....and then when they realise it's all part of the service, they start smiling and clapping along to the music.......PRICELESS!!!!

Chapter One......

2009-08-06T19:03:00.000-07:00

Well, we are officially moved in! Our new home is wonderful, although some of the rooms are still in abit of array.

Overall, the move went very well. We received the keys for the house on the Saturday morning, and because we didn't have our bed yet, we only moved in early Monday morning. And then finally, our container arrived about 10am. It had been sealed and stored and over the seas, and was now safely in our driveway!!

After about an hour of moving and carrying boxes into their correct rooms, the wonderful removal guys waved goodbye, and left us with a whole whack of boxes to unpack! Amazingly there were only a couple of things broken, and the kids acted like they were in the toy store after finding all their old toys again that they had forgotten about. That certainly kept them busy for hours!!

We started trying to make some sense of all the chaos, and soon had some semblance of order. At the end of the day, we fell into bed, and spent our first night in our new home.

Unfortunately, Andrew had to be back at work the very next day, and as exhausted as he was, he got up and went off for the day, while I carried on sorting things out. That's pretty much how things went for the whole week. And come Saturday, we merrily drove off to IKEA, to get some furniture, and odds and ends that we needed.

FIVE HOURS later......we left IKEA, and thus began the wonderful job of assembling all of our purchases. I'm STILL busy.....................

Overall, it has been a great, productive week and a half. We now have a home phone, cable TV and Internet (oh, the joy!!!) and I can now get back to the serious business of blogging. I will also be posting some photos of our new home shortly.

Another wonderful thing we did today, was go out to the kids soon-to-be-new-elementary-school. We went to find out about enrolling them, and also to see what grades they would be put into. So we met the counsellor (wonderful lady) who assured us that they have a lot of kids from all over the world, which made me feel a whole lot better, yes it did!! Now we just have to fill in the forms, and school here we come.......yippee!! I'm not sure who's more nervous, me or the kids? Just can't wait for them to start making friends.

Oh, and by the way.....I had my first telemarketer phone call today......it's starting to feel like home already!!!!

We're on the move!

2009-07-24T19:36:00.000-07:00

It's gonna be a good weekend!

Tomorrow we go and fetch the keys to our house............. woohoo00!! Then we can go shopping for some bedding and odds and ends. And over the course of the weekend we will trek our stuff over to the house from the apartment that has been our abode since we landed on the 16th March 2009.

Then Monday our container arrives from South Africa! Such Joy!!
The best part of all is the fact that the shipping company moves everything in for us, exactly where we want it, and unpacks, how great is that!
God's timing couldn't have been more perfect on this one....the container was supposed to arrive only on August 3rd, which meant we would have to do some "roughing it" in the house till all our furniture came. But that ............. is no longer the case!!

I have never looked forward to a move before. And I've done my fair share of moving...yes
sir-eeee!!

We still have to connect our phone and internet lines, but hopefully I will still be able to blog, and keep you all up to date on the goings-on.......

"When the boxes are gone
And we've cleaned up the mess
We'll make a home of the house
That was just an address."
Jon Bratton

Fishing, fairs and fun!

2009-07-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

Felt the need to share some more Vermont stories with y'all.

The kids were kept very busy indeed, what with the evening walks with Tux the family dog, and some interesting Peanut Butter Play dough!!

And one morning they went fishing at one of the scenic lakes there. Of course the two Mom's were the ones who ended up hooking the slimy, humongous night crawler worms onto the hooks....not for the fainthearted I can assure you. Right there and then I discovered that I could never do the whole 'Survivor'-eating-gross-bugs thing!! Never, I tell you!!

The fish prevailed however, and had a good meal on us...... managing to chomp down those night-crawlers like nobodies business! We walked away empty handed, but at peace nonetheless.

Vergennes was holding a fair celebrating 400 years, and an assortment of interesting characters were there. Local townsfolk who dressed up in character and knew all about the person they were 'playing', you can basically ask them anything about their character, and they will be able to answer you. Fascinating.

Here are a few of them.....

And then, the kids played of course! Slides and swings and tyres, you name it! There was a wonderful park nearby, where we let them all loose for an hour or so. I had great fun just taking photos of them all.

Thank you Atherton Family for a memorable trip!!

To the Green Mountain State...and back!!

2009-07-22T16:03:00.000-07:00

Hello again friends.

We are back from our trip to Vermont with happy smiles, overweight luggage and fond memories! It was a great trip, and was wonderful catching up with my friend, who is now a contented wife with a husband and 3 sweet children.

She really went out of her way taking us to all the sights and helped us to taste (literally) the wonders in Vermont. Strawberry picking on Friday.....I have never seen so many strawberries in one kitchen when we arrived back home!! And thus the need for strawberry jam making on Saturday!!

Then it was off to the maple syrup farm, for some yummy maple syrup creemies (aka ice creams), and we topped the evening off with our first baseball game. We all enjoyed that, the kids especially loved the local teams mascot, "Skip". It was really a wonderful way to experience a piece of America!

So, it was indeed a busy time. And there are many photos of the trip, so I have made a slide show next to this on the right with some more of the photos for you all to check out. You can click on the photos to enlarge.

Vermont is a beautiful state, very green and lush in the summer months, although I have learnt there are 5 seasons there. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter & Mud season!! I would love to see it in Winter, and even Fall with the glorious reds, browns and rusts. Hopefully, we will be back there soon.

I will keep this post short, and add some more for y'all tomorrow....enjoy the pics of the scenery around Northfield, where we were staying!

Off to Vermont....see you on the 21st July!!!

2009-07-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

Yeah, that's right....the kids and I are on our way to Vermont tomorrow.......so excited!!
So I just wanted to let y'all know that I might not be able to post on my blog until the 21st July. If I can I will, but don't all hide away, and not come back, thinking I have deserted you for ever!

Do come back and check now and then to see if there is any latest news!

In the meantime, I will love and leave you with a really cute video, my friends Lee n' Jackie, waaaaay down in New Zealand sent it to me a few days ago, and it's really fun, and sums up how the kids and I are feeling right now............we're going to Vermont......woohoo!!

We'll be back!!!!!

The 411 on Vermont

2009-07-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

Well, the kids and I are off to Vermont on Thursday for 12 days...woohoo!! Andy is in Germany during that time, on business, and yes...he would much rather be with us!

In honour of our upcoming trip I have decided to give y'all the 411 on Vermont (had to do some research myself anyway...)
As those of you who have been following this blog know, I am a fan of interesting facts, and useless snippets of information about places. Therefore, I didn't want to disappoint you all, by not giving you some more of these nuggets of information. Which I know you all can't wait to read, and are sitting on the edge of your computer chair in anticipation , *wink*

So here goes.....

1. Vermont is 160 miles long and 80 miles wide.
2. Vermont is the second smallest state in population.
3. Vermont has the least amount of violent crimes out of all 50 states.
4. The capital of Vermont is Montpelier.
5. Montpelier is the smallest state capital in the U.S.
6. Montpelier is the only state capital without a McDonalds.
7. More people live in a rural setting in Vermont than in an urban setting.
8. Rudyard Kipling, living in Vermont in the 1890's invented the game of snow golf.
9. In 1846, the first postage stamp in America is printed in Brattleboro, Vermont.
10. The Green Mountains, one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world, run up the center of the state. In fact, the state’s name is derived from it: Ver, from the French word for green, vert; and -mont from mountain.
11. Ben & Jerry's Ice cream gives their ice cream waste to local farmers who feed it to their hogs. The hogs seem to like every flavor except Mint Oreo!
12. In 1886, Ebenezer J. Ormsbee and Levi K. Fuller ran for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Vermont. Each were one-armed amputees. Their campaign slogan was "two good arms between the two of us."
13. Until 1996, VT was the only state without a Wal-Mart.
14. Three quarters of Vermont is covered with forest, including ash, beech, birch, maple, hickory, oak, pine and spruce trees.
15. Champ is a legendary sea creature believed to live in Lake Champlain. Champ might be a reptile, fish, or mammal, or just an old myth or story passed down through the centuries. There have been over 300 Champ sightings recorded: the first as early as 1819, and most recently in 1995.

Well, there you have it, my expounded list of all things Vermont!! Or "The Green Mountain State", as it is also called.

Never let it be said you learn nothing from reading this blog!!

4th July....our first!

2009-07-05T15:13:00.000-07:00

We had a tiring but lovely day out in the Woodlands yesterday. Festivities started around 6pm, and we braved the intense heat by taking the kids to Waterway Square to cool off in the interactive water park. There were bands and inflatables, watermelon and hot dog eating competitions, (not at the same time, mind you..) and numerous other activities.

We witnessed again the intense patriotism of the American people. Red, white and blue everywhere, on people's balconies, in flags, on hats, and whole families from Grandpa to baby wore colour co-ordinated outfits fitting in with the theme.

We then hunted for the perfect spot from which to view the 20 minute fireworks display. We found a piece of lawn and laid down our blankets and enjoyed the rest! The temperature was cooling a little, and a wonderful breeze had started to blow, which really helped! The sun went down around 9pm, and about 9:30 the fireworks started. It was really loud, but really beautiful! The kids had never seen a fireworks display like this before, so after their initial shock at the loud bangs going on around them, they were soon squealing in delight!

I tried my best to get some good shots, but nothing can do the real thing justice, it's was a great show, and the finale erupted in about a minute of non-stop continuous multiple rounds of fireworks illuminating the heavens. And the crowds and crowds of people broke out into applause at the end. A truly memorable evening.

Kevin the chicken catcher from Kentucky

2009-07-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

It's the season for America's Got Talent here again, and as usual there are the good, the not so good, and the truly incredible!

We saw our first episode on Tuesday evening, and were delighted to watch a man by the name of Kevin Skinner. He introduces himself as an ex-chicken catcher from Kentucky. What fascinated me about him was his very strong accent....and his very casual, and laid back attitude to the whole business. Also really interesting was the reactions from the judges and audience. You could guess what was going on in their minds, before he even started to sing!

Yeah, I suppose this smacks of Susan Boyle from Britain's Got Talent, but hey....I'm a sucker for the underdog rising up, and showing everyone there's more to them than meets the eye!!

And I'm no big fan of country music, and definitely no expert, but I thought this guy was really good! Take a look, and decide for yourself..................

Gushers

2009-07-01T20:29:00.001-07:00

The whole family has been busy trying out the local foods since we arrived here, and sweets of course, are on top of the list. Chocolate is definitely better in South Africa, and the UK. There is NOTHING like Cadbury's chocolate. I have yet to find anything that can compare, even remotely with a Kit-Kat, or Peppermint Crisp. Many sweets here have Peanut Butter in them, and a lot of chocolate bars are made by Hershey's (no, not related!). And they all pale in comparison!

Just today however, the kids have found some sweets that they really love, and climbed into them with great gusto! OK....I'll admit it.....I did too.....don't hold it against me!

I decided to mark the occasion by taking some photos.......because there's just NO WAY anyone can eat these sweets on the sly...the evidence was clearly visible......

These little gems are 'Gushers'.....and they are soft jelly-like sweets, with juicy, runny....gushy...centres!! They literally burst in your mouth...and if you're not careful, all over your suede lounge suite and beige carpets!!!

They were definitely a hit in the Hersey household today!!

Home is where you lay your rump!

2009-06-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

In the infamous words of the Pumba the warthog from 'The Lion King'........"Home is where you lay your rump!!"

We have our home!!!

Yes, it is official.....we are busy signing the lease for our first 4 bedroom home in The Woodlands. We received the official call this afternoon from our realtor, after an AGONISING day spent checking and rechecking our emails and cell phones.

It is a lovely bright, clean, newly painted house, with lovely stainless steel appliances (double door fridge, dishwasher, microwave, washer and dryer). There are hard wood, and laminate floors everywhere, which I really wanted, as trying to keep light beige carpets clean with two juice-spilling, food dropping, crayon-drawing kids is a near impossibility! There is a formal dining room, and a breakfast nook. A family room, and a games room upstairs. It is really wonderful. And a lawn service is included in the rent. Even the realtor agreed that it is a good deal.

We are planning to move in around the 21st July. Then Andrew will be back from Germany, and the kids and I, from Vermont.

We won't have any of our furniture yet...but hey...a minor detail!! WE HAVE A HOUSE!!!!

It's a small world

2009-06-27T18:37:00.000-07:00

After we had looked at some more houses this morning......more on that tomorrow.....we decided to go for lunch to The Cheesecake Factory, a deliciously wonderful restaurant we have discovered since our time here. Upon sitting down at our booth, our waiter came to introduce himself, and take our drinks order. As soon as he started talking, we knew he wasn't "from around here", as the locals like to say. As soon as he left the table I immediately said I thought he was from the West Indies, or somewhere similar. But Andrew said he has to be from the UK.
So, unable to contain our curiosity, we got round to asking him where he was from. Turns out he had an interesting story, one we still haven't grasped entirely....nevertheless, he said he was from Johannesburg, South Africa. "NO!" we replied. "Oh yes", he said, although I've lived for a while in the UK (OK.... so Andrew won that round!!).

He went on to tell us that he was originally born in Lagos, Nigeria. But shortly after moved to Joburg, with his Egyptian father, Nigerian mother and twin brother. They sometime later went on to the UK, and were now living in the States. Where he is currently studying in the chemical engineering field.

We had succeeded in learning more about our waiter in 5 minutes than we had our neighbours in 3 months!!

We naturally told him we were from Johannesburg ourselves, and straight away common ground was felt! I had noticed during the conversation that the people in the tables around us, were listening with curiosity at the mix of " foreign" accents they were hearing. The Texans seem to be intrigued whenever they hear an unfamiliar accent, and enjoy guessing where we come from!

Anyway, I just found it very interesting to meet someone who spoke with an English accent, said he comes from South Africa, was originally from Nigeria, but was busy bringing me a club soda in a restaurant in Houston, Texas! The world is indeed becoming a smaller place!!

Some updates...good and bad!

2009-06-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

Got some bad news yesterday.....we didn't get the house we were hoping to move into soon. Apparently someone else beat us to it, by slipping in their application forms before us! Urgh!!
Anyway........moving on........we now have to start from scratch and look at some more properties, so that's our weekend plans! 4 houses on Saturday and 1 on Sunday. Yippeeeeeee!!
Am choosing to remain positive..............................................

We are hoping to sneak in the new Transformers movie in between all that, but we'll see how it goes. With the current heat, everyone tries to stay in the air-conditioned buildings, so everybody else may have the same idea???

Just an update on Andrew's work situation. He is settling in nicely and finding his feet. His company has a new MD, and everyone in the company is busy trying to size him up at the moment. Andrew is going for another trip to the parent company in Germany on the 12th July for a week, and so I am going to visit a friend of mine from SA, who is now living in Vermont, with her hubby & 3 kids. I am SO excited to see her again!! And meet her family. So watch this blog, as I'm sure to have some pics and updates for you all to see. It will be wonderful for my kids to have some friends to play with, giving me some time to chat!!! We'll be giving the kids a break from their home-schooling for that time too, which, needless to say, they are very happy to hear!

We also have the 4th July celebrations coming up, which is a big holiday here. Independence Day brings out the American flags galore. Red, white & blue adorns homes, and front yards, and there are many fire-works celebrations and festivals on the day too. We will be sure to find an event we can attend to experience it all ourselves.

Last point.....it rained today........wooohoooooo!! We really needed it, and it has indeed helped to lower the heat. Sigh!!

Too hot to handle

2009-06-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

Well, we need to prepare ourselves for 3 digit temperatures tomorrow. Apparently the mercury will hit 100 degrees F and higher. Add to this the humidity, and we're looking at about 40 - 42 degrees C.

This answers a question I've had niggling at the back of my mind for a few weeks now...... WHY, do I not see anyone walking outside in the gardens? I had imagined to see many people, especially the kids, running around all over the reserve, especially since summer break started about 2 weeks ago. However, the opposite has been happening! I now understand that everyone has been taking shelter inside, seeking relief from their air-conditioners.
I suppose this never occurred to me sooner, because in South Africa I am so used to seeing people out and about during the summer months. People are always outside....working in the garden, braaing, kids playing in the sprinklers in the yard, and a general flurry of outdoor activities abound.

The kids and I decided to step outside today, and see just how hot it was! It was the kind of heat where you feel you can't get a breath of fresh air. It covers you like a blanket. Oh, it was beautiful out there, bright blue skies, wispy clouds and the squirrels were running up and down the trees. But we didn't stay out long!
We decided that we could appreciate the view better from inside the house. And we thanked God for our air-conditioner!!!

The Sacred World of the South African Braai.

2009-06-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

I came across an amusing video today. It made me smile. It's the sacred world of the South African braai!! (aka 'barbecue') Nothing can compare!

But what is even more fascinating is the unspoken, unwritten man-code that accompanies this past-time. The secret law between men that you don't get between him and his meat! And heaven help the mortal who dares to tell him when to turn the steak, or if the fire is too hot. The braai will forever remain a man's sacred abode, the place where he reigns supreme and can conquer all !

We haven't had an opportunity to have a real "braai" since we've arrived here, and I know that my dear husband is chomping at the bit to pull out the braai tongs and get his hands blackened in charcoal dust! I know that as soon as we move into our house, the "grill' in the backyard will be lovingly cleaned and inspected, and the wonderful aroma of braaivleis will permeate the air once again! And I can't wait!
I love to watch him in action..... all the tools must be on hand, the meat must be fully prepared i.e tenderised or marinated. The fire gets primped and preened, the bowls should be ready. It's like watching a beautifully choreographed culinary dance. Attention to detail is a prerequisite. And the best part of all.......I can sit back and leave him to it......and just add the occasional comment like "That fire looks perfect dear!" and "This is the best braai you've ever made, my love".
Aaahh, the South African braai....there's nothing like it!!!
Enjoy the video!!!

We've discovered IKEA!

2009-06-21T17:29:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

It's official!!

I have found the store to end all stores......my little piece of heaven.....the destroyer of my budget!!

IKEA!!!!!!!!!!!

A veritable super-store of all things decor!! Furniture, linens, kitchenware, lighting, curtaining, and the list goes on. To make it even more appealing, there is a secure child playground, where one can leave the offspring to play merrily, while browsing to one's heart content!

Can it get any better than this??

We South African's have never experienced a store like this, so please excuse my excitement. Especially if you are one of the fortunate ones who have been to IKEA. Outdoor Warehouse, Builders Warehouse, not any warehouse can compare to this wonderful shopping haven!
We knew not what we were letting ourselves in for, when we paid IKEA a visit on Saturday morning. And dear husband had to drag me out kicking and screaming, while holding on tight to his bank card for dear life!

Now bear in mind that we only went in with the intention of looking for some coffee tables, since most of our furniture is on route in the 20' container from SA. But oh.......we looked at sofa beds, and TV stands, plates and glassware, recliners, kids bedroom furniture, and some desks to top it off.....such joy!!!!

Take a deep breath, I didn't blow my car budget! In fact, all we bought were 2 hot-dogs and 2 packets of crisps. Oh, and two cuddly toys for the boys. But I was tempted.....boy, was I tempted!!

We will indeed go back to our new-found furniture oasis, and this time, we will be trying the Swedish meatballs!!

Lost In Translation?

2009-06-18T19:55:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Don't you just LOVE the English language? I have heard it said that English is one of the hardest languages to learn... But what happens if you start throwing different forms of the English language into the mix?

South African English; American English; Australian English; British English....can you even get British English???

Well, having lived in four different countries myself, I can indeed agree that there are many forms of the English language.

Case in point......when living briefly in the UK, we called running shoes "plimsolls', later I moved to South Africa, and they were called "tekkies", and now I find myself calling them "sneakers". I have since heard from my sister in the UK that they are no longer called "plimsolls", but "trainers"! Enough already!

When we informed everyone in South Africa of our impending move to the States, one of the first reactions we got was....." Well, at least they speak English there."
I am beginning to realise, however, that we are in for some interesting conversations! Let me begin with just a few differences in our mother tongue.......

If you were to ask for a biscuit, you'd get a scone.
If you ask for a cookie, you'd get a cup-cake.
A garden is a yard here, and the flower-bed is the garden!
We call it a road, here it's called a pavement.
What we call the pavement, is called the sidewalk!
Don't ask for the public toilets here, you'll get a funny look.....here it's the restrooms.
Jelly is now called Jello, while Jam is now Jelly.
Our pancakes are their crepes, and our crumpets are their pancakes!
We would order a take-away hamburger, here you'd order a hamburger to-go.
Don't try and make a reservation, it's now a call-ahead.
You don't go on holiday, you go on vacation; you don't fetch the post, you fetch the mail and you don't have break at school, you have recess.

and last but not least......

Don't say you're going to the the beach in your costume, because they'll think you're going in a Halloween costume or something....call it a bathing suit!

I think that's enough to give you the general idea of how sometimes the things we say...... just get......lost in translation!

Old friends and new

2009-06-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Yesterday, I was mulling over my state of nostalgia, and grappling with the fact that texts, emails and
Skype just simply weren't enough!

Today, I find myself in awe of modern technology and media that can bring people together again!

I received a surprise visitor on my Facebook wall this morning. At first glance the name just didn't jog any memories, but a second look at her picture showed her to be an old friend whom I haven't seen for about 21 years! She was in high school with me, and I don't think I've seen or heard about her until today, when she popped up on my computer screen! She is living her own great adventure in a different country, and I feel a unique connection with her, just knowing that she has travelled the same road we find ourselves on now.
It's really exciting to 'discover' these friends again, after so many years, and between so many countries. It's like making new friends all over, and helps to lift my heavy heart again.

So, today I am grateful to be able to log onto my computer, and check out who's doing what, and who sent a 'Crazy Hug' to whom. It's great to be able to catch little glimpses here and there of my friends lives, and let them see into mine.