Life in Lusaka

Pizza in the Hood

2012-01-30T06:33:00.000-08:00

Our friends, Tommy and Elizabeth built themselves a wood pizza oven.

How cool is that????

I'm seriously considering asking Tommy to build us one too.

So yesterday they had their first run through.

And as they live in the "hood",

I call this:

Pizza in the Hood!

After all, we did have

Halloween in the Hood,

Thanksgiving in the Hood,

Christmas in the Hood,

so why not

Pizza in the Hood!!!!!

Part of Pizza in the Hood was to roll out your own dough.

We had a toppings bar,

and there was an insanely long queue.

But you know the pizza was good.

It even received thumbs up from Ethan.

LH3

2012-01-28T23:13:00.000-08:00

When I lived in Dar,

I was a, proud, member of the

Dar es Salaam Hash House Harriers.

For anyone that isn't familiar with the Hash,

it's a drinking club with a running problem.

We use to meet every Monday night.

It was usually a 5k run or a 3k walk.

We'd then get back together,

form a circle,

sing silly songs,

and then have dinner.

I loved it.

I was even given a Hash name on my 3rd hash.

I even hashed when I was pregnant

(and stuck to drinking water).

However, after Ethan was born,

the hash was harder to do.

I went a couple times with Ethan,

carrying him in a sling,

but the hash was around his feeding time.

Then, as he got older,

the choice was between hashing,

or giving Ethan his dinner and putting him to bed.

I hadn't thought about the Hash in a long time.

Then a colleague of mine,

invited me to join her and her kids

to the Lusaka Hash House Harriers.

Yup her kids went!

Apparently the LH3 isn't quite as rowdy

as the DH3.

It's also a Saturday afternoon.

Ethan joined me when we went to a hash in December.

It was the mince pie hash.

It was a small hash, but we had fun.

We enjoyed it so much,

we went hashing again yesterday.

There were a lot more people there.

And we're off.

Ethan loves the hash.

This week,

Ethan walked a dog,

and found a chameleon.

When he got tired,

Celia and Charlie

gave him a lift.

We got back,

and it was circle time.

First the hares entered,

then the newcomers.

There were a lot of newcomers this week.

Celia had an announcement to make,

so she went in the circle.

Since Ethan was on her shoulders

he went in too.

And remembered to take off his hat.

(No hats in the circle.)

You know it's a good hash,

when your son finds a mate,

and the two of them find the chalk,

and decorate your butt!

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 47

2012-01-24T08:31:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love the smell of baked goods?

Your whole kitchen, and possibly house,

smells delicious.

I came home today to that smell.

OMG!!!!

Love it.

Mary, our housekeeper,

and Ethan

baked some banana bread.

Happiness is a wonderful loaf of banana bread.

P.H.A.T.

2012-01-23T09:31:00.000-08:00

I've enjoyed the last 5 months living in Lusaka.

I've probably enjoyed it a wee bit too much.

It would appear life in Lusaka means gaining a kilo,

or two.

So when I saw the Six Sisters 8-Week Challenge

I knew I had to join.

I found some colleagues at work who also wanted it.

We tweaked the chart a bit.

And we're off!

This is week 1 for us.

Today is day 1.

I don't think I've drunk so much water!

I'm really excited for this challenge,

since it's not so much a diet,

as a life choice.

You earn points for being healthy.

Eating your fruits, veggies, drinking water, exercising.

My struggle will be staying away from the lattes

or anything sweet.

Or even giving up wine o'clock!

We've all put in 100,000 Kwa ($20)

and each week the person with the most points gets a,

non-food related,

treat.

We've even given ourselves a name.

PHAT

Physical, Healthy, Active Teachers.

I went out for a walk with 2 colleagues yesterday.

I planned to take a picture of me,

so I could post a before,

and hope the after is much better.

I'm a little scared of the before shot.

Let's see how I do at the end of the 8 weeks,

and maybe I'll share both.

Yes, I'm chicken!!!!

Morrigan's Cross - Nora Roberts

2012-01-22T09:34:00.000-08:00

My mate Sarah introduced me to the Black Dagger Brotherhood and the Drake Sisters. I love them both. She also gave her seal of approval to the Cat & Bones series. So when she recommended Nora Roberts trilogy, I'd be a fool to pass up.

To be honest, I've never read anything by Nora Roberts. I know she writes romance novels, but have never read one. Have never been interested. To be honest, when Sarah told me about the trilogy, I wasn't entirely sold. But then Christmas vacation came around and I needed some books.

Morrigan's Cross is a trilogy about vampires, love, goddesses, time travel. I don't know how else to explain it. In 17th century Ireland, Hoyt's brother Cian is turned into a vampire. The goddess, Morrigan, comes to him and tells him he must lead an army against the powerful vampire Lilith. He is thrown through time to current day New York, where he meets his brother and a witch, Glenna. Together they are the first of the army.

So, I have to admit, I had some issues with the beginning. So in the 17th century Lilith creates vampires, but the battle will happen today? The Gods are allowing her to continue to create vampires, and build her army for a thousand years before the battle? I had issues with Hoyt's time travel.

But I got over it.

There's a wonderful power between Hoyt and Glenna. We see Hoyt return to his Irish home, but a thousand years after leaving it. There's the relationship between Hoyt and his twin. Cian is no longer human, but still his brother, is he not?

The biggest issue I had with the book, was the ending. There was none! It continues in the second book. And I don't have it. But Sarah came to the rescue. She's sent it to me. So I will be back with news on what happens next....

Time to Throw in the Towel?

2012-01-21T03:50:00.000-08:00

Like any couple deciding to get married, when Scott and I got engaged, we knew we wanted a family. Two, maybe even three kids. I love kids. I taught preschool for years, and often said it was the best job ever. I got to play with playdough all day long. What could be better?

A year after we got married, we moved to Korea. The plan was to be gone for a year. We thought it was the perfect opportunity to do some travelling before we settled down and started having children. Well the one year turned into three years. At this point, we loved the Expat life that children got thrown on the backburner. In fact, we were thinking maybe only having one. And that was a maybe.

After a few years in Tanzania, we realised this would be our new home. We had a lot of mates with children and realised we did in fact want children. But now, many years had passed, and the idea of three kids didn't seem realistic. We were back down to one or two.

Once we made the decision, we were excited. We knew it would probably take a year to get pregnant, so we never focused on that. Four months later, April 1st, 2005 at midnight, I was being rolled into surgery. I had a twin ectopic. My tube had erupted. I had never heard of an ectopic pregnancy before, and couldn't understand how it happened since I didn't even know I was pregnant.

It seemed the dream of having children had come to an end.

The saying that God has a plan is true.

Six months later, we learnt we were expecting Ethan.

Thrilled is an understatement.

I always call Ethan my miracle baby. It seems that may have more meaning than I believed.

Since Ethan's birth, we've tried for another. We've had a few miscarriages. As Ethan gets older, the age difference also grows. Is it time to throw in the towel?

This past week, my little cousin came to visit. She's 11. Which means there's a 6 year age difference between her and Ethan. We went out for lunch, went to the mall, played at home. She gave me an idea of what life would be like in 5 years, if we were to have another. She's great with Ethan. Except when she disappeared and Ethan followed her. Has anyone seen the children? I would often say. But it was great. And made me realise how much I want another.

So here's the thing. We're not pregnant. And I'm beginning to loose faith. I've got mates who have had 2 or 3 and are trying for 3 or 4. They're not as old as I am, so you know they'll be blessed. And that pisses me off. I love them dearly, but why do they get the chance for a third or fourth when we can't have a second?

Let's face it. As much as I like to think I'm 32, I'm not. And I'm not getting any younger. We haven't been able to keep a pregnancy since Ethan was born. So, it it time to throw in the towel? Do we give up the dream? I love my family of three. But can I accept that that's all we'll ever be?

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 46

2012-01-17T06:31:00.000-08:00

While Scott, Ethan and I

love our move to Zambia,

my parents do not.

They claim they miss us,

but let's be honest,

they miss Ethan.

So they came for a visit.

My little cousin

(ok, she's 11 so maybe not so little)

also came to visit.

She convinced her parents

she could miss a few days of school

because she needed to see Ethan.

Don't you just love that?

We didn't tell Ethan they were coming.

We told him we had a surprise for me.

As we approached the airport,

Ethan announce;

"Don't tell me we're going to the airport!"

Ok, we won't tell you.

My parents made great time with their flight.

They were already outside when we got there.

Ethan saw my cousin first.

His eyes lit up and he ran to her.

He then acknowledged my parents.

Ethan loved spending time with his cousin.

They played like siblings.

It was great to see the joy in Ethan's face.

Happiness is playing with your favourite cousin.

Celebrity Husband Part II

2012-01-16T08:19:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I shared my potential celebrity husband after watching Ramona and Beezus.

I did say there were 2 potential hubbies,

but only shared one.

Thought I'd share the other, today.

Yup,

John Corbett!

I love how he's always the boy next door.

He was Carrie's love on Sex and the City,

and as much as I love Carrie and Big,

I was sad to see Aiden go.

Oh, and how can you not love him in

My Big Fat Greek Wedding?

Even in Serendipity,

where he was some new aged

musical guru,

he was still loveable.

Ah yes.

John is the sweet boy next door.

He's one to bring home.

He's the down-to-earth kind of guy.

Celebrity Husband

2012-01-14T23:54:00.000-08:00

It's raining today.

So Ethan and I are curled up on the couch watching Ramona and Beezus.

I loved reading this series by Beverly Clearly.

And since Ethan is in love with Selena Gomez,

he's loving it too.

While watching the movie,

I found 2 new celebrity husbands.

Here's one

Yes, Josh Duhamel!

He plays Hobart.

You probably know him better like this:

He's apparently got some Canadian in him.

I use to love watching him in Las Vegas.

Wouldn't he make a great celebrity husband?

(Yes I know he is a real life husband,

but not mine! lol!)

Five Question Friday

2012-01-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

I can't believe school starts on Tuesday!

I am so not ready.

My mum and dad came this week to visit.

My little (well, she's 11 so I guess not so little) cousin came too.

With the arrival of his grandmother,

Ethan has forgotten that he is an independent 5.5 year old,

and seems to think he can't do anything and his grandmother is there to assist.

Since we got back last Friday,

I didn't have the chance to participate,

but (drum roll please...)

It's Five Question Friday!!!!

1. What's the last thing you bought for yourself?

Hmmm... I'm not quite sure.....

When we left Cape Town,

our luggage was a little heavy.

Scott would tell anyone that's listening

"My wife likes to shop!"

Oh please!!!!

Who bought 8 bottles of wine?

Who bought 2 statue-like figurines?

Not me,

that's who!!!!

But of all my purchases this Christmas,
my favourite is my new boots.

2. What is your favourite meal on a cold winter's day?
This would be easier to answer if I went home this Christmas.
I could then tell you what I liked the most.
But as it's summer here,
I have no clue what my favourite cold winter's day meal is.
Although I'm thinking some soup would be lovely.

3. Have you started looking at swimsuits for this year, and do you buy a new one every year?
Not yet,
but thanks for reminding me.
I should start looking.
I bought a new one last year,
but not the year before.
Chances are,
I will buy another one this year.
While I'd love a bikini like this

this is probably more realistic for my body.

4. If you could be any candy what would you be and why?

When I first read this,
I misread it and thought it was what candy
I would want.
When I saw my err,
I decided I should stick with it.
And that would be a Reese Peanut Butter Cup.
Why you ask?
Because I'd love one right now.
(Can't get them here)

5. What are you most passionate about?
The obvious answer is my family.
I adore Scott and Ethan.
What's not to love?

But if we take away the seriousness of the question,
and think of something fun,
then I'm most definitely passionate about...
my lattes!!!!

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 45

2012-01-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

Back in April

when Scott told me about the job offer

and the move to Zambia,

he also told me we wouldn't be able to go home for Christmas.

I was not happy.

He said we could go somewhere instead.

Possibly Cape Town.

That didn't cheer me up either.

Then my mate, Louise, said her family would be in Cape Town for Christmas

and, well,

it started looking great.

We had a fabulous time in Cape Town.

We went to the Aquarium,

saw some cheetahs,

got a history lesson,

saw some penguins,

and got breath taking views from Table Mountain.

But the best part

of our vacation,

was Ethan being reunited with his mate.

Happiness is spending time with your mates.

Kiss of Frost - Jennifer Estep

2012-01-09T03:03:00.000-08:00

It's a new year.

Time to start a new reading challenge.

I enjoyed writing about the books I read last year,

so thought I'd continue it again this year.

I started my year off with book 2 of

Mythos Academy.

Kiss of Frost throws us back to Mythos Academy

where Gwen continues to be a terrible warrior.

She trains every morning with Logan Quinn,

the boy who broke her heart.

She hasn't made any progress as

Nike's champion,

but has stayed alive,

so that's good, right!

Gwen learns more about her magic here. She can tune into the memories of others and use their strength as hers.

There's also the Winter Carnival.

Gwen, still pining over Logan

meets Preston,

and hopes he's the one to help her forget Logan.

But there are Reapers after her.

They want her gone.

So of course,

this isn't the easiest way to hook up with a guy.

Plus Logan gets jealous.

(YES!)

I'm really enjoying this series.

Gwen isn't a hero that's waiting for a guy to save her.

Despite the fact that Logan comes to her rescue often.

She's determined to face her fears,

and do things on her own.

Can't wait for the next one.

On the twelfth day....

2012-01-05T11:19:00.000-08:00

On the twelfth day of Christmas,

In Cape Town we found,

Ethan on a carousel,

A view from Table Mountain,

Ethan turned into a pirate,

Gorgeous blue flowers,

Ice cream in Franschhoek,

Manor House at Allee Bleue,

Flowers in Kirstenbosch,

Shopping at Century City!!!!

Dinner at Addis,

District Six history lesson,

Owl hanging with Ethan,

And Santa came to our hotel!!!!!

Writer's Workshop

2012-01-05T06:03:00.000-08:00

What are your New Year's Resolutions for 2012 and/or how did 2011's resolutions turn out?

Yup, it's MamaKat's Writer's Workshop time.
This week, she's keen to know my New Years Resolutions.
Well guess what?
So am I!

I'm horrible with New Year Resolutions.
Every year I resolved to loose weight
and except for one year,
I actually did loose some.
Only to gain it all the next year.

And since I suck at Resolutions,
I've resolved not to make any this year.

Leigh made a pledge this year,
instead of resolutions.
Kim asked her readers to join her
in one of her commitments.
I,
well,
I am making a vow.

I, Tima, vow that in 2012
I shall loose 8 kilos.
(Oh please, you knew that was coming!)
I vow to nip Ethan's tantrums in the bud.
I vow to visit my brother in Ottawa
this summer
(since he never made it down to see Ethan and I last summer).
I vow not to let my work stress me out.
(Am thinking the 8 bottles of wine we bought here
will come in useful.)
And I vow to make a trip stateside this summer.
(Yes Sarah, I'm making this a vow!)

On the eleventh day .........

2012-01-04T23:53:00.000-08:00

On the 11th day of Christmas,

In Cape Town we found,

A view from Table Mountain,

Ethan turned into a pirate,

Gorgeous blue flowers,

Ice cream in Franschhoek,

Manor House at Allee Bleue,

Flowers in Kirstenbosch,

Shopping at Century City!!!!!

Dinner at Addis,

District Six history lesson,

Owl hanging with Ethan,

And Santa came to our hotel!!!!

On the tenth day....

2012-01-03T10:44:00.000-08:00

On the 10th day of Christmas,

In Cape Town we found,

Ethan turned into a pirate,

Gorgeous blue flowers,

Ice cream in Franschhoek,

Manor House at Allee Bleue,

Flowers in Kirstenbosch,

Shopping at Century City!!!!

Dinner at Addis,

District Six history lesson,

Owl hanging with Ethan,

And Santa came to our hotel!!!!

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 44

2012-01-03T10:14:00.000-08:00

Scott has some colleagues from Mozambique

who also happen to be vacationing in Cape Town for the holidays.

We met with them for lunch this week.

And Ethan

got himself a new girlfriend.

Happiness is beginning the new year with new mates.

On the ninth day...

2012-01-02T23:12:00.000-08:00

On the 9th day of Christmas,

In Cape Town we found,
Gorgeous blue flowers,

Ice cream in Franschhoek,

Manor House at Allee Bleue,

Flowers in Kirstenbosch,

Shopping at Century City!!!!!

Dinner at Addis,

District Six history lesson,

Owl hanging with Ethan,

And Santa came to our hotel!!!!!

On the eighth day...

2012-01-01T11:35:00.000-08:00

On the 8th day of Christmas,

In Cape Town we found,

Ice cream in Franschhoek,

Manor House at Allee Bleu,

Flowers in Kirstenbosch,

Shopping at Century City!!!!!

Dinner at Addis,

District Six history lesson,

Owl hanging with Ethan,

And Santa came to our hotel!!!

On the seventh day...

2012-01-01T00:57:00.000-08:00

On the 7th day of Christmas,

In Cape Town we found,
Manor House at Allee Bleu,

Flowers in Kirstenbosch,

Shopping at Century City!!!!

Dinner at Addis,

District Six history lesson,

Owl hanging with Ethan,

And Santa came to our hotel.

On the sixth day....

2011-12-30T08:05:00.000-08:00

On the 6th day of Christmas,

In Cape Town we found,

Flowers in Kirstenbosch,

Shopping at Century City!!!!!!

Dinner at Addis,

District Six history lesson,

Owl hanging with Ethan,

And Santa came to our hotel.

On the fifth day....

2011-12-29T10:26:00.000-08:00

On the fifth day of Christmas,

In Cape Town we found,
Shopping at Century City!!!!!!

Dinner at Addis,

District Six history lesson,

Owl hanging with Ethan,

And Santa came to our hotel.

On the fourth day....

2011-12-28T10:48:00.000-08:00

On the fourth day of Christmas,

In Cape Town we found,
Dinner at Addis,

A District Six history lesson,

An owl hanging with Ethan,

And Santa came to our hotel.

(I'd like to add that the pictures from District 6 came from the museum.
Sorry if anyone got offended.
It was definitely an experience visiting the museum
and talking with former residents.)

On the third day...

2011-12-27T06:28:00.000-08:00

On the third day of Christmas,

In Cape Town we found,

A District Six history lesson,

an owl hanging with Ethan

and Santa came to our hotel.

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 43

2011-12-27T05:42:00.000-08:00

For the past few years,

Boxing Day has been spent

me convincing Scott

that I need to go to the mall.

Sometimes I win,

sometimes I don't.

This year,

we're having a different Christmas.

Which means a different

Boxing Day.

We started our Boxing Day

with a couple of cheetahs.

We then visited with some owls.

Wine o'clock arrived early

this Boxing Day.

While we enjoyed some wine tasting,

Ethan tried some

water tasting.

Scott's favourite part of

this year's

Boxing Day.

Happiness is a wine tour on Boxing Day.

On the 2nd Day..

2011-12-26T06:13:00.000-08:00

On the second day of Christmas,

In Cape Town we found,

an owl hanging with Ethan,

and Santa came to our hotel.

12 Days of Cape Town

2011-12-25T11:42:00.000-08:00

I always thought

the 12 days of Christmas

were the 12 days leading up to Christmas.

Wrong!

It starts on Christmas Day

and goes for 12 days.

Since I didn't do an

advent calendar blog,

I thought I'd do the 12 days of Christmas.

Or rather,

the 12 days of Cape Town.

So,

without further delay...

On the first day of Christmas,

In Cape Town we found

Santa came to our hotel.

Destined for an Early Grave - Jeaniene Frost

2011-12-25T07:14:00.000-08:00

So I didn't quite make my 100 book goal, but I think I did pretty well. I think next year, I will aim for a more realistic goal.

However, having a series like Cat & Bones made coming close to my goal a lot easier.

Destined for an Early Grave picks up where we last left off. Cat and Bones decide to go on a much needed R&R vacation. However, Cat has haunting dreams. In her dreams she is running away from another vampire. She soon learns this other vampire, Gregor, is a dreamsnatcher (can snatch you from your dreams) and he claims he is married to Cat and wants her back!

Yup, turns out our dearest Cat married Gregor when she was a teen. Mencheres erased her memory, so now she is unsure what is real and what isn't.

Cat & Bones' relationship is put through the ringer here. And being a huge fan, I have to admit, I was concerned if they'd work it out or not. Frost once again keeps you excited about her characters and wanting more.

You know there's more to come. It ends with changes for both Cat and her mom. It will be one of my books I tackle in 2012.

Touch of Frost - Jennifer Estep

2011-12-21T04:27:00.000-08:00

I'm on vacation.

And right now,

I should be packing since we leave for Cape Town

in the morning,

but instead I've chosen to read.

Ah read.

How I've missed you these last few months.

Touch of Frost is book 1 of the Mythos Academy. Definitely a series I'm keen to read more about. Gwen Frost is a gypsy. She has the gift of psychometry, which means anything she touches, she gets a psychic impression from it. Shortly after her mother's death, Gwen's grandmother enrolls her in the Mythos Academy, a school for teens with special gifts. No the school doesn't have vampires, at least not so far. Instead the school is filled with mythology; Valkyrie, Amazons, Spartans, warriors. Gwen does not belong. She's a loner.

What's worse, she comes across the dead body of the most popular girl in school. But no one seems to care. Although Gwen was never friends with this girl, she is sure her powers can help her solve the mystery. And instead, she finds herself in the middle of a bigger mystery, in the middle of Chaos. Oh, and with a cute, hunky guy too.

This was an easy read. And an interesting one. I think I've found something to read on the plane to Cape Town. Definitely need to read the next instalment.

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 42

2011-12-20T05:38:00.000-08:00

I've been promising Ethan

that we'll make Christmas cookies,

like forever.

Bad mommy here.

Something always comes up.

Until yesterday,

that is.

Ethan and I headed over to

Betti and Cyana's

for a cookie making day.

Ethan and I made sugar cookies

while Betti and Cyana made hazelnut cookies.

I'm in love with Betti's oven.

Check out our great cookies.

Happiness is baking Christmas cookies with your little boy and mates.

Also Known as Rowan Pohi - Ralph Fletcher

2011-12-18T22:33:00.000-08:00

Let me start by saying I gave this book 5 stars because I thoroughly enjoyed it, was not critical of the parts that didn't make sense and read the book in an hour.

I've decided I am a fan of Ralph Fletcher. I read A Writer's Notebook, where he presents ideas on how to get students writing. It was an easy read and had great ideas. So when I saw he had a short novel out, I thought why not see how he writes.

Bobby Steele, Marcus and Big Poobs are mates from a working class background. They hang out at IHOP, since it's the one place teens can order a coffee or coke, sit all day and not get hassled. At a nearby table are some girls from the prestigious Whitestone Academy. When the girls clear out, Bobby finds an application to Whitestone left behind.

With the end of summer fast approaching, the boys decide to create a fictional person to apply, Rowan Pohi (IHOP backwards). They are all stunned when Rowan is accepted.

Bobby needs an escape from his home life. His mom and dad fought over a year ago. Dad burnt mom with an iron and spent some time in jail. Shortly after being released from jail, Bobby's mom left. It has now been over a year. He's not fully accepted that she's gone, and has issues with his dad.

Bobby decides to become Rowan and attend Whitestone. Yes, I'm not bothered that he's been accepted with no transcripts or that he starts school without having paid tuition. Bobby wins a full scholarship to Whitestone, makes it on the football team and even gets a hot girlfriend.

But we all know Bobby can't keep pretending to be someone he is not. He gets caught and suspended. He losses the hot girlfriend, but gains a father.

I think this is a great book for pre-teen boys. It's a good feel book which shows you who your true friends are.

Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood

2011-12-18T21:56:00.000-08:00

I read Oryx and Crake years ago, and was pulled into Atwood's world. I decided to re-read it after learning she's written a second novel that occurs parallel to this one.

It was a much harder read this time around.

But I was still in Atwood's world.

When the novel opens, we see Snowman sleeping in a tree, wearing an old bed-sheet, mourning the loss of his beloved Oryx and his best friend Crake. Snowman is slowly starving to death. He is alone in the world. Except for the green-eyed Children of Crake whom he has been left responsible for. The children of Crake are a new breed of humans, passive, docile, who are physically flawless, void of envy and jealousy. They do not understand violence or sexual drive, unable to be artisitc or comprehend technology.

The novel jumps from present day Snowman, who recollects events from the past where we gradually learn the sequence of events leading to the fall of humanity as he knew it and his contribution to it.

Atwood also leaves you with unanswered questions. Will humanity survive? Will the Crakers overtake? Are the Crakers really what Crake intended them to be; the perfect beings? Will Snowman find anyone else that survived? Or is he truly the last man alive?

Atwood has a way with dystopia. She is unique and unlike other dystopia series. Maybe it's because she, herself calls it speculative fiction. Hmmmm....

Celebrity Husband

2011-12-17T23:55:00.000-08:00

On Thursday,

MamaKat got me thinking

about my possible celebrity husbands.

It was a lot of fun.

Scott and I then had a date night this weekend.
We went to see New Years Eve.
It was cute.
And it brought back a childhood crush.
Jon Bon Jovi.

As a teen
I loved this rocker
and his long flowing locks.

Yeah,
Let's add him to my list.

While we're on the subject
of New Years Eve,
can I add
OMG
Zac Efron has grown up!
Ok, it's craddle robbery,
but it's also imaginary.
But seriously,
does this look like the
High School Musical
kid?

Five Question Friday

2011-12-16T09:22:00.000-08:00

Vacation has begun.

Let me hear a

Whoot Wooo!

What on earth will Ethan and I do

for an entire month?

Well, 2 weeks in Cape Town

so just 2 weeks here to get busy.

And we start our vacation

with

Five Question Friday.

(I need flashing lights)

1. What's the best Christmas present you've ever received?

This is a tough one.

Because you know I'll forget something,

and this'll be the time Scott reads my blog

and comments on how I didn't mention

such-and-such a gift.

A few years ago I got my beloved

iphone.

Gotta think that was an awesome gift.

Last year my father-n-law

bought me a new camera.

That's pretty sweet.

Ethan got me laser eye surgery

a few years back.

That was eye opening.

(teeheehee)

Yes,

I'm pretty spoilt.

2. Worst/Funniest White Elephant gift ever received?

The year I was pregnant with Ethan,

I was a member of the

Dar es Salaam Hash House Harriers.

That Christmas,

at our Christmas Hash

I got a potty ring.

Yes,

it was randomly chosen,

and yet so

appropriate.

3. Is your Christmas tree plain and simple (white lights and matching ornaments) or is it wild and crazy (coloured lights with lots of ornaments collected over the years)?

I dunno.

Our tree is like 3 feet tall.

There are no lights.

But ornaments that we've collected through the years.

You tell me,

plain or wild?

Ethan did the decorating.

Hence the uneven ornaments and

tinsel.

4. "How" do you iron your clothes? The old fashioned iron/ironing board way, the shower, back in the dryer, etc.
I iron
the Mary way.

:)

Yes I said that.
My dearest Mary does all our ironing.
She's the best.

5. How much baking do you do for Christmas and what are your "must make" items?
Honestly,
it differs every year.
Ethan and I always make roll out cookies.
It's tradition.
Last year we also made
pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
They were a hit.
We made them again this year.
This year,
I also made a chocolate pumpkin cheesecake.
I'll have to make it again when we go home next year.

Can you believe it'll be Christmas in a little over a week?
Which means 2012
is just around the corner.
Are you ready for the holiday?

Writer's Workshop - Celebrity Husbands

2011-12-15T07:13:00.000-08:00

If I HAD to marry a celebrity... who would make your top five list and why?

Don't you just love MamaKat's prompt this week?

I do.

(Get it? I do? lol)

1. Johnny Depp

I fell in love with Johnny Depp in 1987,

no I won't say how old I was,

but 21 Jump Street was my favourite show.

Somethings get better with age.

2. Ryan Gosling

He's gorgeous.

He's Canadian.

I am unashamed to admit I watched

Breaker High.

3. Ryan Reynolds
Another Canadian.
He'll deliver pizza.
And fight vampires.

4. Mark Paul Gosselaar
Yup,
from Saved by the Bell

to Franklin and Bash

he's always a cutie.

5. Chris O'Donnell
Whether it's Scent of a Woman,
Circle of Friends
or even Batman's sidekick,
how can you not love this guy?
And he brings in the whole
down to earth
that I do need.

While making my list
I had to put some thought into it.
I thought of one,
but then since the prompt was
marry,
I didn't think he qualified.
So I'm adding an extra one
just because.

Spike
Yes,
technically it's James Marsters,
however it is Spike I love.
In the day of
sparkly vampires
let us remember what I vampire is.
Personally,
I like my vamps
mean, blood suckers,
and cannot go out during the day.
And Spike,
he does not
sparkle!

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 41

2011-12-13T05:24:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to get Ethan a trampoline for months.

MONTHS!!!

I just can't find one.

Everytime I mention to someone I want one,

they tell me to go to Game

(shop here).

But Game never has any.

Anytime I see a moving sale,

I check for trampolines.

I'm always too late.

Some may say I'm obsessed,

I prefer determined.

On Friday I was told by a mate

that Game would have trampolines on the weekend,

and they would be on sale.

Saturday I woke up feeling sick.

But determined.

I dragged my sick butt out and over to the mall.

And guess what?

We got a trampoline!

Yipee!!!

Net to come in a couple weeks.

Happiness is finally getting a trampoline!

Arthur Christmas

2011-12-11T08:36:00.000-08:00

We took Ethan to see Arthur Christmas.

We had no idea who Arthur was or what the movie was about,

other than it had to do with Christmas,

but we loved it.

The movie begins by explaining how Santa is able to deliver all those presents to all the boys and girls,

all over the world.

These days,

Santa has gone high-tech,

It's no longer a simple sleigh

pulled by mere reindeers.

There's a space ship type contraption,

GPS,

and a whole lot of elves.

Arthur is the son of the current Santa.

He works in the mailroom.

On Christmas Eve,

Santa has returned from delivering all the presents

and Arthur discovers one child had been forgotten.

Arthur sets out to ensure that every child knows

that Santa cares.

Ethan and I loved this movie.

There were 3 very distinct features

that made this movie so perfect for us.

While attempting to deliver the gift,

Arthur hits:

1. Toronto

2. Serengeti in Tanzania.

Oh, and there was a letter to Santa

from a boy named

Alessandro.

Ethan was chuffed to have his mate

in the movie!

That's Not Santa

2011-12-11T08:25:00.000-08:00

We have a wonderful PTA at our school.
They put on all kinds of events for the children.
This past Friday was Santa's Grotto.
It was an opportunity for the kids
to shop for gifts for their
mums, dads, brothers, sisters,
and anyone else they want.
We sent Ethan with 60,000 kwa
and told him to buy a gift for mom and dad.
Each gift was 30pin ($6).
There were mums there to help the children choose a gift,
and mums to wrap gifts.
Ethan is very excited about his choices.
He keeps asking if we want to know what he bought us.

Later in the afternoon,
Santa came to visit the Grotto.
The problem was,
Ethan didn't believe it was Santa.
For one,
his mate told him last year Santa took off his beard.
And secondly,
he was a tad skinny for Santa.
I think I've convinced Ethan that it was
Santa's helper.

Christmas in the Hood

2011-12-11T02:20:00.000-08:00

I think I need to make a whole

Hood series!

Friday was Christmas in the Hood.

It's official name is the

Progressive Lunch,

but I prefer Christmas in the Hood.

It was a time for all staff at AISL

to get together,

share some good food

with good friends

and sing some Christmas songs.

The idea for the lunch

was that everyone would bring a dish.

You could choose a starter,

main,

or dessert.

Not being the cook that I am,

I opted for dessert.

Years ago I had a pumpkin cheesecake

and it was divine.

Only I couldn't find the recipe.

But then I came across a recipe

for Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake,

and OMG

it's great!

So if you're looking for a new dessert

this Christmas,

you've got to give these a try.

You can find the recipe here.

Letter to Santa

2011-12-07T09:29:00.000-08:00

Today Ethan wrote a letter to Santa.

It was his very first letter he's written.

We sent Santa an email last year,

but I seem to recall it being some template.

Ethan wrote the letter on his own.

I was hoping he'd be more chatting,

rather than start with what he wants,

but he wrote it,

so I can't complain.

I helped him sound some words out

otherwise it's all his own.

Dear Santa

Please can I have a Zurg and Lotso.

I have good

From

Ethan.

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 40

2011-12-06T05:41:00.000-08:00

This Sunday was

Cookie Exchange in the Hood.

This is not to be confused with

Halloween in the Hood

or even

Thanksgiving in the Hood.

Our lovely hostesses,

Jenn and Kate,

organised a cookie exchange party.

Check out the amount of cookies we had.

We also had gingerbread house decorating.

Kate was fabulous.

She had all the houses assembled,

and set up in an assembling line

with treats galore for decorating.

Ethan had a blast decorating his house.

We were thinking of having a

gingerbread house competition,

but how does one choose the best of all these houses?

It wouldn't be an African Christmas

without a dip in the pool.

Our afternoon ended with the choosing

of delicious cookies

to bring home.

Happiness is starting the Christmas season with mates.

The Return of Chef Ethan

2011-12-04T03:29:00.000-08:00

Chef Ethan is back!

We have a Christmas Cookie Exchange party

this afternoon,

so yesterday evening

Chef Ethan got to work.

Check out his new apron.

We're not sure what kinds of cookies

people will bring,

but didn't want to make the usual

chocolate chips,

or even shortbread,

in case they were many of those.

So we opted for

pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

Now, I just need to explain to Ethan

that the party is not now

but in a few hours.

Every morning,

Ethan runs to see where Jake is

(his Elf),

then heads for his Lego calendar,

then his Advent calendar.

What will our routine be like once the season is over?

Today's treat in the calendar,

was making Swedish pancakes for breakfast.

Thank you Darlene for the recipe.

Scott was utterly impressed that I made breakfast.

And there are so many left over

guess what Ethan will have for lunch tomorrow?

But the best part of today,

so far,

is the conversation Scott and I had.

Scott: What's the date today?

Me: The 4th.

Scott: Are you sure?

Me: Yes.

Ethan: Mommy's a teacher, she knows what she's talking about, don't argue with her.

Gotta love my boy!

Shoot. Edit. Submit.

2011-12-02T22:28:00.000-08:00

I've mentioned my blogging mate Kim

a few times.

She's got a new meme going on

to encourage photographers to share their pics.

And while I'm not at her stage

of fabulousness,

I do have a picture from this past week I want to share.

For other fabulous shots,

make sure you pop on over to

Five Question Friday

2011-12-02T06:22:00.000-08:00

Can you believe there's only two weeks of school left,
then we're on break?
Wow!!!
Since we went to Livingstone last week,
we didn't get our tree up.
But it's a small tree,
so it won't take any time to get all the decorations out.

I'm excited.
Are you?

Meanwhile, it's Friday. Which means...

1. What is your favourite Christmas decoration in your house?
There are a couple.
I love the decorations Ethan has made over the years.
While many have gotten torn, lost, or smudged in the flood
(different story)
I found these two still in tack.

But,
if I were to be utterly honest,
this is the one that I truly love.

My mother-in-law gave me this Santa years ago.
It has helped us celebrate Christmas in Canada, Korea, Tanzania,
and this year,
Zambia.

2. Do you finish your Christmas shopping early or are you a last minute type?
Well...
I'd like to say I'm early,
but truth be told,
I start early
and tend to finish on Christmas Eve.
However,
I'd like to stake claim on having a darn good excuse.
I start shopping online early,
by the time we get home,
hit the malls,
check everyone off our list
and ensure I got something
super-fab for Scott,
it's Christmas!

3. When do you turn on your heat?

This year,
the heat was turned on when we arrived in Lusaka
in July.
It was then turned off by September!

4. Do you ever wish your blog was private?

No, not really.
I have a journal for my venting,
or things I'd rather not share.
But generally,
I blog because I enjoy it.
I don't tend to worry about pissing off people.
Most people I would offend
know I have a dry sense of humour
and would let me know they didn't appreciate it.
Or else, they don't read my blog
and therefore do not know I made up a story about their snoring!

5. Do you put your deodorant on before or after you put on your shirt?

Before.
Yes, I am aware of the whole white stuff.
The deodorant is in the bathroom
and I change in the bedroom.
'Nuff said.

Have a lovely weekend.
Ethan and I will be baking cookies
and I'm going to try Swedish pancakes!

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 39

2011-11-29T05:19:00.000-08:00

For anyone who doesn't know,

I'm Canadian.

And I like Thanksgiving.

The Canadian Thanksgiving is in October.

Growing up, Thanksgiving was a time when

instead of my family traveling to Toronto

to visit relatives,

they would come visit us.

When Scott and I were together,

living in Canada,

Thanksgiving was different.

We didn't always get to travel to Toronto.

I can honestly only remember one Thanksgiving.

We were together in Ottawa.

I wanted a "traditional" dinner,

but a turkey for the two of us didn't make sense.

So we bought cornish hens!

Our Thanksgiving in Korea was a lot of fun.

The Canadian Embassy held a huge Thanksgiving dinner.

Turkey and all the trimmings.

Since leaving Korea,

Thanksgivings have come and gone.

We hardly remember our Thanksgiving.

The American Thanksgiving means

we need to get our heads around the fact that it's almost Christmas.

Then Thanksgiving happened this year.

I'd like to say we got Thanksgiving off

because it's an American school,

however I'm told not all American schools have this as a holiday.

I got to experience a fabulous Thanksgiving

with my Lusakan family.

There was turkey.

We had 4 turkeys!

With tons of sides.

And there was dessert.

Tons of dessert.

But the best part of Thanksgiving,
is not the food,
but the mates.
The people who have welcomed us
to Lusaka.
The people who have made us a part
of their family.
The people who bring joy to
our lives.

Happiness is Thanksgiving with your new family.

Crocodiles

2011-11-28T11:12:00.000-08:00

I hate snakes!

H-A-T-E!

Yes, hate is a strong word,

but it is a strong emotion.

I hate snakes soo much,

I'd rather spend my morning with crocodiles.

Oh wait a minute,

I did!

If You Cannot Sleep

2011-11-28T10:58:00.000-08:00

If you cannot sleep
because your husband snores,
you'll move into the spare room.

In the middle of the night,
your son will awake,
and enter your bedroom.

Since your husband is asleep,
he will not have your son go pee
or return to his own bedroom.

Because your son did not pee,
he will now pee
in your bed.

Your husband will awake with a shock
and come wake you to assist.

You will strip the bed,
but decide at 1am,
you are in no mood to change the sheets,
so you will suggest he sleep in the spare room.

He will go to sleep,
while you settle your son,
change his clothes,
and help him go back to sleep.

You will finally crawl into bed
in the spare room,
only to find you cannot sleep,
because your husband is snoring.

The End

Water, Water, Everywhere

2011-11-27T09:36:00.000-08:00

I have a wonderful blogging mate,

Kim.

Love how I call her a blogging mate.

teeheehee

Anyways, of all the awesomeness that is Kim,

she happens to also be a fabulous photographer.

I figure if I can have a teeny tiny piece of her talent,

I'd be incredible!

This weekend we were in Victoria Falls.

And all day today,

I had Kim's voice in my head,

asking me to see the water in a creative way.

I took way too many pictures of falling water.

Then this evening,

I continued with the Kim theme,

and played with a couple of pictures.

Kim,

these are for you.

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 38

2011-11-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

Sunday was one fabulous day.

There was a craft and design show in Lusaka.

In other words...

Shopping!!!!!

This place was packed!

And they thought of everyone.

Since it's usually the women that like to shop

and the men and children are dragged along,

there's a spot for them.

I managed to get some fab gifts.
I think I may have even found Scott's gift.
But I shall not be sharing those pics,
otherwise people may figure out what they are getting! ;)

And while it's hard to get in the Christmas spirit when it's so warm out,
they took care of that.

I like to call her the Pimms lady.
For anyone who knows me,
Christmas is not Christmas
until the Pimms comes out.

Even Scott got into the Pimms.

After the market, we went for lunch.

Ethan says,
"Look Connor, I went to Chicago's!"

Happiness is a wonderful Sunday shopping and lunching with the family.

Princess Stinky-Toes and the Brave Frog Robert - Leslie Elizabeth Watts

2011-11-20T06:35:00.000-08:00

So as a mum and teacher, I read tons of children's books. And although I write about the books I've read, I've never written about a children's book. Until now.

Ethan found this book in my collection. Yes my collection. I cannot recall when I bought it, nor did I remember ever reading it. So when Ethan asked me to read it, I was happy to.

Princess Stinky-Toes and the Brave Frog Robert is not your typical fairytale. Yes, it has the elements of a traditional fairy tale; princess, magic, good vs evil, but that's as far as it goes. This one would be classified as a fractured fairy tale.

As opposed to the helpless princess that relies on a brave knight to save her, this princess is out to save herself. Well, with the help of a brave frog named Robert. She learns a witch intends to feed her to a dragon on her birthday. She also learns the dragon likes beautiful princesses. So instead of accepting her fate, she refuses to bathe for a year, leading her to be a disgusting princess.

I don't dislike fairy tales. I actually really love them. I even collect Cinderella books. Yes, you read that right. I own about 15 different Cinderella books. And yet while I love my Cinderellas, I'm now a huge fan of Princess Stinky-Toes!

Friday Five

2011-11-18T06:35:00.000-08:00

It's Friday!!!!

Yipee!!!!

It's been a stressful week,

but the weekend is looking good.

There's a craft show so I can start my Christmas shopping

and Sunday we're taking Ethan to see the secondary kids in

The Wiz!

1. Do you have a song that always puts you in a good mood?

So, I'm not really sure if there's a particular song that brightens my mood. However, I do seem to have a habit of singing in class, and it tends to cheer up the whole class. That is, of course, until they beg me to stop singing!!!

I can usually be found singing;

I'd like to be

Under the sea,

In an octopus' garden

In the shade.

And you can always rely on my kids to sing along.

2. Are you a real Christmas tree kind of person or do you go with a real fake one?

I do love the real trees. However, I could never find them in Dar, and doubt I'll find one here. Instead, we have a cute little, and by little I mean little, tree we put up every year. We have been collecting ornaments every year, I almost wonder if they will all fit on our little tree this year!

3. What are you thankful for?

I've had a rough week.

The joys this week are;

My husband and Ethan - I'm so grateful to have you both.

My principal - I am thankful for your support.

Jodie - Thank you for letting me cry on your shoulder this week.

Sarah - This week, your Viber texts brought a smile to my face.

4. Which fashion fab from the past do you wish you could wear today?

Could I simply ask to be as slim as I was in the past so I could wear those clothes?

I'm cold right now,

so thinking a pair of legwarmers would be fab!

5. Do you wait until the "low fuel" light comes on before you fill up the gas tank?

I wait.

Granted, currently I am car-less

as Scott has the car.

However, if I had a car.

I'd wait.

And make Scott fill it.

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 37

2011-11-15T07:50:00.000-08:00

I love chocolate.

Probably too much.

I remember once, before lunch, I had a craving for something sweet.

I grabbed a piece of chocolate.

Scott was not impressed!

"Chocolate? In the morning?"

Well guess what?

I can have chocolate any morning.

That's right.

And not because I'm an adult, so I can.

But chocolate tea.

Yes, you read that right.

Guess what I found this summer?

Yup, you read that right.

Chocolate Conspiracy Black Tea!

So every morning, while I get Ethan ready for school,

I let it steap.

Then place it in my handy-duty Starbucks mug to take to school.

Happiness is a little bit of chocolate to get your day started off right.

Thank You Sarah

2011-11-12T23:17:00.000-08:00

My mate, Sarah, has a fabulous blog. Have you been there yet? No!!! Why not??? You can visit her here.

A few weeks ago, Sarah had a Shutterfly give-away. I don't normally enter give-aways, but now I have a US mailing address and am not sure where to make my cards here, so I thought; why not? I need to make some Christmas cards, and this would make life easier.

Guess what??? I won!!! Teeheehee.

Ok, let me just say there are way too many choices. It took me forever to choose one card. But I finally did! What do you think of it?

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Thank you Sarah and Shutterfly!!

Making Thinking Visible - Ron Ritcchart

2011-11-11T09:43:00.000-08:00

Did you know the verb think is the 12th most used verb in the English Language?

Shocking! I know!

What's even more stunning, as a teacher, I probably use that word a gazillion times.

Making Thinking Visible is a research-based approach to teaching thinking which began at Harvard's Project Zero. The book is filled with strategies to get your children thinking more.

Don't be rolling your eyes!

While reading the book, I made a conscience effort to use the word think less and use other words; connection, comparison, prediction, estimate. It's amazing the different responses you get by changing one word.

I've even begun some of the strategies in my classroom. You can take a look at the See, Think Wonder strategy here.

If you're a teacher and want to open your students' minds, you'll love this book.

Five Question Friday

2011-11-11T06:32:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love the blogging world?

Yesterday I blogged about needing Ethan to sleep through the night,

or if he were to wake up, to at least go back to sleep

in his own room.

And guess what?

He did!!!!

He slept through the entire night.

Touch wood it continues.

Ethan and I are in for a quiet weekend.

Scott and I had a date night planned today.

And a party tomorrow.

And an afternoon of wine drinking at Sugarbush on Sunday.

Then Scott got invited to go fishing.

The Kiambi Invitational Open.

So, instead, Ethan and I will relax.

I have some work to do,

so it should work out ok.

Meanwhile, it's

Five Question Friday!

What's the last thing you spent too much money on?

Teeheehee.
Do I have to be honest?
According to Scott, everything I buy is too much.
I haven't made any huge purchases lately.
Again, shopping not the best here.
I did, however, spend too much on Ethan's Santa gift.
Even I'll admit it was stupid.
Ethan mentioned he would ask Santa for Lotso.

I found one.
For 40 Quid.
$65!

What celeb chef would you want to make you dinner?

So, I've thought about this.
I love Michael Smith (Canadian), Michael Symon and Jamie Oliver.
I even think Paula Dean would be a blast to have over.
If I could survive her love of butter.
But, if I could get a celeb chef,
I'd have to choose
Guy Fieri.
And this is why,
he makes kick ass food,
with a cool beverage,
and
after dinner,
we could play
Minute to Win it!

Where do you hide things when visitors pop over or do you let them see the real deal?

See, these are the questions which make me look snobby.
We have a pile of photographs on the floor
that I plan to hang this weekend.
Asides from that,
we've got Mary.
If we're having company come over
she'll make sure the house is spotless.

Who is your oldest living family member?

Yikes!
Am not sure.
I think my dad has a brother that's in his late 70s.
So will have to go for that.
(Feel like this was a trivia question -
did I win?)

What is your favourite DQ treat ?
As soon as I saw this,
my mouth watered
thinking of their banana splits.

But as I started writing this,

my mind wandered over to the Blizzard.

Oh I'm so confused!

Need Sleep

2011-11-10T07:41:00.000-08:00

Ethan was a great sleeper.

Notice I said was?

One night, when he was about 3 months old,

Scott woke up in the middle of the night.

He asked me if Ethan had woken.

"No," I replied in a dreamy state.

"Did you check on him?" he asked.

Well Ethan was soundly asleep.

And from that day on,

he slept through the night.

All my mates were envious.

They had children waking numerous times a night.

And then Ethan turned 4.

And suddenly he's waking at night.

I know the whole Supernanny thing says to walk them back to bed.

But at 1am, you need to make sure he pees.

And then he decided he wanted to sleep in our bed.

But Ethan tosses and turns all night,

so if we want sleep, it's not a good idea

to have him sleep with us.

About 2 months ago,

this all ended

and Ethan was back to sleeping through the night.

Until last week that is...

With Ethan being sick,

he'd wake at 10pm with a fever.

Concerned,

and wanting to watch over him,

I'd let him sleep with us.

But now Ethan's better.

Yeah, he's better!

Only he's back to waking in the middle of the night.

And he's back to insisting on sleeping with us.

For 2 nights,

we didn't want the fight,

only to have him kick Scott out of bed.

Last night,

we faced the challenge,

twice.

So now, I need some sleep.

Please Ethan,

please sleep through the night.

Or if you do wake,

go back to sleep.

Your

Own

Room!

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 36

2011-11-08T06:35:00.000-08:00

It has been a rough weekend.

Ethan's been sick.

And I was feeling the guilt of being a working mom.

I was on course from

Thursday - Saturday

and left my poor sick boy behind.

But in the midst of

sickness and workshops

I got a little something to brighten the house.

Happiness is beautiful roses that brighten the home.

Five Question Friday

2011-11-04T07:32:00.000-07:00

My dearest Ethan woke up Wednesday night with a fever.
He stayed home from school, yesterday.
He was not happy about that.
He was convinced with some medicine,
he could handle school.
What's worse,
is I couldn't stay home with him.
Normally,
I'd have no problem calling into work,
and telling them I can't come in,
but,
I'm on course.
I'm attending a PYP workshop.

We made an appointment with the paediatrician today.
So instead of missing the whole workshop,
I missed a bit.
Ethan doesn't have malaria.
It's viral.
We're hoping he feels better soon.

Meanwhile,
it's Friday!

1. What movie do you love to quote?

I'm not a movie quoter.
I do have lines I love from movies.
What do you want to marry me for, anyhow?
So I can kiss you anytime I want.
Maggots Michael. You're eating maggots.
But I don't quote them.

2. Have you ever ridden a motorcycle?

Yes.
Oh, you want details?
Nothing too exciting.
Went on a couple dates with a guy who had a bike.
Thought it was pretty cool.
A few years later,
I thought men with bikes were sexy.

3. What's your favourite thing to do on a rainy day?
Make myself a cup of hot chocolate,
curl up on the sofa,
with a blanket
and a book.

4. Do you prefer a bunch of small gifts, or one really big (expensive) gift?

This is a loaded question.
When we go home for Christmas,
small gifts make packing easier.
But not a whole bunch of small gifts.
Big gifts are great.
Except when your brother buys your son
a huge gift and you're stuck trying to figure out how to pack it.

5. Do you ever lose track of days and show up somewhere wrong?

I tend to confuse days.
I'll tell Ethan he has an activity
that he doesn't.
Or confuse my students.
I usually catch it,
so we don't show up somewhere wrong.
However,
when we're on vacation,
I'm utterly clueless!

Writer's Workshop

2011-11-03T06:57:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago,

MamaKat asked us to make a list of

22 things we have not done.

Last week she asked for a list

of 22 things you have done.

This week she's asking to expand,

tell a story behind one of the things

you've done.

Last week, we had internet issues

so I wasn't able to post my have done list.

So this week,

thought I'd combine the two.

22 Things I Have Done

1. I have been to Paris.

When I was working in Canada,

a mate of mine had her husband surprise her

with a trip to Paris for her 30th.

I told Scott I wanted that.

Well we didn't quite make it for my 30th,

but we made it there.

2. I have had a bikini wax.

I only add this,

as there were posts in the

have not done

of people who have not had a bikini wax.

Well,

I have.

3. I have been on an African safari.

Well,

when you live in Africa,

go on safari.

4. Climbed Mt Kilimanjaro

You cannot live in Tanzania

without having climbed Kili.

5. Given birth

No brainer there.

6. I have had my heart broken.

7. I have trekked through Northern Thailand.

8. Been to Borocay.

9. Been on a cruise of the Greek Islands.

10. I have spent way too much money at Target.

Although I refuse to admit that to my husband.

11. Have had laser eye surgery.

At the moment I was having it done,

I truly thought it was the dumbest thing I ever did,

but now think it was the greatest.

12. Have had surgery.

13. Gone without power for over 15 hours.

Ah, the joys of Tanzania!

14. Been in the Chu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam.

15. Watched Grease a gazillion times.

16. Met Michael Damian

And thought that made me the coolest.

17. Been snowboarding.

Or, as I like to say,

I took snowboarding lessons,

and learnt to stop without falling down.

18. I have broken a finger

playing beach volleyball.

19. Taken Indian cooking lessons

but I still cannot cook.

20. Gotten a tattoo and had my belly pierced.

Not on the same day.

21. "Met" some of the best women ever.

I don't know what I'd do without my Seeds.

Although we've never met in person,

this bunch of ladies are some of my best mates.

I cannot imagine not knowing them.

22. I have become a blogger.

Chef Ethan - Carrot and Feta Biscuits

2011-11-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

Ethan mixes butter and flour.

Add some feta.

Handful of shredded carrots.

And mix.

Marta helps him pour in some milk.

And Ethan forms it into a dough.

Cookie cutters!

I love how he places each cut out neatly on his baking sheet.

Before they go in the oven,

and after they\re cooked.

Tada!

Carrot & feta biscuits.

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 35

2011-11-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

I love Halloween.

Let me explain just how much,

my students will tell you that

"Ms Tima doesn't love Halloween,

she loooooves Halloween".

Last year, Halloween was great.

Ethan had a party, Scott and I had a party

and Valhalla organised trick-or-treating and a little get-together.

Moving to Lusaka made me nervous.

Would we have a great Halloween?

Ah, hell yes!!!!

Friday afternoon there was a kids' party at Kilimanjaro Cafe.

Friday evening, the PTA organised a trunk-or-treat.

Along with Ethan's Bibi,

we decorated her car.

Ethan had a blast.

He refused to say "trick or treat".

He thought we should say

"trunk or treat".

Sunday was Halloween in the Hood.

The teachers on campus housing

had a little get-together.

There was a Braai, games and

trick-or-treating.

Happiness is a fabulous Halloween in Lusaka.

Five Question Friday

2011-10-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

It's the beginning of our Halloween weekend.

Yes weekend.

This entire weekend is filled with Halloween events.

Ethan attended a Halloween party at Kilimanjaro Cafe this afternoon.

We later had the PTA's Trunk or Treat.

Tomorrow, Scott and I are going to a Halloween party,

and Sunday is Halloween in the Hood,

followed by trick or treating.

And even though it's been an exciting day,

it's now time for

Five Question Friday!

1. Do you prefer cotton, silk or flannel sheets?

Cotton. In this heat, silk is sticky and flannel is too hot!

2. What time zone are you in?

I'm embarrassed to say I have absolutely no clue.

Seriously.

I had to Google it.

And apparently it's CAT.

That's Central African Time.

3. What is your favourite part of the holiday season?

Scott would tell you my favourite part is the gifts.

And while I do admit,

I love seeing pressies under the tree,

my favourite part is being home.

With family.

And we're not going home this Christmas.

And even though I know we'll have a great Christmas

it won't be the same.

4. What is your favourite "wintry" drink?

Well that's easy.

Every winter, when we go home,

you can always be sure you'll find me

sitting on the sofa,

with an blanket around my shoulders,

drinking a hot chocolate,

with Baileys.

5. In your opinion, what is the worst job in the world?

Hmmm...

This needs some thinking.

Snake charmers.

But that's because I'm utterly terrified of snakes.

The guy who cleans up after the animals in the zoo.

Exterminators.

At Grave's End - Jeaniene Frost

2011-10-28T11:41:00.000-07:00

Can you tell I'm loving Cat and Bones?

At Grave's End is the 3rd instalment in the Cat & Bones series, and it's just as exciting as it's predecessors'.

Cat, the half vampire with flaming red hair has made it her mission (and well, it's her job) to kill the baddest vampires around. But there can only be so many disguises before vampires figure out she's the Red Reaper.

Then, a woman from Bones' past wants her dead. An all out vampire war is started. We've got vampires, ghouls, zombies and witchcraft all rolled into one cosy book.

Cat and Bones never let you down. Chapter 32 might have grabbed you in the last book, but Cat serves the best line ever in this one; "When you get back, I'm going to cover myself in whiskey and nothing else. Then I'll pour gin all over you. We're going to drink from each other, in every possible way."

How can you not love them?

About the Authors: Writing Workshop with our Youngest Writers - Lisa Cleaveland & Katie Wood Ray

2011-10-26T09:25:00.000-07:00

I'd like to think I had a decent writing program last year, but it wouldn't work with my students this year, so I changed it up.

Last week, I was teasing my class on how we've completed 1/4 of the school year. It then occurred to me that we completed 1/4 of the school year! I was not happy the way our Writer's Workshop/Work on Writing was going.

Over the weekend, I came across the book About the Authors. It's all about Writer's Workshops with students in KG-G2. Perfect! While most of the examples were of grade 1students it was inspiring.

The idea behind About the Authors is to teach children to be authors, not writers. You have children create books. Yes that's not something new, but it was great to be reminded.

So now I'm all excited to start writing with my students again.

Isn't great when you find a book that inspires you?

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 34

2011-10-25T07:02:00.000-07:00

We were on mid-semester break this week.

Yeah!

Scott's got a mate who lives in Ndola,

so we thought we'd go for a road trip and visit.

Rudd, his wife and 2 kids live on a beautiful farm.

They have a strawberry field.

So, of course,

we had to go strawberry picking.

Sunday we spent the day in Nsobe.

It was World Cup finals.

(Rugby)

The All Blacks won.

(Was there ever any doubt?)

We got to the bar to watch the game,

and as we were about to order some water,

(it was a hot morning),

we came across this

So this is my hubby at 10am

And while the boys watched the rugby,

Ethan went fishing.

Yes there is a fish there.

In the afternoon,

Ethan played badminton.

Happiness is...

....spending time with great mates.

One Foot in the Grave - Jeaniene Frost

2011-10-24T07:07:00.000-07:00

How appropriate that book 2 in my weekend of reading is also book 2 in the Cat & Bones series?

Once again, Sarah introduced me to this fabulous series. I loved the first one, and One Foot in the Grave is even better.

When we last saw Cat in Halfway to the Grave, she left Bones. She thought it would be best for them to be apart. She left him a note, took her mother and joined a secret part of Homeland Security, continuing her work as a vampire slayer.

Now, five years later, there's a hit put on her life. And, she comes, face to face with Bones.

Can you feel the heat?

It was great to have Cat and Bones back. They team up to find out who's got it out for her. We learn more about Cat's father, the vampire who, allegedly, raped her mother. We also learn that she has an uncle.

Oh, and then there's chapter 32. You will read this book in one day, for no other reason than you need to get to chapter 32. You. Will. Not. Regret. It.

Dark Magic - Christine Feehan

2011-10-24T05:42:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love vacation time?

This week we've been on mid-semester break.

Friday, we got in the car and had a road trip to Ndola.

That meant 4 hours in the car,

with nothing to do but listen to music and read.

And that's what I did.

The first book I got through was

Dark Magic.

This is book 4 in the Carpathians series.

Having not read the first three, I was a little confused at the beginning. There were parts that confused me. Apparently, the Carpathians are a species that cannot go out during the day and feed on blood. But they are not vampires. If a Carpathian doesn't find his lifemate, he turns either to the sun (death) or crosses over and becomes a vampire (evil).

In Dark Magic, Gregori is a powerful Carpathian. He is a hunter and a healer. He is destined to be with Savannah, half human and half Carpathian. She ran away from her family, not wanting to be someone's lifemate, and is known as world famous magician. While she's attracted to him, she does not want or understand what it means to be his lifemate. Gregori, meanwhile is afraid he'll see her as a monster he sometimes feel he is.

It's a fabulous story. We've got Carpathians, evil vampires and vampire hunters who are just as evil and lead by a vampire. What more could you want?

Five Question Friday

2011-10-20T23:15:00.000-07:00

We're on mid-semester break.

Yeah!

Today we're off to Ndola.

Scott's mate has a farm and I have a whole stack of books that need reading.

But we don't leave for another couple of hours,

which gives me time for...

Five Question Friday!

1. Where do you escape to when you've had enough?

While we were in Dar, whenever we needed to get away, we'd hop on over for a weekend getaway to Zanzibar. Just to spend a weekend laying on the beach, doing absolutely nothing recharged you for the weeks ahead.

We have yet to find a place here to getaway to. We've been exploring different places. But in the meantime, a Sunday afternoon, sitting at Sugarbush, sipping wine, does wonders!

2. What shows are you watching this fall?
Well it's spring here. And we don't necessarily get a whole batch of new shows, but I do have my Must See TV line up. Castle, Private Practice, The Big Bang Theory, Cougar Town, and NCIS are all on my list.

3. What was the longest roadtrip you've ever taken and where did you go?
A few years ago, we decided to drive up to Ruaha. It took us a day to get to Iringa, where we stopped and spent the night, then completed the trip the next day.

4. Do you plan on taking your kids to Disney World?
YES!
Ethan's been asking for awhile now. We've basically "decided" (cos you never know, things change) that we'll go next year. The current plan is to go home for Christmas, then head there for New Years. Ethan's already making his list of characters he wants to meet.

5. What is something people would be surprised to know about you?
I dunno. There have been many posts where I've said something I didn't do, or want to do, or a secret about me, that I think you all know me. I'm pretty much an open book.

Writer's Workshop - Things I've never done

2011-10-20T01:26:00.000-07:00

I am 40 years old.

And I've never...

1. Gone bungee jumping

2. Cooked Christmas dinner

3. Gone skydiving

4. Been to New Orleans

5. Joined the mile high club

6. Been to Egypt

7. Been to Australia

8. Met a vampire

9. Cleaned the toilet

10. Handled a gun

11. Watched any of the Godfather movies

12. Spent a night in jail

13. Eaten frog legs

14. Had breakfast at Tiffany's

15. Seen the Macy's parade

16. Ran in a marathon

17. Ran in a half marathon

18. Worn a pair of skinny jeans

19. Watched Jersey Shore

20. Driven a race car

21. Made a sex tape

22. Had such a hard time thinking of 22 things I've never done

Check out Mama Kat and see what others have never done.

The Darkest Night - Gena Showalter

2011-10-19T23:54:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love getting some mail from a mate?

What's better is when she sends a care package for you and your son!

It gets even better...

in the package there's a book with one sexy cover!

Maddox is a Lord of the Underworld. Create to protect the Gods, he was angry the Gods put Pandora in charge of keeping the box safe. So he, along with some others, wanted to prove to the Gods that a woman wasn't strong enough and released the evils into the world. As a punishment, each Lord has been cursed with the spirit of a demon. Maddox holds Violence within him. Violence killed Pandora and as a further punishment, every night at midnight, Maddox must die in the same violent way, only to return the next day and start over.

Ashlyn Darrow is a human. She hears voices. And not the schizophrenic kind. Where ever she goes, she hears the voices of conversations that have taken place there, no matter how long ago it was.

Ashlyn goes to Budapest for work. While there, she "hears" conversations about angels that live in a fortress upon a hill. Convinced they can help her, she heads to find them. And so begins the steam.

Ok, so it's not quite BDB, but it was good! I love the idea of using Greek Mythology into our world. Is it myth? Or was it real?

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 33

2011-10-18T06:36:00.000-07:00

Hello, my name is Tima and I love to shop.

I cannot recall if it was in high school or university that I was first introduced to Margaret Atwood. Knowing me, it was in high school, but I didn't appreciate her until university.

I'm a fan of dystopia, and after chatting with one of my colleagues, we came to the conclusion that Margaret Atwood is the Queen of Dystopia. I know there are those of you who will argue this with me. Hear me out. In 1985, she wrote The Handmaid's Tale. I don't think it was called dystopia at the time. We all just knew it as science fiction.

A few years ago I read Oryx and Crane, and loved it.

A couple of weeks ago, I was browsing on Amazon and came across her new book, The Year of the Flood. This is the sequel to the Oryx and Crane. So of course, I had to get it. And since it's been a few years since reading Oryx and Crane, I needed to get that one again for a re-read.

And guess what came in the mail this week?

Then my dearest mate Sarah (you can visit her here), introduced me to Erin Confren's Life Planners. After some staring at the website, I caved and decided to organise my life.

And when I collected my books, guess what else was waiting for me?

Happiness is getting some treats in the mail.

Wayward (The Witches War Saga #1) - Ashley Girardi

2011-10-16T07:47:00.000-07:00

Isn't this a fabulous book cover?

Helena Wayward (Hex) is the 7th born of the 7th born and 7th born. (Did you get that?) The Waywards are witches, and this family is particularly powerful. Hex is destined to be a powerful witch. But she was born with no powers. She's an embarrassment.

At a family wedding, the dark magic she never knew existed within her, comes out, killing a rival family member. This new sudden power catches the eye of Valentine, and she spends a year with him, getting in touch with her dark side. But, she doesn't want to embrace her evil side and runs away.

So now Hex is in hiding. There's a bloodprice on her head. Valentine wants her dead. Others want him dead and feel she's the one to do it.

And all this time, she's a high school junior.

This was a hard one to follow. At times she hates the evil her family wants her embrace and then she embraces it. But she's a wonderful character and I did enjoy it.

Five Question Friday

2011-10-14T07:35:00.000-07:00

Guess what?

It's Friday!!!

Whoohoo!

The weekend is here,

a mate from Dar is passing through Lusaka,

so will come spend the night.

And I got a fabulous package in the mail.

(You'll have to wait till Tuesday to learn about that)

And as it's Friday,

it also means it's

Five Question Friday.

1. Do you prefer your ice cream in a bowl or a cone?

So I'd like to say I'm a cone person. But if I'm honest, it would seem that I tend to get my ice cream in a cup. Not sure why. I don't have anything against the cone. Hmmmm.... now that I think about it, it would seem the cup preference began when I couldn't decide between two flavours. Knowing if I got a double scoop would lead to the possibility of one scoop falling off, I opted for the cup. And now, being a one-scoop-only-since-my-waist-can't-deal-with-two person, I still prefer the cup.

2. What three things do you love the smell of?

Had this been asked yesterday, I probably would have a different answer for one. This morning, I was taking my students down to the tuck shop so they could have their snack. As I reached the tuck shop, I could smell a batch of freshly baked brownies. Oh wow! I just had to get myself one.

And while we're on the topic of food. I love the smell of vanilla.

I also love fresh cut flowers. With market day every Friday, I try to buy flowers for the house.

3. Giftcards or no?

Hello, my name is Tima and I'm a shopaholic. I love shopping! Every year, Scott and I asked his nieces and nephew what they want for Christmas, and they always ask for gift cards. Bummer. I loose out on the whole shopping experience for them.

4. What sports did you play in high school and do you still play them?

I was all about the drama in high school. And I mean my life's drama and the drama club. I was so not an athletic type. Come to think of it, I'm still more of a drama queen than an athlete.

5. Were you in band in high school? What instrument did you play?

Nope! Was never in a band. My musical talent was/is almost as good as my athletic ability! I took piano for a few years. Then quit. I took guitar lesson for a few months, then quit. There's just too much drama in my life!

Chef Ethan

2011-10-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

After having missed two weeks of cooking class,

Ethan was glad to be back.

Today's menu:

Coconut biscuits (cookies).

Ethan uses his pinching fingers to mix the flour and butter.

He adds some sugar.

Marta helps Ethan to crack his egg, so he can beat it and add it to the flour mix.

We need some coconut since these are coconut biscuits.

Ethan cuts out shapes and adds some sprinkles.

Coconut biscuits!!!!!

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 32

2011-10-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

The weekend of my birthday, I went to Sugarbush with some mates.

And as always, the call of Jackal & Hyde was too strong for me to ignore.
I couldn't decide between a lovely little red bag,
and a very large brown computer bag.
I loved the red,
but the brown was more practical.
That's when my mate,
and I can't remember if it was Betti or Val,
suggested I order the large in red.

Don't I have smart mates?

This weekend Betti, Craig, the kids and I went back to Sugarbush.

Ethan and Cyana were thrilled to get up close and personal with the horses.

And I got to collect my....
.... you guessed it...
new bag!

Happiness is my new red bag!

The Boys of the Food Network Challenge

2011-10-06T21:41:00.000-07:00

I have to admit. I love watching Food Network Challenge.

Seriously. Check out some of these cakes.

But if I'm perfectly honest,

my favourite episodes don't have so much to do with the cakes,

as it does with the pastry chefs.

I don't know what's yummier...

the cakes

or these boys.

What's even sweeter,

Joshua John Russel and

Jason Ellis

are best mates in real life.

Now don't you want to watch?

You get twice the eye candy.

Delicious cakes.

And amazing boys!

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

2011-10-06T09:57:00.000-07:00

I was recently told by a dear mate, that my blog is too PC. Too PC??? What does that mean? Well apparently I'm too nice. She wants the scoop. Not sure what scoop there is to tell, we're all really enjoying it here. But I thought I'd please my mate and introduce you to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of living in Lusaka.

The Good

Before leaving Dar to come here, I met someone who asked me to quickly name 3 things I knew and loved about Lusaka. Well that was easy. Ethan and I had just gotten back to Dar after a month in Canada, and there were all kinds of power issues. So my three things were:

1) No power issues

2) No water issues

3) The roads are paved.

Well you'll need to scroll down to the Bad to learn a little more about the power issues. I have to say, we've yet to have any water issues (quickly need to go touch wood). And while I have come across some unpaved roads, it's really not a big deal.

Lusaka is great. In the 2 months that Ethan and I have been here, we've managed 2 weekend getaways. And we're planning a trip to Ndola later this month.

Work is great. I love the school. It's a smaller one than the one in Dar. Everyone gets along. There's no one trying to show off. I love how the school really invests in their teachers. I'm being sent for PYP training later this month. We had a Maths trainer come from the US to train all us new teachers on the Maths program. I have literacy training. The school uses First Steps, and they train teachers instead of giving them a program and expecting the teachers to figure it out.

Every Friday at school, we have our very own farmer's market.

I find we're eating healthier here. I think the fact that I don't have to spend $10 on a red pepper helps.

I've made some great mates.

Kilimanjaro Cafe and Sugar Bush.

The Dutch Reform Market.

The Bad

While we haven't had many power issues, the power did go off last night around 2am. It's not as hot and muggy here as it is in Dar, so it wasn't too bad. However, when I woke at 6am, the power still hadn't returned, so I had to shower in the dark. The power did come back. but went off again around noon, and only came on now (6pm).

Ethan's social life has taken a hit. I don't really know the parents' of his classmates, so he hasn't had many playdates. And while I love the school, I tend to be there until 4 o'clock most days, which means Ethan and I don't spend as much time together. I feel like I'm neglecting him.

I miss the beach.

I miss my mates in Dar. And it's sad to say, we have not all kept in touch like we promised to.

I'm not use to the weather here. It's cold!!!!!!!

The Ugly
I'm putting this is both the bad and ugly, and it's my busy schedule. There are days I feel guilty that I'm not home as much as I use to. Also, a lot of my mates in Dar were moms of Ethan's mates. So if I met with them, Ethan came along and played with his mates. Here, I either leave Ethan behind, or take him, and he's the only child.

I have had a few bad days at school. I have a lovely, yet challenging class. There are days I wonder what am I doing.

So there's the scoop. Life in Lusaka is lovely. I'm not trying to be PC. There's just not a whole lot to complain about.

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 31

2011-10-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

Our social committee organised an afternoon on the Kafue Queen.

We left shortly after school on Friday, and took the bus down to the Queen.

All aboard!

The Queen took us down the Kafue River.

It was an afternoon/evening filled with good friends,

and drinks.

Happiness is a Friday afternoon, on a boat, with some great mates.

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 30

2011-09-27T08:49:00.000-07:00

Elections were last Tuesday.

Thursday Scott wasn't feeling well, and came home early.

Thursday, there were also riots in town, so school closed a little early

Friday, a new president was announced.

And the town went crazy again.

School was cancelled.

And Scott came home sick again.

We decided we needed a weekend away.

So we packed some clothes, and headed out.

Ethan and I were in our camouflage gear.

To get to the Protea Safari Lodge

you get to drive through a amazing forest

and see animals hiding.

We reached the lodge,

to find it's there,

right on a lake.

We spent most of the weekend by the pool,

only to learn we weren't the only ones to love it.

Saturday morning, we made our way to see the lion enclosure.

Before heading out on Sunday,
we decided to take a drive around the park
to see what we could see.

This place would look amazing during the rainy season.
For now, it gave me small reminders of autumn.

We did manage a couple glimpses
of some beautiful animals.

Happiness is a beautiful, relaxing weekend away.

Room - Emma Donoghue

2011-09-25T06:26:00.000-07:00

OMG! Talk about heartbreaking. What a fabulous book this was.

A couple weeks ago, a colleague of mine told me about a book she read when she was flying from London to Lusaka. Her connecting flight in Jo'burg was delayed, which she appreciated, as it allowed her to finish the book. All she told me was that it was called Room, was a story written in the perspective of a 5 year old who's basically grown up in a room and everything is his friend (ie the Table and Dora).

Jack is 5 years old. His mother was kidnapped 7 years ago and has been locked in a room ever since. Jack believes their Room is the world and everything Outside is like TV. Jack's mother realises they need to escape and comes up with a plan. But the plan depends on her 5 year old being the saviour.

Heartbreaking.

Once they escape, the book continues as Jack begins to see the World as it truly is. It's big, there are people everywhere, some things on TV are real and some things are not. He must learn to deal with these changes, including the changes in his mother, who missed the world and is trying to cope with the changes being away for 7 years has done.

Jack is a typical 5 year old in that he is curious and inquisitive. He doesn't understand why Room was bad. He misses the simplicity of life in Room.

And after reading Room, I made sure to give Ethan some extra hugs.

Once Dead, Twice Shy - Kim Harrisson

2011-09-25T06:12:00.000-07:00

This was one of those free or 99 cent books offered through Pixel of Ink. You've got to like that, because you get to read a book you probably would never have found on your own. And what's even better; when you enjoy it!

Once dead, Twice Shy is the first in the Madison Avery Trilogy, but when you start reading it, you almost wonder if it's the second book, or even if you've missed the first few chapters.

The book opens with Madison telling you how at her prom, she was killed. Sorta. She was scythe by a dark reaper and when he came to take her soul, she stole his amulet and now she's got the impression of a body. This is where I wondered what I missed. It wasn't made clear, at least I didn't think so, until further in the book that the dark reaper has her body, her soul now has the amulet which gives her the body people see, so although she's dead, she's not! Follow?

Because she has the amulet, she has a light reaper by her side. He's there to help and protect her. When it's learnt the amulet belongs to the dark timekeeper and not reaper, a guardian angel is also sent to guard her. As I type this, I realise it's beginning to sound complicated which is it, until a few chapters in when you get more information.

There's even a cute budding romance. And we all know I love those romances. teeheehee.

The Power of our Words:Teacher Language That Helps Children Learn - Paula Denton

2011-09-23T01:25:00.000-07:00

I've listed The Power of our Words:Teacher Language That Helps Children Learn as a book I wouldn't normally read in my 11/11 Book Challenge. The reason is simply, I tend to prefer articles on such matters, or skim a few chapters over reading an entire book. This particular one was a new book in our school library and the title grabbed my attention. While reading it, I wished it were my own book so I could take a highlighter to it, instead of a library book where I wrote notes.

And there was a lot of note taking.

Topics included are:

Using language to get children to envision their success

The use of open ended questions

The use of listening and silence

The 3 R's - reinforcing, reminding and redirecting

Saying what you mean, and meaning what you say

Offering meaningful, sincere encouragement

Paula Denton just tells you what you probably already know, but needed reminding of. She breaks things down into steps. It made me see things I have been doing or haven't. It's already made me think of the way I word things with my students.