Wordless Wednesday

Ethan loves to dance.

A couple of weeks ago the EC classes had assembly.

Part of their assembly was dancing to Wavin' Flag.
Ethan really got into it.

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 13

My hair has gotten awfully long.
Before leaving, Scott would often ask when I planned to cut it.
I was liking it long.
But then it got hot.
And all I ever seem to do is throw it up.
And pieces fall all around my face.
I can even eat my fringe.
So it's time for a cut.
And a new colour.

Happiness is a cute, new colour and cut.

Muffin Tin Meal

I am ashamed to admit I have not done a MTM in awhile.

To be honest, I didn't feel that guilty.

While I love the MTM, things have been hectic and I haven't had the time.

Today, Ethan asked for a peanut butter sandwich.

He then asks for a muffin tin, as he's not had one in ages.

Guilt.

And then, to be sure I remember how to make one,

Ethan proceeded to design it himself.

I made Ethan his peanut butter sandwich. He wanted it cut into 2 triangles, and placed a heart candy on one corner. He wanted some milk, and yogurt. For Ethan, a MTM requires dessert, so he's added some fruit snacks. There was one tin spot left, so he asked for some carrot and cucumber sticks.

 

Zanzibar Curio Shop

Saturday my mate, Louise, and I decided to have a final girlie day, in Zanzibar.

We did one months ago, and had a great time. 

We were all set for our next, and possibly, final Zanzibar adventure.

We took the 9am flight to Zanzibar, and went for breakfast where we grabbed a map, and outlined the course for the day.

We decided to hit the Zanzibar Curio Shop first, as the last time, they were closed for lunch, and we didn't want this to happen again. We went through a bunch of rooms, taking in all the things they had, wondering what one would do with them all. Then, Louise came across an end table. She decided we needed to send a picture of it to her husband. 

Ignore the toys underneath. There are 2 of these. Wouldn't these make great night-tables?

As we continued our way around the shop, we came across this. 

Louise was thinking this would be great for a corner in her bedroom.

The owner told us, he had some other chairs in his warehouse, and if we had time, he'd take us to see them. Well sure! Why not!

I use to think this shop had a lot of junk, and while it's great to look at, who really buys all this.

But his warehouse was full of packed up items, ready for shipping. 

We saw all sorts of great treasures.

I think Sri was getting fed up of all my photo emails.

Since Louise was interested in a chair for her bedroom corner, why not a corner chair?

I'm loving this. Wouldn't it look great on the deck of our new Zambian home?

In case Sri was not happy with the cost of the 1st nightstand, this one is cheaper.

Well now Louise needs to decide... which chair should she go for?

Louise sat in both chairs to decide which was the most comfortable.

The owner said they both came in sets.

He would polish, finish and fumigate the chairs. 

She decided to go with the first one. 

Louise could chose some upholstery and get the cushions covered.

Hoping to get everything done in Zanzibar, and not have to make a trip into town, we asked him if he could recommend a place. 

We went to a small fabric shop and Louise found this.

It seemed a little busy, and we weren't quite sure.

But then we tried it on the chair, and liked the look of it.

This chair comes in a set of 3.

It's been decided that one will go in Louise's room and the other two in the guest room. 

Louise also bought this gorgeous box.

And, of course, I listen to my husband and didn't buy anything.

NOT!

Isn't it the best?

We spent most of the day furniture shopping.

We didn't really follow the course we mapped out.

But it didn't really matter, as it's the slow season in Zanzibar.

Which means all, and I mean all, my favourite shops were closed for renovations!

But that's ok.

We had a great time.

And now I've got some ideas for some new furniture!

Turned out to be great, as we came out with some great treasures, and some ideas for new furniture for 

Foto Friday - On and On

I feel like it's been a busy week, but I cannot think of what made it so busy.

So it's nice to wind down on a Friday evening, and share some pictures.

This week Foto Friday is looking for On & On.

The sky and water just go on and on and on....

Moon Called - Patricia Briggs

I'm not sure who turned me to this book. I think the hint of vampires was appealing. But it's mainly about werewolves.

Moon Called is the first in the Mercy Thompson series. Mercy is a coyote. Not a were, but a coyote. Oh, and a mechanic. She lives next door to an Alpha were, and fixes the van of a vampire. 

See the potential.

Sadly, I found this hard to get into. It was slow moving at first. I wasn't really sure what the plot was. Then there's this, seemingly, gorgeous Alpha that comes along. You get your hopes up that something exciting is about to happen. (They kiss. At the end of the book. One kiss. Maybe in the next one there'll be more)

There's a lot of mystery here. A new young were shows up. He's attacked. She comes to the rescue. The were pack is attacked. She helps out. A whole bunch of weres come to help. There's some vampires. And witches. But all very confusing. 

I do have the second book, but think I need to wait it out a bit. Hopefully when I return to Mercy, she'll be more interesting.

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 12

Shhhh.... don't tell Scott.

I went to a lovely sale on Saturday.

Scott and I have an agreement, that there is to be no more shopping until after we move.

I went to look.

Just look.

And I looked.

And I found the cutest bag ever.

Well, cutest since the last one.

Happiness is a leather bag with a little Maasai beading. 

Sing You Home - Jodi Picoult

It's my turn to choose a book for my baby group book club. I racked my brain trying to think of one. And then I remembered my cousin had written about reading Sing You Home. So I decided this would be our June book.

The first chapter was extremely hard for me to read. I think it took me over a week to get through it. Not because it was horrible, but it hit too close to home. But once you get passed the first chapter, it's a lovely read.

Sing You Home begins with Zoe and Max Baxter. They've been married for about 9 years, and have been trying to conceive. It's been hard. They're going through IVF, have had two miscarriages, and are now expecting their first. 

Unfortunately, Zoe has complications, and her baby is still born. This puts a strain on their marriage, and eventually, Max asks for a divorce.

Max moves in with his brother and becomes an alcoholic. Zoe develops a friendship with a colleague. Eventually their friendship blossoms, and they fall in love. Zoe's new love is Vanessa. 

Zoe and Vanessa get married, and decide to start a family. There are 3 embryos left, but they need Max's consent. By now, Max has sobered up, joined a church, and fights for his children to be raised in a traditional family.

It's a pretty predictable story. It's a lovely one, but the ending comes out the way you'd expect it. I gave it 3 stars, as I think the author misses something here. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against gay rights, however, Zoe is upset that Max can't accept her for who she's become, yet she never accepts him, or what he went through when she lost their child. And this bothered me.

Sing You Home comes with a CD. I've never read a book that comes with it's own soundtrack. Unfortunately, I was reading the book in the car, in bed, on the couch, and putting in the CD didn't always work, so I didn't get the music. 

I do however, need to seriously think about the songs that "would be on the mix tape that describes" me. 

Foto Friday - Old

I've missed a few weeks of Foto Friday, but happy to be back this week.

This week's theme is old.

Up in Lushoto we came across an old mill. 

Watermelon Soup

Ethan has been obsessed with cooking lately. We've been watching Cbeebies, and he loved Big Cook, Little Cook and I Can Cook. We have a Big Cook, Little Cook cookbook, and he likes going through it, choosing something to make.

Last month, Ethan was obsessed with the Carrot Pie. This was his own invention. I, successfully, redirected him each time he wanted to make it.

Tonight, we went to my parents' for dinner. My mum went to get the dessert, when suddenly Ethan had the brilliant idea to make dessert. My mum was happy to oblige.

So Ethan asked my mum for a pot. He needed one piece of watermelon, no seeds, and hot water. Then he requested my mum chop some carrots and add salt. Next, he wanted mum to bring it to a boil. I guess it's not dessert but soup. As it was "cooking", Ethan needed some pepper, and a pineapple. Since mum was helping him with the cooking part, he gave out the instructions. "You need to squish the pineapple."

Mum convinced Ethan that it was cooked, and Ethan decided it needed to simmer, while he counted to 100. And, voila! Watermelon soup!

 This is Ethan's concoction. 

 I even served it up for him.

He ate 2 bites before deciding he didn't like it!

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 11

Last week was pretty stressful.

I couldn't wait for the weekend.

One of the great parts of this weekend, was Ruth's baby shower.

Ruth teaches Grade 4, and she's expecting her 1st (a girl) at the end of July. 

We decided on a casual Sunday brunch.

But, of course, it isn't a baby shower without a cake.

Thanks Farry for a fabulous cake.

Ruth cradles her cake like her baby.

Ruth told me, she thought she was having a boy, and was a little stunned when told it's a girl. So, of course, she was inundated with pink.

Kate hit the jackpot with her gift.

Ruth LOVES Beatrix Potter.

Happiness is a Sunday afternoon, with some great friends, looking forward to a little bean.

Things Falling into Place

 Don't you just love it when things start falling into place?

We've had the pleasure of calling Dar es Salaam home for the past 9 years. Moving to Zambia, while exciting, is also terrifying. We need to find a school for Ethan, get him registered, find a place to live, make friends. Yikes! I mean, since we're going for Scott's job, I get to go back to being an Expat wife. But now I'm a SAHM in a place I don't know.

Last week we headed to Zambia. Friday morning, we registered Ethan in school. We decided to go with the American International School of Lusaka (AISL). It's an IB school, which is what I really wanted. He gets French 4 times a week starting in KG. I really like that. While there, I got to meet with the principal, who interviewed me. Was hoping to get some supply/substitute work there in the next school year. It's a beautiful campus. I think Ethan will really enjoy it there.

We left the school and went to Scott's new office. While he met everyone, Ethan and I explored. Found the cutest little shop. This place has potential!

We spent the rest of Friday house hunting. It gave me a headache. We narrowed down the houses to 3 and decided to revisit them on Saturday. After seeing those, and one more the agent thought we'd like, we went for lunch to discuss each house. We decided on House #2.

Our mate had recommended we don't live in Leopard's Hill, as it's isolated, being far from the main part of the city, and it's bubble-like. Mostly Expats living there. However, we liked the house the best, and it had a garden and pool. Plus, Scott will travel alot, with this new job, and I'd feel safer living on a compound.

Things were starting to fall into place.

They got even better when, on Monday, my principal came to tell me that she got a call from AISL checking on my reference, and on Tuesday I got offered a Grade 2 teaching position there. Yeah!

Ok, so leaving Dar after 9 years will be hard, but Lusaka is looking great.

Things are falling into place.

The Twilight Before Christmas - Christine Feehan

I got the bestest box from Amazon last week. Sshh, don't tell Scott. My Amazon box had some new books that I wanted to start reading. I decided to dive in with some Drake Sisters.

The Twilight Before Christmas, is the story of Kate, an award winning novelist, and Matt Granite, a former army ranger who now works in his family's construction business.

Kate has returned to Sea Haven, has bought a run-down mill, and hopes to renovate it into a bookstore and cafe. Matt has always loved Kate, so this turns out to be the perfect opportunity to get close to her.

An earthquake rocks Sea Haven, cracking the foundation of Kate's mill, and reveals an old burial crypt, allowing for a century old evil to be released, just in time for Christmas.

The book begins with a new, dreary version of The Night Before Christmas. And each chapter begins with two lines of the poem. It reminded me of high school and being asked about foreshadowing.

So now that I've gotten to know the first 2 Drake sisters, it's time to get to know the others.

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 10

Ethan's mate turned 4! 

"Now we are the same, mommy."

The party had a Superhero theme.

Isaac was Ben 10.

Ethan was SuperEthan.

Happiness is playing Super Heroes.

House Hunting

This weekend, we had a mission. Our mission was to head over to Lusaka, get Ethan registered in school, and house hunt. 

The first 2 were easy. 

The house hunting gave me a headache.

Friday morning we set off to check out some houses. The estate agent had given us a bunch of houses and we narrowed it down to about 10 that we wanted to see. We saw about 6. Then in the afternoon, we went to see another half dozen. I seriously had a headache that evening. But, we narrowed our choices down to 3.

Saturday morning, we decided to re-visit our favourite 3. The agent had a fourth one, she thought we'd want to see. 

House #1 - Roma

Roma is an area in Lusaka. It's the furtherest away from Ethan's school of the 4 houses. 

This is the house.

It has a pool (that needs cleaning).

And a fireplace!

House #2 - Leopard's Hill

We were told by our dear friends that we don't want to live here. It's out by the International School, far from everything else.

This house is in a compound with 5 other houses.

The kitchen.

And yet another pool that needs maintenance. (There's also a small, baby pool on the other side.)

House #3 - Woodlands

This is a standalone house in a quiet neighbourhood close to Scott's office, and about 10 minutes from the school. 

The front and back of the house.

Love how you find a fireplace in a house in Africa!!!!

And check out this bathtub!

The downside to this house is the lack of swimming pool, but it does have a vegetable garden!!

House #4 - Kabulonga

This is another house on a compound. It's advertised as a 3-bedroom, but it's actually 4, as they consider one of the rooms to be a study. 

Hmmm... I just realised, this is the only 2 story house in our top 4.

For a person who doesn't cook, I'm sure obsessed with the kitchen.

Forget about the last bathtub, check this one out!

So those were our favourites. Which do you think we chose?