Somewhere Over the Freaking Rainbow - L.L. Muir

This was one of those free Kindles

I found.

The thing with collecting free books

on the Kindle,

is once you decide to read it,

you have no idea what it's about,

or why you chose it in the first page.

After reading the first few chapters,

I almost gave up.

I had no idea what was going on,

wasn't sure I liked the female character

and didn't know if I wanted to continue reading it.

But not only did I continue reading it,

I finished it

and even cried.

Jamison has moved back to his grandfather's farm.

He has a huge crush on the neighbour.

But she's a part of some weird Amish-type cult.

Skye is a Somerled.

And for most part of the book,

you have no idea if they are evil,

aliens,

witches,

or angels.

Jamison falls for Skye.

She's not meant to have emotions,

but she feels something for him.

But will he accept her for who/what she is?

Will she accept this feelings she has?

It was quite cute

once you learnt who everyone is.

However,

I didn't like the non-explanation

explanation

surrounding Jamison's two mates.

I also didn't like the ending.

It didn't have one.

Apparently there's a second book.

I'm all for series,

you know I am,

but after crying

I want a resolution,

and not be told to find the next book

in hopes that maybe,

just maybe,

I'll get my happy ending.

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 16

As I teacher,

I bring a lot of myself

and my personality to my classroom.

I love to tell my students stories.

I always assumed I told a lot of 

Ethan stories.

I figured, 

if I want to know my students,

they should know me.

I never really realised how much of me

my students understood

until the last day of school.

Last Tuesday was our last day.

We had an assembly in the morning

and a class party after that.

During the party,

my class parent presented a gift

and a story to me.

She had collected money

from all the parents

to purchase me a gift.

These are always nice.

I know from the past,

that the class mum tends to put some thought into it.

However,

this year,

it would appear my girls had more input than the 

class parent.

As Sarah presented my gift,

she informed me how involved a group of girls were.

They knew there was to be a gift

and they wanted a say in the gift.

It would appear,

my students know a lot about me.

The girls insisted that my gift be a pair of shoes.

Oh,

but not just any pair of shoes.

Oh no!

They wanted me to have 

a pair of brown boots

with a 3-inch heel.

Yes, 

they know me!!!!

When Sarah mentioned to the girls

she was unsure they could find 

these boots for me,

the girls were quick to come up with a solution.

A handbag!

A group of girls went with Sarah

to Sugarbush to get me a new bag.

This is probably the first time

I've ever had a gift from my class

that really came from my class.

While it's not a bag

I would ever choose for myself,

it's sooooo me!

 

 

 

Don't you just love the splash of pink?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happiness is a fabulous new bag

from my fabulous class.

 

A Hunger Like No Other - Kresley Cole

During our flight from London to Toronto,

my darling son decided,

once again, 

not to nap.

So of course,

I found myself another fabulous book to read!

My mate, Sarah,

read one of the books in the series

and highly recommended it. 

Being the purist that I am

I had to go for the fist novel in the series.

And let me tell you,

this is a series I cannot wait to sink my teeth into.

When Lachlain, a werewolf,

 scents his mate

while hidden below the streets of Paris,

he does what he was unable to do for 150 years,

and breaks the chains that have held him prisonner

and escapes.

Emmaline, 

half vampire and half Valkyrie,

has lived a sheltered life

with her adoptive Aunts.

Lachlain is disgusted to learn

the woman he's been waiting for is a vampire,

the hated enemy of his clan.

Yet he takes her hostage

figuring he'll decide what to do later.

Emma, meanwhile

is terrified.

Having never fed from an actual source

and being a young vampire,

only 70 years old,

she does not know what is going on.

I love how this was written.

It was great to see

Emma's growth.

She gains not only physical strenght,

but she is no longer timid and scared.

And she even tames 

Lachlain's beast!

Can you tell I'm all giddy?

Crave - JR Ward

Guess what?

I'm home!!!!

Ethan and I made it safely to Canada.

We left on Saturday

and headed for London.

Ethan refused to sleep on the plane,

which meant I didn't sleep,

which meant I got to read!

Crave is the second installment

in The Fallen Angels series.

Crave picks up a few days after Covet

where Fallen Angel, Jim Heron,

must save the soul of an AWOL Black Ops soldier,

Isaac Roth.

Jim and Isaac share a history together,

both having served under the treacherous leadership of Matthias.

When we begin, 

Isaac is making some quick cash as an underground cage fighter.

After the ring gets busted

Isaac lands in jail where he meets his court appointed

defense attorney

Grier Childe.

And you know,

sparks are going to fly!

Devina is back again,

very unhappy that Jim won round one.

She's determined not to let him win this time.

And she'll do anything to guarantee her win.

And now that I'm home,

I think a trip to the bookstore is in order,

to get the next book!

 

Summer Blog Challenge - Favourite Post

June 23rd - Favourite blog post you've written before this challenge.

I'm not sure about this one.

A favourite post?

Really?

My blog is not one that teaches people things,

or has great creative things

others will want to do.

I babble.

So which is my favourite babble?

Yikes!!!!

Well....

I think I'm going to send you all

to check out my Father's Day post.

It's a cute one,

that involves my 2 favourite boys.

You can find it here. 

Summer Blog Challenge - What Did You Want to Be?

June 22nd - When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?


For as long as I can remember,
I wanted to be a teacher.
I cannot recall ever wanting to be anything else.
Actually, that's not quite true.

In high school,
I was chatting with some mates
about what we dreamt we'd do with our lives.
I wanted to be a preschool teacher.
I thought it would be awesome
to own my own preschool.
One mate thought that was a dumb idea.
And so I began thinking it was dumb.

I knew I liked kids,
and wanted to have an impact on them,
so I began thinking of going into social work.
I spent a day at Children's Aid
and decided I didn't care how lame preschool teacher sounded,
it's what I wanted to do.

I've never regretted my decision to get into teaching.
In fact, with moving around for Scott's job,
teaching is the best for me,
as I can follow him and find work.
However,
today I was made to feel small.
A colleague of mine,
who shall be teaching preschool next year,
walked in on a conversation between two other colleagues.
One of them was saying how
her daughter was thinking of becoming a preschool teacher,
and this colleague was disappointed
as she's a straight A student
and she'd hate to see her daughter waste her life.

Well....
I'm glad I was a straight C student
otherwise I'd have wasted my life!

Asides from that,
I'm glad I did what I always wanted to do.
It's incredibly rewarding.

Kay

The best part of my job this year

was working with Kay.

Kay's classroom was next to mine.

She's our Special Education teacher

and a fantastic one at that.

I've learnt so much from her

this year.

She's the one that encouraged me to finally

apply for my Master's.

Kay is retiring this year.

I'm so sad.

Asides from being an amazing teacher,

she's a hoot.

Trying out our duck faces.

Kay enjoys having a good time.

Check out her party chant.

P is for Party

A is for All nite

R is for Routy

T is for Tonight

Y is for You

and YOU know what to do

you have to party

don't let yo mama know

cause she won't let you go

You have to Party

PARTY!!!!!

Summer Blog Challenge - Words of Wisdom

June 21st - Most recent words of wisdom you heard that stuck with you. 

This is another one of those prompts,

that I have no idea how to answer.

What words of wisdom can I share?

Have I heard any words of wisdom recently?

Since I couldn't think of any

words of wisdom I've recently heard,

I thought I'd share some famous words

intead.

Remez Sasson : "The difference between can and cannot is only three letters. Three letters that can shape your life's direction."

Oprah Winfrey: "The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be."

Jim Rohn: "If you don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree."

Summer Blog Post - Picture of Me

June 20th  - Photo of you as a child.

I don't have any pictures of me as a kid.

They are all at home.

I've got tons of pictures of Ethan

though.

Then I remembered, 

when Ethan was 10 months old,

we went to Paris.

I had this lovely picture of Ethan and I by the Eiffel Tower.

That summer,

my dad sent me this picture.

I'm 10 months old

and in Paris.

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 15

Ethan is a July baby.

When we lived in Dar,

we had a lot of mates that stayed in Dar

over the summer,

which made planning his birthday

fairly simple.

But it's mighty cold here

and most people,

including us,

are leaving this summer.

So what to do for Ethan?

I planned to throw Ethan a birthday party

closer to the end of the school year.

Ethan wanted a Dr Seuss party

and even organised some

Cat in the Hat hats.

Ethan sporting his Cat in the Hat hat.

But then I got busy with reports

and more summer kids started having parties,

pretty soon

we realised we were running out of dates.

I tried to convince Ethan to have his party

in August,

but he wouldn't go for that.

When we realised

there were weekends left

Ethan agreed to a classroom party.

We made good use of the hats.

We also brought chocolate cupcakes

and let the children decorate their own.

Happiness is being able to give your child

the Dr Seuss party he wanted. 

Summer Blog Challenge - Proud

June 19th - Something you're proud of from the last few days.

I have two things I'm pretty proud of this week.

1. My darling husband has a new job.

He took a new job last year that brought us to Zambia.

It meant a better life for Ethan and I.

However, he wasn't happy there.

So he quit.

It wasn't an easy decision for him,

and I'm proud of him

for doing what feels right.

This week,

he got a new job.

One he is utterly excited about.

And I couldn't be prouder.

2. I survived my first year here.

While this is not a hardship post,

I had a rough year.

It was a new school,

a new grade

I had some parents and colleagues that were not supportive.

But in the end,

I think the children learnt a lot

and had fun.

 Ok, so I said 2 things,

but since I've got one Scott thing,

and one me thing,

I'm going to add a third.

3. I'm proud of Ethan

My boy has completed Kindergarten.

He is reading and adding

and telling me everything he has learnt.

I couldn't be more proud

of my little-not-so-much-a-baby baby.
Yesterday his class had a mini assembly
and Ethan was given an award
Enthusiasm.

Summer Blog Post - Recipe

June 18th - A recipe you love.

I bet you're shocked to see this one!

Recently,

Ethan's been asking for waffles for breakfast.

So I thought this was an ideal time

to share our waffle recipe.

1 1/3 cups flour

(I've been using 1 cup white and 1/3 whole wheat)

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

In a medium bowl mix dry ingredients.

Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and set aside.

In another bowl, beat eggs lightly.

Stir in milk, oil and vanilla.

Add egg mixture to dry ingredients.

Stir until just moistened.

Add mixture to a preheated, lightly greased waffle baker.

Summer Blog Post - My Personality

June 17th - Three things you are proud of about your personality.


Ok, so this is a hard one.
I was even tempted
to accidently forget this one.


Here's the thing.
I'm good at pointing our the bad things about me.
I do have some good qualities
(I hope)
but can I actually say I'm proud?

So here are three cool things
about me,
that you may
or may not know about me.

1. I have a dry sense of humour.
I have a mate in Dar
who said he never met a North American
with a dry humour as mine.
Is this something to be proud of?
Who knows?
But I think I've got a kick ass sense of humour.

2. I'm loyal.
No I'm not a dog!
But I'm loyal to my mates.
I'll always be there for you,
even if you piss me off.

3. I like to have fun.
This is probably obvious,
and it probably isn't about my personality,
but I like to have a good time,
and think that's important to mention.
(And because I couldn't think of anything else.)

Father's Day Interview

Two years ago,

for Father's Day,

I thought I'd interview Ethan

and learn how he sees his Dad.

You can see it here. 

Last year,

Ethan and I were in Canada for Father's Day,

so I wondered if being away from Scott

and being a year older,

would change the way he viewed his dad.

You can see the interview here.

If you do something twice,
you might as well go for a third.
So,
this Father's Day
this is what Ethan had to say;

1. What is something Daddy always says to you?

I love you.

2. What makes Daddy happy?

When I give him something nice.

3. What makes Daddy sad?

When I'm mean. 

4. How does your Daddy make you laugh?

When he tells me funny jokes.

Jokes were there last year too.

5. What was your Daddy like as a child?

I don't know. I didn't know him.

I think he was nice. 

6. How old is your Daddy?

Sixteen I think, but I don't remember. 

Two years ago Ethan thought Scott was 21

last year he thought 15,

at least he's going chronological.

7. How tall is your Daddy?

This tall.

17 kilos.

Note to Ethan's teacher next year:

please teach him measurement!

8. What is his favourite thing to do?

Work!

Same as last year.

9. What does your Daddy do when you're not around?

Work!

This has been a theme for the last couple years.

10. If your Daddy becomes famous, what will it be for?

He would be famous for baseball....not golf!

11. What is your Daddy really good at?

He is really good at reading.

12. What is your Daddy not really good at?

He's not really good at dancing.

I've seen him dance sometimes.

13. What does your Daddy do for his job?

He spends money!

14. What is your Daddy's favourite food?

Chicken curry.

You made it for him before. 

15. What makes you proud of your Daddy?

When he saves me from people. 

He's good at scaring people away.

16. If your Daddy was a cartoon character, who would he be?

He would be Tom from Tom and Jerry.

Because I can be Jerry and he can chase me.

17. What do you and your Daddy do together?

We play together. 

He likes to play hide and seek.

18. How are you and your Daddy the same?

We have these freckles on our faces.

19. How are you and your Daddy different?

I don't have the hairy thing on the chin.

20. How do you know your Daddy loves you?

Because he always gives me kisses.

21. Where is your Daddy's favourite place to go?

To Game.

He likes to buy stuff there.

Happy Father's Day Scott.
We love you.

Summer Blog Challenge - Fitness Guru or Couch Potato

June 16th - Fitness guru or couch potato? Talk about your fitness habits.

Really?

You know, I have this wonderful lie I project.

And now you want to know what I do?
Blimey!

So in Dar,

I had an amazing kickboxing trainer.

I loved it.

I have yet to find one here in Lusaka.

I started running.

I've always hated it,

but it seems to be the thing everyone does

so of course I had to try.

I started last summer

while I was home. 

There's a beautiful path

that just made running

so much better.

The uneven roads here,

do not inspire me.

For Christmas,

Scott and I opted for no gifts.

Instead we purchased a treadmill.

I gotta say,

I'm enjoying that.

I also have a few DVDs

and the Wii

which I use.

Occasionally.

Yikes....

guess I'm a cross between

a fitness guru and couch potato.

Guess that makes me 

a fitness potato!

Summer Blog Challenge - Favourite Picture

June 15th - Post a photo you took that you're proud of.

This is a tough one for me.
Anyone who knows me
knows I love to take pictures.
I tend to take TONS of pictures
then end up deleting like 5.

So now, being asked to choose my favourite
is a hard thing.
Having said that,
over Easter
we went to Mfuwe.
I got tons of great animal pictures.
But my favourite has to be the butterfly.
I can never get a good
butterfly shot.

 

Writer's Workshop - 7 Things

4. List the top 7 things you need for the perfect barbecue.

Next week Ethan and I are heading home

for a month's vacation.

I.can.not.wait!!!!!!

Ethan's asking for a barbecue for his birthday,

which means MamaKat

knows just what to ask.

These are the top 7 things

I need for a 

perfect barbecue.

1. A swimming pool.

2. Corn on the cob.

3. Grilled veggies.

4. Ice tea (or vodka tonics is I'm utterly honest)

5. Ice cream

6. Gorgeous weather

7. Someone doing all the work while I relax!

Summer Blog Challenge - Tips

June 14th - Give your followers 15 tips to get through life.

I don't know about this.

Me?

Give advice?

And can I really think of 15 tips?

1. Enjoy life! You can't get through it if you don't enjoy it.

2. If you have kids, always take some time to enjoy time alone with your spouse.

3. If you are a first time mom, trust your instinct and ignore advice you are unsure of.

4. Go for a manicure/pedicure.

5. Take some time to enjoy a latte and book.

6. When feeling stressed, go for a run or kickboxing.

7. Keep a journal.

8. Cheat on a diet. Don't overdo it, but every once in a while, it's good to cheat a little.

9. Travel.

10. Read a trashy novel.

11. Have a good friend with whom you can bitch to and they won't judge. There are time you need to bitch about something and don't want it held against you.

12. Bake something. When your house smells of fresh baked goods, everything is fabulous.

13. Have a girls' night out (or a boys night)

14. Watch Iron Chef. (Have you seen Michael Symon?)

15. Have fun!

Summer Blog Challenge - The End of the Year

June 13th-  How you see yourself by the end of the year.

A lot warmer!

Sorry,

but it is currently 5C outside.

My hands are cold.

I'm looking forward to the warmth of

Canada next week.

I will hopefully be on my way 

to a smarter me 

by the end of the year.

I will have an almost 7 year old

by the end of the year.

Oh my

that's a scary thought.

I would like to say

I'll be a skinnier me

by the end of the year,

but that's something I always say.

I pretty much enjoy
life in Lusaka.
I love my job.
I have no major plans
this year.
So I guess
I see myself
going to work,
spending time with my family,
enjoying the wonderful Zambian weather.

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 14

I love teaching.

Starting at a new school,

in a new country

is a little scary.

Now that the school year is winding down,

I can reflect on what a great year it's been.

This class will always hold a special spot

in my heart.

They are,

my first class in Lusaka.

I will always remember them.

We've had our ups

and our downs.

And if I were to ever doubt myself,

I no longer can.

Meet Anna,

She's one of my fabulous students.

She made me a book this weekend.

It brought tears to my eyes.

Here are a couple of my favourite pages;

Happiness is getting a fabulous gift

from an equally fabulous child.

 

Summer Blog Challenge - Worst Injury

June 12th - Worst Injury You've Ever Had & How it Happened

Yesterday was all about the best day.

Today we try the opposite.

Only, if I had to be honest,

I've never had a serious injury.

I mean,

I broke a finger years ago,

playing beach volleyball.

But was it serious?

Many of you know,

I consider Ethan my miracle child.

Six months before we learnt we were expecting him,

I had a twin ectopic pregnancy.

I lost a fallopian tube

and we were not sure we could get pregnant,

but that doesn't really count as an injury.

I'm an utter clutz.

You are guarenteed to hear me

at least 5 times a day

yelling ow

or worse, 
cursing,

because I've walked into a wall

or tripped

or something like that.

The best was last year.

I was walking in school with 2 colleagues.

I was 1/2 a step in front of them

which meant I had my head turned slightly.

One of my colleagues suddenly said;

Tima, watch out for the post

which meant I immediately turned around

walked head first into a post

I beleive I bounced off

and continued walking and my conversation.

Hmmmm.... not really the worst injury,

but definetly the stupidest!

Summer Blog Challenge - Best Day

June 11th - Best Day of Your Life

There is no way I could choose just one.

I mean really,

I've had good days,

great days

and fabulous days!

Meeting Scott would have to top the best days.

Which then led to another incredible day,

our wedding day.

And 7 years later,

Ethan was born,

which was our miracle day.

I'm hoping in the next couple weeks

to have another incredible day.

I've applied to Grad School.

You'll be hearing alot 

about it over the next few months.

I'm hoping the next best day

will be the day I get accepted,

and then the day I start

and of course,

the day I graduate!

Summer Blog Challenge - Art Work

June 10th - Cost aside, famous art piece you would have in your home. 


This one's a tough one.
I like art.
I don't have a favourite artist
or anything.
I'll go to an art gallery
and I enjoy myself,
but I've never thought of buying copies
yet alone an original.

My house is filled with photographs.
Pictures of Scott, Ethan and myself.
Pictures of family and friends.
I'm not even sure where
I'd put a piece of artwork.

Maybe that makes me
uncultured.
I dunno.

Dark Frost - Jennifer Estep

I told Ethan I wasn't feeling very well this morning,

don't ask,

and he's been great entertaining himself

allowing me to get some more sleep.

But of course,

I couldn't sleep,

so opted to read instead.

I have been loving this series!

Dark Frost is the third installment

in the Mythos Academy series.

It is the end of winter break,

Gwen, Daphne and Carson head to a museum

for some last minute research on their project.

The museum is attacked by Reapers,

and so the excitment begins.

I have to say,

during the entire time I was reading,

I kept thinking;

it's so obvious that she's Reaper Girl

only to then realise I kept saying that with a bunch

of characters.

Which means Estep does a great job

in keeping you guessing.

Dark Frost is a race in the search 

of the Helheim Dagger.

Who will find it first?

Gwen or Reaper Girl?

Who is Reaper Grl?

Will Gwen and Logan get together?

She is after all wearing the necklace.

Oh.... I feel so giddy.

And funny enough,

am starting to feel better too.

Just need to keep myself hydrated!

Summer Blog Challenge - Cooking Disaster

June 9th - Your worst cooking disaster

Ok, so before I share my story,

please take a good look at the following picture.

Notice how it says

Kraft Dinner?

Notice it does not say

Mac and Cheese?

I needed that confirmed as all my American mates

laugh when I call it Kraft Dinner.

So, you wanted to know about my

worst cooking disaster.

Have you ever made Kraft Dinner?

Pretty hard to mess up,

right?

Wrong!!!!

I must have been in my early teens.

My parents were out,

and I was in charge of making dinner

for my brother and I.

I thought I'd make us some Kraft Dinner.

I mean really,

how hard is it to make?

Well,

apparently,

for teenaged Tima,

very.

It had to be the worst thing

I have ever eaten

in my entire life.

Hmmmm....

come to think of it....

I don't think my brother has ever

eaten my cooking again!