Writer's Workshop - So Very Thankful

It has been too long since I last participated in one of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshops. So to celebrate my return, I've chosen her So Very Thankful Tag!

1. Name a color you are thankful for.

Black. Ok, ok, it seems obvious, but it's true. Imagine life without black. 

* There would be no night. That beautiful black sky that enhances the sparkle of the stars. 

* The little black dress. Nope, would not exist.

* Bright pink gets toned down when mixed with a little black. 

Black is awesome!

2. Something your spouse does that you are thankful for.

He puts up with me. No seriously. I joined the Panto this year. Which means I've been at rehearsals almost every single night. I've hardly seen him in the last few weeks. And he's rarely complained.

3. Something your kids do that you are thankful for.

He makes me laugh. Ethan has a great sense of humour. You have to admire that in a kid. I'm thankful for a son who laughs. I’m thankful for a son who loves to get goofy.

4. A food you are thankful for.

Chocolate.

Granted, I had to think about this. There are so many choices. Pizza, coffee, ice cream. But then I realized chocolate is the key. Chocolate comes in so many shapes and forms. You can have chocolate chip cookies, chocolate ice cream, chocolate milkshakes, a mocha coffee has chocolate. You can’t go wrong with chocolate!

5. What recent good news are you thankful for?

Good news…. We’re off to Rome for Christmas!!!!

6. Name a drink you are thankful for.

Hmmm….. another tough one. Those who know me well, know it’s a toss up between coffee and wine. But, I think I’ll surprise everyone and say water! Cos you need water to make coffee, and ….hmmm…. do you need it to make wine?

7. Name a restaurant you are thankful for.

Salt. Hands down. Katy serves the best breakfast in town. She makes a mean cocktail. Ethan loves going there for milkshakes. And it's a great place to go for coffee. 

8. Talk about an animal you are thankful for.

We do have a fabulous dog, Butch. So it wouldn’t be right not to be thankful for him.

9. Name a beauty product you are thankful for.

MAC. I love their eyeliners and lipstick. Never leave the house without it on, so what would I do without it?

10. Name a cleaning product you are thankful for.

An actual product or type? Laundy soap is high on the list. Need clean clothes, right?

11. What social media platform are you thankful for?

Is it a cop-out to say Facebook? I like that it’s a one-stop shop. I can see what my friends and family around the world are up to. I’ve joined groups based on blogs, interests, teaching. I find great articles on exercise, nutrition, parenting, teaching. I know people are getting frustrated, and need a Facebook break, but I’m still enjoying it.

12. Tell us why you are thankful for the last person who texted you.

Last text I got was from my brother. And while we were not close growing up, he’s become this incredible husband and father. I admire him. I look up to him. He amazes me every single day.

13. Name a candy you are thankful for.

Chocolate covered almonds. Chocolate and almonds. What more could you want!!!

14. Name an app on your phone that you are thankful for.

Whatsapp. I get to text people all over the world. I have a family group, where we text all kinds of things to each other. I have a ladies’ night group, where we make plans each month. I even have a wine group, where I just text out and my mates are there waiting with a glass. (ok, they don’t really wait for the text, but you get the idea).

15. What are you looking forward to that you are thankful for?

I’m looking forward to another exciting year with my fabulous family!!!

Five Greats

1. International Chocolate Day

Sunday was International Chocolate Day.

Our friend, Katy,

celebrated the day with an amazing chocolate-filled

menu.

2. Bagamoyo

Ethan had his first overnight field trip.
He had a great time.
And when he came back the next day,
he went on a playdate.
Guess my boy is growing up!

3. Kheer
Once a month,
my mom makes this incredible
Indian rice pudding.
I love it!
Scott thinks it's too sweet,
and Ethan ....
well...
I don't often share it.

4. Chicken Soup
I'm sick.
Which is no fun.
When Scott's sick,
I'm around.
When Ethan's sick,
I'm here.
When I'm sick,
the world continues.
But I went into the Deli
and whined to our dear Sam,
and she informed me she made chicken soup.
Yum!

5. Licorice Tea
When you're sick,
you don't feel like doing much.
And while I know I should drink a lot of water,
I just don't feel like it.
This is when licorice tea is great.
You stick a tea bag in your mug,
and all day long,
you keep topping it up.
Perfect!

Five Greats

I haven't been good with this. 

And I really need to get back

into remembering my

week's greats.

So, without further delay...

1. Coffee with Lara

Sometimes it's nice to get together

with a mate

and just catch up.

2. Flowers

I came home Monday to this arrangement.

I had some roses on the table
that I got for my birthday.
They were slowly dying.
So my housekeeper went into the garden
and picked some fresh ones for me.

3. Dinner with friends

A friend was passing through Dar.
So a few of us got together for a great evening.
Food, wine and company were all
great.

4. Being a music teacher
I spent the last 3 days this week
covering for the music teacher.
Now,
while I'm not exactly musically inclined,
I had a great time!

5. Class party
Ethan and his classmates
are off for their very first
overnight field trip.
So I thought it would be nice
to have a little class party.
Kids, parents and siblings
came over for a swim.
Everyone brought some food to share.
It was a fabulous afternoon.

Five Greats

We are back in Dar!

And while we're sad to see the summer come to an end,

we've had a very busy and exciting week.

1. Hello grade 4

Ethan's started school.

Can you believe this little man

is a fourth grader now.

2. Ice cream with cousins.

To celebrate the first day of school,

we went for ice cream with some cousins.

3. We moved into our new house.

We just moved down the road,

but it has a nice yard

and is on a better road.

4. Friday wine with the ladies.

Not quite sure when

or how this started,

but every couple of weeks,

two mates and I

spend the afternoon together

just having fun.

5. Sushi Sunday

A lovely Sunday afternoon

with sushi and my boys.

Five Greats

Oh my,

do I ever have some catching up to do.

My last "greats"

was all Boston related. 

I had a GREAT time there.

And then I had a fantastic week

in Ottawa

filled with more greats.

1. I may have gotten a certificate from 

Project Zero,

but this one makes my heart melt.

2. Beach day with friends.

3. Treats!

4. New Ink

5. Cousins

Five Greats

I'm a little late in posting this,

I had an amazing week last week. 

There were a whole bunch of greats.

1. It began with this

2. Where I got to meet some amazing people.

3. Made new friends. 

4. Got to finally meet some of the most amazing women ever. 

5. And finally made it home to this guy. 

Writer's Workshop - Top Picks

List your top 10 favourite apps currently

Once again,

this year,

I've decided my NY resolution

is about loosing weight.

Getting healthier.

Being fit and healthy.

So,

not surprising,

a few of my top apps

are health and fitness related.

1. Get Running

This is one of those

C25K apps.

I've just started

but am enjoying it so far. 

2. 30 Day Fitness Challenges

You know how you see those

30 day challenges on

Facebook or Pinterest?

And then you save the pic

on your camera roll

and try to recall what day you're on?

Well...

here are loads of those challenges

all in one app!

3. Daily Water

You know how you should drink

8 glasses of water a day?

Well, 

I don't drink nearly enough.

I know I need to drink more

so this app is great.

I feel accountable.

Plus, 

I like seeing the glasses empty

as I drink! 

4. Coach.me

This was pretty cool too.

So you set yourself daily goals,

you choose them,

then you tick if off when you do them.

It goes back to the accountability thing

I so need. 

I want to work out.

Tick.

Drink water.

Tick.

Read every day.

Tick.

It can be anything!

5. Mad Libs

This is a fun one to do with Ethan.

I've always loved using Mad Libs

in my classroom.

And now Ethan is having a blast.

It's great when we go out for lunch,

or are at the airport

waiting for a flight.

He can't stop giggling at his creations!

6. iAllowance

I love, love, love

this app!

Ethan wanted an allowance,

but I tend to forget to give it

every week.

Plus,

depending where we are

I then need to work out the exchange rate.

It's a chore.

But this app,

oh,

this app makes it all so easy!

Ethan has a virtual piggy bank

where every week

the allowance is deposited.

He can also earn more money

with chores.

And,

he can loose money with

a bad attitude!

7. Self Timer Camera

It's a timer!

For your selfies!

Enough said!

8. CamScanner

I discovered this one

when attending a conference.

The group made these charts.

They were really cool,

so a bunch of us grabbed our phones

to take pictures.

We were told that,

not only is the app free,

but the quality is better than taking pics.

Plus,

you can convert them into PDF files

and share them too.

9. TED

TED Talks!

Whenever you want to be inspired.

Awesome!

10. AppsGoneFree

Like apps?

Like free apps?

This one sends you 5 apps

that are free each day.

Great way to find new favorites!

Writer's Workshop - Power's Out

List 7 ways to survive a power outage.

Oh MamaKat,

how you make me laugh!

I mean really?

Seriously?

Do you really know what it means 

to have a power outage?

I'm talking serious outages,

for days, 

weeks,

months.

Not just the bad weather,

oops power's out,

city is under emergency

outages.

I'm talking about the 

welcome to my world,

summer's here,

so the power goes off

every day,

for hours,

for weeks.

So,

I consider myself the expert

on power outages.

In fact,

just two weeks ago,

we had serious power issues

that we had no power for the entire weekend.

So here are the top 7 things,

for power outage survival:

7. Live in a house that has a pool.

It's getting hotter and hotter here.

Summer is on it's way.

Which means the power issues will continue.

You'll need to cool off,

so make sure you have a pool.

6. Do not have a lot of meat in your freezer.

We learnt this the hard way.

Years ago,

we had a mate that went hunting

and brought us some buffalo meat.

It sat in our freezer.

Then the power went off. 

And the meat went bad.

So we threw it out.

Only,

it left behind a horrible stench.

And I mean horrible.

And virtually impossible to get rid off.

It was gross!

5. Have lots of fruit, veggies 
and water handy.
Cos if the power's going to be out for a long time
you won't be able to cook,
unless.....

4. Use a gas cooker.
....you have one of these.
Because with the gas cooker,
as long as you have matches,
you're all set.

3. Get matches. And candles.
That way you can at least walk around the house
without walking into anything.

2. Stay at a hotel. 
Seriously,
if the power's going to be out
for a long time,
and the house is too hot to bear,
stay at a hotel!
The bonus is you get an awesome breakfast
in the morning.

1. Get a generator.

Yes it can be noisy.

Yes the fuel is expensive.

Yes, there are times there's a fuel shortage,

but seriously,

get a generator!

High Five for Friday

It's been another lovely week,

filled with love, friends,

and wine.

Highlights include

Wine and yoga pants

There was a cute picture on Facebook

about yoga helping with de-stressing.

It went on to joke,

that the best way is to have a glass of wine

while wearing yoga pants.

I've got to add,

that wine and yoga pants

are a great way to relax

on a Sunday evening!

Flowers

In Zambia,
Ethan use to buy me flowers every week.
It was great.
Our dining table
always had a vase of
fresh flowers.
This week,
a friend of mine gave me a bouquet.
I have flowers again!!!!


Almond Butter

I made almond butter.
Yes, me!!!
Ok, granted,
it's not that difficult.
It just takes a lot of patience,
and well,
since I tend to lack in that department,
I'm pretty chuffed!!

Sports Day

Ethan had his first Sports Day
of the school year.
The third graders
are placed in Houses.
Ethan's a Mamba.
Today's events were track and field.
Not working,
meant I got to spend the whole morning
cheering him on!


Training

I have a fantastic trainer.
She comes 3 times a week
and makes me sweat
and feel pain.
Lately she's been on a burped kick.
Which,
since I've gotten better at them,
I don't seem to mind so much.

High Five for Friday

It's been another fabulous week.

I'm finally settled back home

after our extended summer vacation

and Ethan is happy at school.

This week's highlights include:

Dinner with great friends

at Salt.

Peter and Nina will be leaving Dar soon.

It's sad when friends leave.

But being able to enjoy an

awesome meal at Salt

(Katy's new restaurant)

makes saying goodbye 

easier.

Chocolate

Really?
Need I say more?

Birthday dinner with my boys

This year,
instead of a big birthday dinner
I spent the evening with my two favourite boys.
We had dinner at Osaka
and came home to cake.
It was perfect.

Watching Ethan at his first skateboard
activity

I was a nervous wreck.
Terrified he'd fall and spend
the rest of the year
in a body cast.
I love how his mate,
an advanced skateboarder,
helped him
and was so patient.
And he didn't break any bones.

Ladies night

We tried a new Iranian place.
The owner brought out
a sampler for us to,
well,
sample!

Writer's Workshop - Summertime

List 6 things you are going to miss about summer.

Ethan and I head back home

next weekend.

I can't believe our vacation

is almost over.

We've had a great

summer vacation. 

Summers home are fabulous.

There's so much to see and do.

So here are some things

we will miss about this summer.

1) Going to baseball games

With Scott home this year

we were able to go to a 

couple of games.

And while we hoped to go to more

with us leaving, 

we're done for this summer.

2) Seeing this girl

She lives here.

We don't.

So summer coming to an end

means it will be another year

before we see her again.

3) BBQ with the family

Again,

since we don't live here,

we cherish the BBQ

with cousins.

4) Going to museums

We've gone to a few this summer

and had a great time

at each one.

5) The Nisbets

It's not often

we get the three generations

together.

6) Being a tourist in your hometown

We went for a boat ride.

Something I probably wouldn't normally do.

But being a tourist 

is a lot of fun.

We've had a fantastic vacation this year.

And while we're sad to go,

it that time of the year,

we need to head back home.

And start planning next year's

vacation!!