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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.