The Desert

We visited the desert at the geographic end of our trip- what I mean is- our trip took us from Luanda south through several different cities... Tumbwa, where the desert was, was the southern most point we got to. So, to me it feels like the "end" of the trip, even though we still had a couple of days coming back up north after we did this.

Anyway, we got a guide to drive us out into the desert. A few of us, I think understandably, were very excited to see "THE desert". It's not every day that you get to see pure sand and blue sky stretching as far as you can see. Here you can see, just before we head off, letting some air out of the tires- which apparently you need to do to be able to drive in the desert.

Here we are in the back of the car. I am definitely clutching both Joel's leg and the "oh-shit" handle. I'm smiling, but, on the inside I was getting sick and having an anxiety attack. I found out on this trip (long before we hit the desert) that I don't do well off-roading, or driving on roads that require 4 wheel drive. I ended up taking Valium to calm myself and try to stave off the sickness...

THE desert (emphasis on the THE, as is, not just the desert but THEE desert)

The desert, funny as it may sound, actually borders the ocean. This was one of the shipwrecks that could be seen there.

It was late afternoon, and the sun over the ocean was beautiful.

These people were just walking in the desert. It was unbelievable to us- there was nothing around for MILES, and they are just walking. This is their life. Obviously, they were exited to see us.

Very near the ocean we passed these dwellings. Fisherman and their families live here. The men fish all day. The women spend all day walking to town to sell the fish, and buy water, and then come back again. This is what they do, day in and day out, every day. It is REALLY windy out there, and these dwellings were made mostly out of sticks and random pieces of cloth and other materials patched together.

More houses...Me, in the desert.

Our guide took us to a part of the desert where there were massive deposits of shells. He told us they were probably deposited there thousands of years ago. If you were lucky, you could find two halves that made a whole. That is why these two are looking so intently. :)

The lot of us, our cars, checking out shells and enjoying the sunshine.

Did I mention it was windy? When the wind blows the sand it really stings against your skin as well. So I was all wrapped up. I can understand now, why desert dwellers dress the way they do.

On the way home...it was awesome.

We're back.

We're safe and sound- unscathed. I'm really looking forward to posting about our 9 day camping trip, with lots of pictures included- but it's going to take me a few days to get that together. So I just wanted to let you all know, we're back. We're ok. We had a great time. We had adventures, a lot of time in a car, and more than one eye-opening, wonderfully Africa-revealing experience. More to come soon!

Mmmm...

Look at my wonderful bagels! :) I made these last night.

I tried to post these pictures last night and it wouldn't work, which was really darn annoying! Anyway, at least it worked now.

They are mostly white, but slightly whole wheat (because I ran out of white flour!), and half of them have an "everything" topping (poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and garlic flakes- I am missing course salt, unfortunately) and half are just plain.

I have to thank Joel's friend Kez for sending me the recipe. I love bagels, and I know I always thought they were impossible to make. A friend commented on the fact that I made them by saying, "Mara, I so totally cannot believe that you MADE bagels. Seriously. For me it's like, "Some people are lucky enough to have a bagel tree in their yard..." I can't imagine baking them." I definitely used to share her sentiments. It's one of those silly things, but I never thought bagels were something you could make at home. :) Ha ha. So, I am thankful to him for exposing me to what it takes to make a bagel- not that hard actually! :) Now, I just need to figure out how to get that really shiny, rounded finish on them- maybe that has to do with not having been able to make pure white flour ones, but I don't think so. There is something I can change that will produce a prettier end product- you can count on me to try to figure it out. :)

Now to end on a cute note...

I received an email from a colleague last night. Attached was this picture- taken at the beach last weekend.

Her text said, "Here is the picture of you and (my child). You look so ready to have children."

How right she is!




Now, Joel and I and three other couples from our school are off on a 9 day road trip around Angola starting Friday, so don't expect any new posts for another week. Yeah, that's right- I'm not going to be on the computer for more than a week! Yikes! :) I'll be back with loads of pictures I'm sure when we return. :)

On working out...

I've been working out... what feels like a lot. To the left you can see my sticker chart (yes, I *am* an EC teacher!). As you can see, for every time I work out, I get a sticker. Once I get 10 stickers, I get a reward, which I choose before I start earning stickers.

So, as you can see, since I started (about a month ago?) I've worked out 20 times. The first 5 or 6 stickers took me almost two weeks to earn, but the second 10 only took a week and a half, as I adjusted to working out so much, that I started going almost every day. My first prize was a pan, and my second (yet to be redeemed) is a manicure. I'm considering making the third prize a pedicure, and going for two prizes at once.

So I feel good that I am working out. When I go, I do at least 40 minutes of working out. I do 4 different machines for 10 minutes each- stair master, rowing machine, elliptical and treadmill. I always do the treadmill last because I do my ten minutes at a high pace carrying hand weights, and then I cool down on there for 5 minutes or so at a slower pace. I also stop at some point and do a headstand. I hate doing sit ups or crunches or any other direct ab exercises. Standing on your head might not seem like a direct route to strong abs, but, if you do it right, it takes A LOT of power in your core- so I do it. For some reason (there probably is one) I really like being upside down. Headstands are my favorite.

I chose to do 4 machines for 10 minutes each because a super-fit and into learning and reading about being fit colleague of mine told me that your body burns the most calories in the first 5 minutes of a particular exercise. Since my aim is definitely to burn calories and take off the pounds, I was happy to do this "keeping my body on it's toes" kind of exercise. (I think that is the idea behind the switching it up thing... your body doesn't know what is happening, and keeps having to adjust for a new exercise, therefore exerting big effort.) But I also choose to do weight bearing cardio (like the rowing machine, and carrying weights while walking) to add in some extra muscle work.

So, it's been a month or so- twenty good workouts at least. I have noticed progress. When I first started working out, I was running at a pace of 15.something on the elliptical. These days, I average a 16.5-17.something. On the rowing machine, I was rowing at a pace of 550 calories/min, and now, I row at a pace of 650-700+ calories/min (ha ha ha! Did you notice my typo? calories/MIN! I WISH I could burn 600 calories in a minute! That was supposed to say calories/hour- but I'm just going to leave the typo in, cause I think it's funny!). On the stair master, I have tried harder programs at higher levels and done well, where before, I about died on the random at level 2. So yeah, I see the progress. I LOVE glancing at my arms while I do the rowing machine. I love seeing the muscle definition as I pull back. And the way I feel all the muscles along my sides in that same motion is so cool. I picture slim, spare-tire free curves somewhere in the future.

But then, here is the thing, even though I have seen all this progress- the two times I have stepped on a scale, there has been absolutely no difference. My pants, shirts, swim suits, etc, fit no differently than they did a month ago. Naked, I don't see any difference.

I have calculated that I am burning at least 300 (but possibly as much as 400) calories per workout. 300 calories per workout- 5 workouts per week- that's 1500 calories. Surely, in a months time, I would have seen a pound come off at least, no?

So, here's the thing with working out and me... I don't really enjoy it. I don't despise it, but, yeah, it's not like I sit around during school hours daydreaming of being able to get into the gym. Once I get there, I generally get into it, and before I know it, I've been in the gym an hour (between changing machines, stretching and that head standing...). And I do it because I know that it is good for me. Because I know that when I am exercising regularly, I sleep better, feel better, even poop better (it's true!).

But why is it that the ONE result I would like to see, just doesn't come up? I suppose it really, really is true that weight loss has to include a change to your exercise and eating habits? I don't know... I keep trying not to be disheartened. It's fun earning rewards for working out. Sometimes when I come home from the gym and catch a glimpse of my same-looking-self in the mirror I say to Joel, "Tell me what I'm doing is making a difference. Tell me it's worth something." And he does. And he gives me a kiss, and as usual, he tells me to chill out. He tells me to stop thinking about it. Ahh... if only it were that easy. (He'll look good in his board shorts pool side for our wedding week regardless...)

So, in my last post, I ended with the question, "Why did you have em?" And now I end with, "What's it going to take?"

All in a weekend's baking...

I finally got around to finding *most* of the ingredients to one of maybe the two desserts that Joel actually likes. I have to thank my future SIL Mook for suggesting that I make it. The dessert in question is Caramel Slice, and this was the recipe I used, except that I didn't have brown sugar or golden syrup, so I used white sugar and honey. You can see the three distinct layers of crust, caramel and chocolate. Yummy! The good news is that Joel really liked it too. The one criticism was that the caramel layer wasn't thick enough. I actually agreed, but, that is just the way it came out by following the recipe exactly. If I made it again, I would use more condensed milk.

Just last weekend a neighbor came by and offered us pieces of Lemon Slice (it was very nice!). I'm just left wondering how it came to be that Australians call these things slices, and Americans would call them bars (caramel bars, lemon bars, etc). Neither is a superior descriptor I suppose- just different. One of those things...

Anyway, I baked that Caramel Slice on Saturday night... and today, on Sunday, I had another go at the bread. My problem until now with the bread had been that it wasn't rising enough. I was following all directions exactly, the problem was because I had never watched anyone make bread (as an adult), I didn't have a feel for it. When the recipe said, "The bread should be sticky, but not too sticky" I didn't know what that meant! So, today, I asked a friend and colleague who is a veteran bread baker to come around and just walk me through it. I used the same recipe I had used before, that has a great taste, but as I said, just didn't rise. It turns out the problem might have been that I wasn't kneading the dough quite long enough- and maybe wasn't using quite the right amount of flour. Anyway... Joel wanted big bread... so let me present!

Isn't it pretty?!?

Just to show you how big this loaf is (Joel called it gigantor) I put a normal sized coffee mug next to it... see how it towers over?! I love it! :)

I haven't tried it yet, but, I expect it will be deeeeelish. :)

The reasons....

My cousin Liene asked for her readers to post questions for her to answer on her blog. I posted her the question, "What are the (10) things that make your life so good, that you could die tomorrow, and it would have all been enough?" I realize this is a big question, and therefore decided to not only pose the question, but to take it on myself. It's never a bad time to look on the bright side.

So, these are the reasons I could die tomorrow, and it would all have been enough- not the reasons I'll be content when I die an old woman, because I'm sure they will change. I asked Liene for 10 reasons- I'm not necessarily shooting for 10 myself (it was an arbitrary number) but I'll be very happy to hit 10! Also, these are listed in no particular order.

• I've loved. Deeply, honestly, truly. I know I said these were in no particular order, but actually, I think this reason is in its rightful place. Having loved (everyone I ever have loved) has surely been my greatest achievement and contribution to the world.
  
• I have touched the lives of at least 100 children that I have taught in my teaching career (that counts only the years I have been a paid teacher). There are so, so, so many tiny, virtually inconsequential ways that teachers affect their students every day- except when that tiny thing actually makes a big difference in one child's life on one day. As someone eloquent once said, "I do it because of one child."
• I have traveled and seen the world. Scenarios/people/places/events that I at one point could not have imagined, I have seen with my own eyes, experienced with my own body and soul.
  
• A program I once participated in encouraged its participants to push themselves through the "eye of the needle" and come out the other side a changed person. I have done this- when I left home, relatively young, and certainly naive in some respects, to live in PR China I took on a journey that I could not even fathom. But here I am- out the other side- better, worse? Different, changed. But still me. :)
  
• I have, and continue to, explore, question, and experience my spirituality. I have traveled deeply into this through yoga, which has transformed my life.
  
• Because I value education, I am extremely proud of myself for earning a Masters degree. I surprise myself in realizing that there is some desire somewhere inside of me to earn a Doctorate degree.
  
• I have dreams. I have not achieved all that I want in life. I have LOTS to live for, to strive for. That means I have passion for life.
  
• I strive to live authentically, making choices that align with my values and ethics. I am not perfect, and I am willing to admit that, but I can say that I am comfortable with the choices I make on a daily basis.

It's getting late, and I'm up to 8 reasons... I'll sleep on two more and be back with you if I come up with em.

Look! We have friends!! :)

A few of you have written and asked how we're doing here- and specifically, if we've made friends. We definitely have made friends. Of course, it takes time to make your way into existing groups of friends- but I'd say we've done pretty well.

So, on Saturday we had some people over for a few drinks (and of course snacks made by me!), and I made Joel go outside and take some pictures so I could prove to you all out there, that we do, in fact, have friends! :)

The reason for the get together was put out there as to "celebrate or commiserate" the AFL Grand Final. Unfortunately, it ended up being to commiserate, as the Cats did not win the game. It had been a long day though- what with having gotten up at 5am to watch the game. We did take naps, but, I still got tired pretty early. So I went to bed around 12. Apparently I missed a bit by going to bed that early- most notably stark naked shotgunning of beers. I don't get it. Why would you want to? Anyway, at least Joel wasn't one of em doing it...




Anyway, so, there are the pictures of our first porch party. I would call it a success. There was beer left over, but, there was also a big mess in the morning. My food was almost completely eaten. I woke up at a decent hour and had a productive day, Joel (who has also been suffering a terrible cold this whole weekend) woke up late, and was useless all day. :) Too bad tomorrow is Monday again....

Crack, Cookie, Cookie, Crack... same, same....

I have been baking lately and between the bread and carrot cake and banana bread, I've gotten quite a few compliments. What can I say, I follow a recipe well- and know when to stray from it just a bit, to make food even better! :)

Tonight we have the second meeting of the "book club", which meant an opportunity to cook or bake again. I decided to bake cookies. I asked AW for a good quick recipe (because I made the cookies today after school). She recommended the Snickerdoodles recipe she makes every year for the holidays.

Well, I got as far as the dough, and was hooked. I am not so pleased to say that I ate enough dough to cut down on the number of cookies made considerably. But, the crack thing? This dough is like crack. You just need more, and more, and more. And then you need to drink a biiiiiiig glass of water, and then you need more, and more, and more.


Anyway, they taste pretty good baked as well. :) I always bake way too late in the day to get good light (and we have totally crap lighting in the house)- but I wanted to try to play around with a bit of totally, totally amateur food styling. So, enjoy my pics. :)

Yum!

Check this out! On the left we have the Mr. Basil when I planted him. On the right we have Mr. Basil before dinner tonight. See how much he's grown?!? Amazing huh? Post dinner (lasagna for Joel, cannelloni for me- yeah, it tasted good, but my tummy...ooh...) he's missing a few leaves, but not height! Whoohoo! I didn't kill him!

Now, here we have my lettuce babies. See how many are sprouting!?! I think, the two that are growing must be the baby spinach (the round leaves) and the kale (the long leaves)- but the rocket, which I am told should have jagged edges, doesn't seem to be there. Either way, exciting! :)

Now, scarily enough, Mrs. Mint almost didn't make it. Something, not me, was eating her. Her leaves were all but gone, and she just didn't look well. So, a gardening neighbor suggested that I place a tin can around her and give her a chance to grow out of reach. I don't know how long I can leave her like that- but as you can see- there are a bunch of new leaves at the top, so it's working for now! :)

Now, does anyone think it's sad that this is the best I've got to blog about? Actually, I am working on a post, but it's taking a bit of time.... I'll get to it!

Another beach trip... this time to an island just off Luanda

So, another weekend, another excuse to go to the beach! This time, instead of heading to the surf beach which is a couple hours drive, a group was organized to go to an island visible just off the shore of Luanda. Even though we heard the name of the island said a million times, neither one of us can figure out what it is, or how to spell it now. :) So, just know, we were close to home. It took us 15 minutes by car to get to the drop off point, and then 10 minutes by motor boat to get to the island.

Here L and I are sitting in the boat, ready to go. But of course, getting to this point was not so easy, because....

When you arrive at the drop off point, you're faced with lots of people, lots of boats, etc. And of course, they all want your business! Before we had even parked the car, we had at least 6 or 7 men clamoring around the car. We put L's husband P in charge of getting us a good boat for a good price (he has the most Portuguese out of all of us).

So we were in the boat and off we went...

Here's a shot of the shore again as we pull away. (Joel was taking all these pictures, so...I can just tell you what's there...)

There's the police.

When we got to the island we settled in, got our books out, etc. Eventually though, Joel was getting really restless, so we went for a walk. This is just a shot from our walk along the beach.

And this is a shot of where we were actually sitting while we were on the island. It's just a little set up that has all these permanent umbrella things up, as well as little sun beds to lie on. There is also a bar and restaurant, and one little toilet for everyone to use. Nice enough.

One of the highlights is that girls come around selling sarongs, sun dresses, bikinis, tunics and more all in beautiful bright colors- some African prints, some just beachy. So, one of our teachers decided to go ahead and have a look. As you can see, all of the girls came to show what they had.

We were all watching from afar and L decided that she needed to have a look at one little dress that was being thrown around. She got it in the end. :)

I restrained from shopping- I'm holding out for Australia in December. :)

I didn't actually go in the water today- the weather was nice enough, it was cloudy, but sunny at times. Joel went in and said the water was nice. I just laid on my lounger and lounged...I read quite a bit and also had a pretty long nap. :) Ahhh...

We did order lunch there, Joel got a bacon cheeseburger, and I tried to order a sandwich that didn't have any meat on it. The guy pointed to the one and swore several times, no meat, no meat, just eggs. I was happy. Then it came and had several greasy pieces of bacon on it. Oh well. Joel got more bacon for his burger, and I pretended it wasn't ever on my sandwich. It was a good lunch.

The whole day, including rental of the loungers, lunch, and boat rides back and forth cost us $80, which believe it or not, just seems normal to us now. We are slowly adjusting to the fact that things are just plain expensive here, life is expensive here. But, there aren't many things to spend money on- food and fun like we had today are about it, so you spend it!

The really nice thing about today was that it was beautiful enough and quiet enough that we felt worlds away from Luanda. We're not actually desperate to get away yet really, but I can see how a few months from now, this place will feel like a much looked forward to get away. The only thing is that Joel was a little bored there because there was no surf- there were boats, and people were water skiing and wake boarding- but they were private boats, and we weren't invited. So anyway... Joel probably won't want to go there lots, but for us girls that need no more than a good book, a comfy bed, the opportunity to go on a walk and sun - well, we found our place! :)

This is me... today.

It seemed:

But it turns out:

Heartburn...

I've been dealing with really horrible heartburn since I got to Angola. I've never in my life been a heart burn sufferer until now, except a short spell in Riga when school life was so stressful and honestly, scary, that it brought on heartburn.

When you look in the "little blue book" that some of us are known to carry where ever we go, heartburn is associated with one thing and one thing only- fear.

I've looked into foods and stuff that cause heartburn- tomatoes, alcohol, citrus, dairy, caffeine, some spices. I've thought about eliminating them, or about using other natural remedies to cure heartburn (drinking vinegar, eating apples or celery, drinking a baking soda/water mix)- but, of course I find it just as important (if not more) to look at the deeper causes. So the question begs:

What am I afraid of?

What is it, that is literally eating me up from the inside out?

Am I brave enough to even explore some possibilities?

Marrying Joel is something that I wanted to do since, well, about day three of knowing him. And when he asked, there was no hesitation in my heart- I said yes. That said, when your four parents average 3 marriages a piece (2, 3, 3, and 4), it doesn't really give you much hope for yourself. Joel and I have talked about this, and he swears that he would not have asked me, that he would not enter into this commitment lightly, without knowing that it is forever. Of course, he's got some good role models for a what a lasting marriage looks like (one version anyway). There is a fear that one way or another, I'm not doing something right. I know that I am not my parents- but sometimes I think, "they're smart people, and they chose wrong (more than once!)- why am I any different?" I don't know if all people entering into a marriage face similar fears, or if it's just someone like me- but either way, there is a certain fear.

And moving on to what else there is to be afraid of. What if despite my efforts, I still look the way I do, come time for dress measurements, and come the wedding day? I only wish that this wasn't one of my greatest fears, but it is.

The thing that gets me is that if it were just about discipline, I'd be there. Look at me- I quit smoking again, a year ago. And that was it. No it wasn't pretty for a few weeks, but it was over. I was no longer a smoker, I had quit. It is/was an addiction. And there is no question in my mind that if I smoked one cigarette today, I would smoke a pack tomorrow- because, that is what addictions are like. Whether physical or emotional (and usually both) one or the other hooks you again, and you're back where you ended. You're right back in the middle of your addiction. So I don't smoke. And it isn't even an option anywhere in me to smoke. I just don't. Period.

But, unfortunately, I can't quit food. It's not an option. Because if it was, I'm sure I could do it. But when you have to have a little, it's harder to stop before you've hit too much.

And so the fear develops- will I be a fat bride? Will I feel ashamed and embarrassed during the week by the pool that will be our "wedding event" because of not even wanting to be in a bathing suit?

Worse yet will I look back on the pictures of that day, and regret that I could not have done more, been more, achieved more by the time the day rolled around?

The deeper fear unearths itself- have I forever lost "the look" that once was mine?

Lastly, there's been a whole lot of people around me having babies lately. They've either had em, are working on the finishing touches (that is, they're pregnant), trying to make em, or planning with certainty when they will start trying. I know that Joel and I have a plan of our own, so maybe we fit into that last category, but sometimes it feels like it will never happen; like the time will never actually get here. And so the fear... the fear that this thing, this desire, which feels bigger than anything I have ever felt before, will not be met, will not ever come to fruition. And sometimes, when this desire feels so, so, so big it seems silly to wait- wait for what? But then- wait to get married, wait to finish up this contract in Luanda, wait and have some more time together as a couple... but man, sometimes, it's hard all this waiting- especially when everyone else around you is no longer waiting.

So I'm trying to deal with these fears... trying to not focus on them, because I know it doesn't help anything (hurts if anything), but the question is, how does one move past such fears (especially in order to stop the heartburn) without dealing with em? I mean, you have to focus on em a bit to deal with em.

It feels like round and round in circles I go- never getting anywhere with this. Trying, trying... to avoid the heartburn, if nothing else.

Been painting...

Sometimes it's good to be kind of child-like. A looong time ago, a good friend IS from Kalamazoo suggested to me that I get a box of crayons and a pad of paper and draw to get some "stuff" out. She was helping me work on my energy/state of being through her art- and suggested that I try through my own art.

I did go out and buy some crayons. Then I moved on and also got pastels. That was all back in Kalamazoo. When I moved to China, I was working with pastels more than anything else, but not too often.

In Latvia, I used pastels and colored pencils. Thanks to DB I have a few wonderful adult coloring books (they are books of mandalas to color, not like "adult" content!). I have really enjoyed coloring the mandalas- but I find that sometimes it's too daunting to think about the stuff the book tells you to think about. Sometimes I just want to chill and color.

Since arriving in Luanda, I have colored a couple mandalas, but, I have also picked up watercolors. At first I got some from the store- just a little kiddie pack of cheap ones. They weren't bad, but, no wait, actually, they were bad. I painted three paintings with em, and just got annoyed, because they were crap. Then we got that shipment of stuff for school (the container) and it came with a certain C-name brand of water colors. I got em out for the kids, but I loved em. Oh my goodness, I loved em. The other teacher/my superior said I could borrow a pack for at home use, since I loved em so much.

So, I have been painting. Sometimes with an aim. Sometimes without.

By the way, I don't by any means proclaim to be an artist. I would not say at all that I have an artists eye or ability. I do this for fun. And for expression. For release. So whether this art is "good" or "bad" is of no bother to me. That isn't what it's about- and I am not at all proclaiming that it is good!

This picture of flowers was just for fun. Sometimes, being a regular, non-artist type person, I get a picture in my head, and I wonder if there is any chance I could recreate the picture I see in my head on paper. So this was an attempt. I actually think I did pretty well (but only I know, because only I know what was in my head, hey?).

This picture had much more behind it. Through conversations with my mom, DB and AS, I have been exploring my spirituality. Specifically with DB we discussed the need for a visual when praying. Praying has never really been a part of my life. And I will admit- the thought of doing it feels kind of weird. I don't know who I'm talking to, what I am trying to connect with. That said, I know I believe in God/Goddess/a Higher Power- but I have never expressed my faith in a way that involved direct communication between myself and any such being. Because I can't seem to get over a myriad of issues in my life, it seems its time to look for something bigger. My mom keeps telling me to talk to my angels. I got a Note from the Universe the other day that said I wasn't using all of my angels. I like the idea that I have angels. So, I decided to try to give one a face, one that I might then be more comfortable communicating with. So here's what I got:

This one I did at school while the kids were painting too. They all liked it. :) It's amazing how good a 4-year-olds compliment can make you feel, because darnit, they're just so genuine!

The struggle, the struggle... love. At least I'm still thinking about it. Again, it isn't about romantic love- it's about love for myself. It's about knowing that I have this huge, powerful beating heart inside of me (I'm not talking about the literal one) and that it can provide me with all the strength I need. But I need to remember it, and to be in touch with it. And to accept what it offers- because the self love thing- it's still a bit hard.

Finally, this one is a work in progress (on paper only). I know exactly what it is, and I think it will be obvious to a lot of other people, because I think it is pretty obvious- but, some of you might have to have a think I guess.

Oh, oh oooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

Look! Look really really close!!! Do you see what I see???? Little sprouts! I wonder what they are (rocket, kale or spinach)?!?!? I'm not killing em! They're growing! I could pee my pants I'm so excited!



And, I won't bore you with pictures identical to the last set- but Mrs. Minty and Mr. Basil are still alive and well. :)))))))))))))) (That is REALLY happy!)

Let me introduce you...

It's been a while in the making- within the first week of school I had the offer of plants from my partner teacher, two weeks ago I got some pots from one of my neighbors. Yesterday I got some compost mix from the garden center. And today, I finally got the offered plants- as well as some help on planting them. So, here they are!

My new plants!

Meet Mrs. Minty. I'm calling her this, because well, she's mint, and form what I hear, she's impossible to kill, and will have lots of babies. Let's hope it's true! She already smells divine. I can't wait to make tea...

This is Mr. Basil. Don't have much to say about him, except I can't wait to eat him. :)

And these will be the lettuce babies. There will actually be rocket lettuce, baby spinach and kale. I'm looking forward to the fresh spinach, as right now, we've been eating lots of frozen. Fresh greens, yay! I am also looking forward to the kale, because actually, I've never had it! Grow babies, grow!

I appreciate all the garden vibes and positive thoughts you've got to spare. Grow, plants grow!

Oh, and also, my helpers today looked at the other plants I planted the other day, which I was sure were quickly on their way to dead, dead, dead and they said they looked fine. I've been told, they're in shock, and they spring back soon. Yay! :)

Ewwww....

I'm not a country mouse. We've established this. That said, I can do some country type stuff, but, there is other stuff that I would rather just not deal with. I would rather not deal with big, nasty slugs. Ewww.

These nasty things are just all over here at night- the picture above was just taken through our sliding glass door as this little slimer makes his way up. Ewww.

At night time, you have to be really careful where you step, because they are everywhere, and they are huge! Blahhh!!!

The worst thing is, yesterday I was in the kitchen and saw this nasty black, not slug shaped thing under the kitchen cupboard. I wasn't going to touch it, so I made Joel get up from what he was doing and come deal with it. Oh wait, I did sort of kick at it first, realize that it was a slug, and that it was still alive because it started moving it's nasty little head. Oh, God, I'm having the worst shivers all over just thinking about that nasty thing being in my house. BLAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!

The thing is, he was all curled up under the counter because someone probably nearly killed him by stepping on him and bringing him indoors stuck to a shoe and it was daylight, but, um, I just shudder to think what he would have done, where he would have gone, when the lights went out. Ugh, ack, blah, vomit.

I am used to the geckos; they're cute. And they eat mosquitoes. We like them. The random mice that seem to live around here are even ok... thing is they run away from you, and don't come out when you're near, and hey, they're little and soft and all that... I've even managed to become somewhat fascinated with the cockroaches.... I haven't seen any in our house...but when they pop up out of random nooks and crannies somewhere in the school I watch them skitter away, and wonder about them still being here 10 million years from now...

But the slugs. Ugh, they are just so gross! I know the picture above is not that good, and that the slug on the window isn't even THAT big (although, he is the size of that nail polish bottle, but I have seen bigger here- this one just happens to be on my window), but gack- they just make me want to hurl!

Anyone know any natural remedies for getting rid of slugs? Or any reason why I shouldn't despise them?

Green Thumb?

It has become quite clear that everyone who lives here has things they do to stay busy. Obviously, compound living, and living in a place with somewhat restricted movement/possible safety issues has its cons. That said, a lot of people read (I have already been to the first meeting of the book club, where (mostly) women come together and share a book they've read and then pass it on), sounds like quite a few sew/knit/cross-stitch/quilt, a few keep busy in the kicthen (we've already had lemon cake, sprouts, sun-dried tomatoes and tortillas dropped past our door, just because someone made them and wanted to share) and plenty engage in organized and casual sports.

But, another little something that it seems just about everyone does to some extent is garden. You should see some of the gardens! I was visiting at one house on Friday afternoon, and the patio, which structurally is exactly like ours, is like a little jungle haven, because it is surrounded by vines and bushes and tress and flowers and plants. They're created a wall of plants for privacy, and have several plants that they use in their kitchen (basil, lettuce, thyme, pineapples, lemon grass and probably more!).

It's certainly inspiring, and as they say, "It just gives you something to do!"

I've never been a gardener though- and as a few of my former roommates, especially, know, I have a tendency to well, I don't want to say kill plants, because it is certainly not my intention, but, maybe slowly, unintentionally torture them to death? I have had a few plants that I have tried SO SO SO SO SO hard to keep alive, and basically, I can't think of any that have made it in my care. DB saved a couple. GG had some work cut out for her with her plants that we "took care of" for the year we lived in her apartment. Many a plant just plain didn't make it. I think the only plant that ever did ok for an extended period in my care is one plant that EZ (initials, not a comment on character) gifted me during my first year working with her at ISR. That one hardy little plant was still alive when I left ISR, and it was actually flourishing. It desperately needed a larger pot, so hopefully someone has taken care of that.

So, when the colleague of the jungle-haven patio started pulling plants out of her garden that day when I was over, and saying, "Here, plant this, and plant this!" I didn't really know what to think. Eek, really? Me? Garden?

Well, today I went out there, and decided that I should at least stick these guys in the ground, and give 'em a chance.

Now, let's just look around- we do have two nice plants in our area already- this pretty pink flowered thing grows on the fence that surrounds our "backyard", and I think is expected to someday create that wall of privacy as it is woven through the fence.

And this one grows on one corner of the patio. It's pretty, but I think that is its only purpose (a fine purpose for a plant, at that!)

As you can see in the above picture though, we have these drains in our garden. We have three of them! So it's not very pretty, and I'm not sure how it will affect other gardening we might want to do someday... we'll see.

So anyway... here are the plants I planted:

The Lemon Grass

The Cilantro (Coriander) This one didn't come from someone else's garden- I chopped the tops off and stuck it in the ground after bring it home from the market. It had a whole root system on the bottom, so I'm hoping, maybe...

And these three little purple guys... I don't know what their names are, but the jungle-haven colleague says that they are unstoppable, and that she is constantly having to cut them back. Basically, there are a couple of plants that she just keeps saying, "You can't go wrong with" here, and this is supposed to be one of em.

I watered them well, and will continue to do so... pray for the best!

I have also gotten my hands on some pots, and am awaiting a trip to the garden center on Thursday when I might be able to get something akin to potting soil. Then I will plant basil and lettuce and maybe baby spinach in pots and try my hand at "potted gardening" as well. It sure would be cool if it all worked out, and I was able to get things to grow. It would cut down on the grocery bill!

Drool.....

Joel and I decided when we got here that making our own bread might be something we could take on, considering that we knew how expensive bread could be before we even got here. After our first experiences with the high prices of packaged bread, and the long waits for fresh bread, we bought some flour and started searching for a recipe.

Today, I had my first go at making bread. I used this recipe, which I found by searching around vegcooking.com. I wanted something simple, but that also sounded delicious. Who doesn't love some crusty warm French bread- as they say on the site? Well, I tell you what. I love it!

My results

I can't say it took too long to make; it a little work earlier, wait time, a little work later, and more wait time, and it was done. I just cut into it and ate the piece that is missing from the picture above smeared with a little butter. It was still warm. It was delicious. It was crunchy on the outside, and thick and heavy (in a good way) on the inside. Wonderful. Apparently, I am good at this. :)

I definitely plan on continuing this yummy new money saver. There really is nothing like knowing what is in it, whose hands touched it, and well, making it yourself. I have already decided that I want to make ciabatta (because I love it) and probably something with lots of seeds or nuts or something in it. I may have gotten this talent from my spectacular mother, who baked Latvian rye bread my entire childhood. Although I don't plan on trying to make Latvian rye, maybe one day, my kids will tell the stories of the bread their mom used to make.

Oh, what's that you say? You want the story? Well...
My mom was a stay at home mom before we all hit school age. I'm pretty sure from what I remember and what I've been told, that she was sort of a supermom. (I mean, she still is now, don't get me wrong, but we're talking about the days when mothering was her job.) She had a huge vegetable garden, she made our baby food, she used those same vegetables and fruits in our food when we got bigger, and she made plenty of foods homemade- including Latvian rye. Now the thing is, she didn't just bake bread (and piragi- you know, onions and bacon and herbs baked inside an eggy dough?) for us, she made it for lots of Latvians who resided in Indianapolis- for a price of course. Now, I might very well be exaggerating things, or just not remembering them right, but here is what I do remember-

Mom had a huge bread trough that she mixed dough in. She used her hands (and her heart, no doubt) to mix up all the ingredients. I remember what it looked like when the dough would rise. I certainly remember the smell of the yeast (the smell of which brought me right back today). I remember that we had loads of bread pans that she would fill with ready dough. Some were large and some were small. (I liked the small ones myself; they were cute.) When the bread came out of the oven, everything smelled fabulous, and I'm sure us kids got burned once or twice for sticking our fingers or noses too close to the whole works. By the time the bread got tipped out of the pans, we were clamoring to see who would get to eat the first piece of bread spread thick with (melted) butter. It was always the end piece that we wanted- must be that, out of the oven, the crust was still soft and warm, and had more flavor- it was good. I know for sure that we must have always wanted to eat more than we were allowed, because Mom would always have to tell us that we had enough, because a certain number of loaves were for so and so and so and so.

The best part of the memories I hold is after the bread had been put out to cool with tea towels draped over the loaves, and the kitchen had been cleaned up, I can just picture my mom giving one last wipe down to the counters before tossing the last towel (er, more likely hanging it up somewhere), switching off the lights, and heading out of the kitchen; all of us heading for a much deserved afternoon rest. (Add this to a growing checklist of reasons to be a stay at home mom- create fabulous, warm memories for my children to reflect upon as they journey through adulthood.) Good times, good memories, and hopefully (barring that today was a fluke), good skills passed down. :)

I have to tell you that Joel was kind of keen on making the bread baking "his thing". I pondered letting him do so. But then, while I was pondering the other night, he made himself some dinner (not something that happens often). He made Spaghetti Bolognese (otherwise known as spaghetti with meat sauce). The funny thing was that when he made it, he didn't reach for the jar of spaghetti sauce that was in the cupboard, but the jar of tomato sauce (as in, pureed tomatoes) instead. He added a whole load of spices to it with no particular plan, and then, to my horror, also added potatoes AND (wait for it) avocado. *shudder* I love this man, but, I have decided, that unless it's one of his specialties (pancakes or cheese and Vegemite toasties), I'm going to go ahead and leave the communal cooking/baking to myself. Goodness knows what kind of bread we might end up with otherwise. Eeek!



Oh, and if you're wondering, yes, he did eat his own creation, twice (he ate the leftovers the next day). Unfortunately, all I can say this proves is that his opinion of food holds no water- so if you want to know if *I'm* a good cook, ask someone else. :) (I do love him though, yeah? That is clear!)

Overheard in the classroom

My teaching partner and I keep meaning to write down all the crack-up lines our kids keep spitting out, but of course, haven't gotten to it. I'm just going to jot them down here for your pleasure. Enjoy! (And remember, these are 4 year olds!)

Child asks a question and teacher replies with, "What do you think?"

Child: "Don't you know, I don't think. My mom tells me what to think."

***

Child is seen digging through the dress-up clothes hamper and upon finding a doll that obviously doesn't belong there exclaims, "What the hell is this doing here?" (Not only that, but she did it really expressively, like "Whaaaaat.... the.... Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeell is this doing here?")

***

A child is seen walking from child to child on the playground and whispering into their ears. The teacher seeing this, calls her over:
Teacher: Have you got a secret? Will you tell me?
Child: Yes, but, you cannot tell my daddy. I can tell you, and you can tell the other teachers, but you cannot tell my daddy! Anyone else can know, but my daddy can't because he'll be mad if he finds out!
Teacher: Ok, so what's the secret?
Child: (with a sly look in her eye, leans close and whispers) My daddy wears gold lipstick at home!

***

It rained today, and some of the kids were being a little silly about not getting out of the rain. So, teacher was trying to get em to stay under the awning:
Teacher: Boys, please come out of the rain. You're going to be all wet!
Boy: (after looking around) Yeah, this ain't no jacuzzi!

***

During a discussion about dreams:
Child 1: Dreams come in your head through your ears, and when you're done with them, they go out your nose.
Child 2: God puts all the dreams in you before he even makes your body.
Child 3: If you want to tell if it's a dream or real, you just have to shake your head. If you shake your head and it doesn't stop, then it's real. If it stops, then it's a dream.

***

There was another really good one today, but I can't remember what it was. They are just full of em though! Oh, and for the record, we did find out later in the day that the daddy who wears the gold lipstick actually just lets his daughter put her lipstick on him, it's not like she caught him dressing up. :)

Highlights of my day today

It has been one of those days...

• Having toys thrown at me by the four year old who later told his mom, "I don't like that teacher!" He also threw scissors at one child, kicked another one and basically spent his day tormenting anyone who came near him.
  
• Cleaning black, clay-like, slightly dried on poop from the entire lower half of one of my students without gloves, wipes or well, anything. Apparently she doesn't normally do this, but according to her mom is acting out. She better quit.
  
• Spotting the mouse that lives in our classroom skitter about the corner.
  

Yeah, it's been a good day.