Highs and Lows for the week of 28/08/11.

Highs:

• Getting along with my hubby- a few weeks ago, not so much.

• Finding out a new use for Vick’s VapoRub.

• Discovered new patterns for beaded creations and made some new things.

Triangle practice.

• Went to my bead workshop and decided to meet as a group even after the workshop series is done.  

Double sided square.

3 sided pyramid / tetrahedron.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

• Went to Access Park, a “factory outlet” center, and found shoes for the hubs.

• Learned that we are now saving just a bit each month since we moved to the cheaper place.

 

Yay for presents in the mail!

• Participated in an international craft swap and got my first package in the mail since moving here! I got a wonderful knitted kitchen set, some homemade vanilla, and some fragrant handmade soap. Thanks Valery!
  

• Met with a volunteer coordinator for a low-vision care facility and will start next week volunteering during their craft hour.

Reeses with her diaper on.

Lows:

• Reeses in is heat.

• Having to wash Reeses’s two diapers every other day.

• Rude people at the gym. In my belly dance class, one lady video taped the dance we are doing, but failed to ask our permission as participants in the video. And then she kept trying to tell the teacher what to do.

• Diappointed in Access Park because the shoe store is the only place with a good deal. And parking sucks. As my hubby said, “it was the opposite of fun.”

Our laundry drying in the sun.

I hope you had a great week yourself!

Song of the Post: For Your Love by The Yardbirds.

Trying new foods.

Have you ever bought something that looked tasty and you took one bite and made that scrunchy face and said “eew” and vowed never to eat it again?

(Not to be confused with taste aversion learning such as never drinking tequila after all night of boozing…!)

Here, we have had to try new brands- of things that we usually eat in the USA. We have learned the hard way and have bought some food items that we will never use after trying them once. 

The food food mistakes we have made and learned from as Americans living in South Africa:

Heinz all the way! (source)

• The ketchup- most are too vinegary or sweet. We have to stick with Heinz Ketchup in this house. Hot sauce and Barbeque sause tends to be similar. We use American brands for all.

  

Woolie's Syrup. (source)

• Be careful with the syrup here- read the label and make sure it is true maple syrup from Canada or the USA. All other syrups here are horrible- you can find the good stuff at Woolworths. I’ve actually been afraid to order pancakes, waffles, or French toast because of the syrup they might serve.

Dried biltong. (source)

• Instead of flavored creamer (they only make powdered coffee cream here), we now use full cream from the dairy aisle. We accidentally bought double cream (which you don’t really find in the states too much) for our coffee- OMG that was gross! It was so fatty, it made oil float to the top of our cups!

• We have had to tryout different potato chips flavours- we just can’t tolerate things labeled oxtail and liver! We tried some cheese flavoured pretzels- so gross! I finally just now saw some regular pretzels in stock. And as I posted here, Chease Naks are better than Cheese for your Cheetos fix.

• They have their own kind of beef jerky here, called biltong. They come in chili flavor or regular and in “snap stix” or “sliced.” The sliced is softer, but it is gross because you can see the fat on it.

I miss these. (source)

• There are no corn tortillas; or masa harina so that I could make my own. I thought I could make them from maize flour, but it’s not the same. I think I’ll donate the maize flour (instead of opening it and using it once). I’ve learned online that if you find real corn tortilla chips, you can grind them up in a food processor and add water and make dough, then roll them out to the size of tortillas. I might have to do that….

Non-mistake: We actually know better than to buy the processed tortillas here and have made our own since being here.

• The “black olives” here are not black and do not taste the same. Neither do the green olives. It must be the brine/pickle they use. I have been afraid to try pickles here for the same reason.

(source)

• Bakery treats do not compare in general, although there are exceptions. I’m starting to bake my own treats, but a mixer would be handy!

• Smooth Cottage Cheese- looks like sour cream, but it is not the same taste.

• Instant mashed potatoes- I have only found one brand with three flavours, and it sucked. I will make my own from now on!

The list goes on, but I do not want to belabor the point…

So, when was your scrunchy face?

(source)

Song of the post: Homeless as sung by Paul Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo (a South African Group!)

The Liebster Award.

I was chosen for an award! I have curiously see other people get blog awards, but I never thought I could get one! Thankfully, Sami’s Colourfulworld discovered me and has been commenting once in a while.

She has awarded me the

LIEBSTER AWARD.

The Liebster award (“Liebster” is the German word for dear, sweet, darling, beloved) originated in Germany.

The aim of the award is to bring more attention to blogs with fewer than 200 followers, that people think deserve some additional attention.

These are the rules in accepting this award.
1. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Post the award on your blog.

4. Bask in the love from the most supportive people on the Internet – other writers.
5. And best of all – have fun and spread the karma!
6. Right click on the award image and save it to your hard-drive and then upload it to your blog.
Don’t forget to add it to your sidebar….
The hardest step is finding 5 bloggers to recognize with less than 200 followers. To narrow the field, I decided to honor other expats or “foreign”/non-American bloggers.

So here they are!

1. Vibrant Serenity: Denmark

2. Vanisha’s Life in Fiji: Fiji

3.

3. Mads and Kelli: Denmark

4. Living Life on the Road Less Traveled: Brazil

5. Misadventures in Craft: United Kingdom

Give them and Sami some “blog love”!

P.S.- Blogger is acting weird, so my apologies for the strange things in the post.

Song of the Post: Ace in the Hole by George Strait in Tucson! Long intro, song starts at the 1:45 minute mark.

Are you a Wisher and a Hoper?

Many people are wishers and hopers. That is what keeps them going. They have something to strive for, to look forward to. Dreams can be motivating and are healthy to have. Developing ideas and having hope for its outcome keeps you going, even when things looks bleak. It keeps you creative and positive. 

Me? I try not to be a very big dreamer. Is that weird? 

My "Godfather," Lorraine Schilling.

Little dreamer.

I knew how to "work it" even then.

I purposefully choose not to get too excited about things before they come to fruition. 

I dreamed of this day for a long time.

Student of the Year in 5th Grade!

I have been this way since I was a child. My mother LOVES to tell the story of when she excitedly told me she had a gift for me and I, in a monotone voice, said “Get it.” 

I had learned that some of her presents could be math workbooks or used socks (not really!) and had chosen to not get excited. 

For me, the proof has always been in the pudding.

Climbing my first "Fourteener" with my dad and cousin.

Undergraduate graduation.

 

I have seen this same dynamic in myself many times as an adult- I learn about an opportunity and work for it, but I don’t let my thoughts run away into dreamland. I always find that I get disappointed and if not, I’m happily surprised. 

I think that I have developed this mechanism as a way to protect myself against my propensity towards depression and anxiety. Sometimes I can feel my disappointment very acutely.

And, it’s worked for me, for the most part. 

The hubby: Probably trying to dig to China!

But sometimes people think I’m a “wet blanket.” I am constantly warning my husband against getting too excited about something, and he is constantly encouraging me to think “BIG.” I think that is one way that we balance each other out. 

Who thought of moving to Africa? He did. Am I glad he did? Of course!

I think many of my bigger steps in life have been prompted by others to dream to hope, to wish for better. Their support has been invaluable.

Me in South Africa. Spot the doggie behind me?

I hope that dreaming can come more easily to me one day. I want to teach our (future) children to “reach for the stars” and to work hard to achieve their dreams. 

So, are you a wisher and a hoper?

Song of the Post: Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey. 

This brings me back to a certain bachelorette party in NYC!