me and Cinnamon

Here are a couple of pics :-)

Cricket

Here are a couple of pictures from our cricket match today. The girls A Team played the B Team, so we were fairly relaxed... In the 2nd picture, Thando (sitting beside me) is grinning so big because I turned just before the picture was taken and she was putting "bunny ears" on me. She was so funny!

A quick blog...

We took Cinnamon to "Shampooch" today to get a bath and get shaved. It is getting very hot here, and we don't have a swimming pool for her to cool off in at our house. She looks so cute, doesn't she?!?!

Another small, yet exciting, thing for me is that I found somewhere that sells OPI nail polish! I just had not really found a nail polish that I liked as much as the one I would use back home. Well, I found it today at a "spa" in one of our many shopping centers. Here are my toes...they haven't looked this good since I got a mani/pedi while I was at home.

Well, that was about all I wanted to post. Hope you all are having a great week!

kind of feel like a kid...

This morning Mark and I went to Makro - kind of like our Sam's here. We did our shopping for all the things we can stock up on. We got lots of meat - we buy bulk steak then put them two in a freezer bag so in the next few weeks, we'll pull them out a little at a time. Well, onto my title...I found some Capri Suns. I had to get some. Mark had never had one :-) We're having Steve and Ursula over for supper tonight, so I get to try out our crock pot. I'm cooking some chicken, doing a potato salad, corn, green beans and carrots. I feel quite domesticated :-D

I've started going back through some old books, and I found an old series that I haven't read since about 9th grade (The Christy Miller Series). It's one that I started reading when we drove out to Colorado to get Sara from a Young Life camp that she was working at for the month of June. We went to Colorado Springs and the Focus on the Family building. That's where I got my 1st book of the series. After that, Stacy and I started reading any Robin Jones Gunn book we could find. We even wrote a letter to her saying how much we were enjoying the series - even got a letter back if I remember correctly. It's funny seeing the kids expressions when they ask whose book it is on my desk and I say Mine.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. I hope mom, dad, and Amanda had a fabulous time in Chicago! Love to all!

This week

This has been a great week so far. On Sunday I kept relaxing after my trip to the ER on Friday night. Unfortunately Mark had to catch up on some work because he, too, was wiped out on Saturday. On Monday...back to school?? Not for me. The A-team track team won their league again this year. For a reward, the team members got a trip to Sun City. Sun City is like Rapids on steroids. It has 4 resorts/casinos on the property along with a wave pool, slides, lazy river, etc. ( www.suncity.co.za ) It takes about 2 hours to get there from school. We left at 6:30 am and got back to school at 5:30. A long day, but lots of fun. I actually chilled by the pool in the shade for most of the day (still got burned).

Tuesday was a normal school day. It has gotten SO hot recently and there's no air conditioning at the school...oh and my fan broke today!! We may get a small unit for my room. Today we had our first cricket match of the season. We lost by 1 run :-( Now Mark and I are just going to chill tonight, watch tv, and just be around each other (without work) Hope everyone has a great week!!

Last night...

Doesn't it just beat all that I always get sick when I don't have school the next day....

Well, last night was interesting, to say the least. Mark and I were both feeling like a bit of "Jimmy's Killer Prawns", but the one we normally go to closed. Since it is a chain, we looked for another one close by. I was in the mood for some sushi, but the new sushi chef was only coming Saturday. So, I had some shrimp instead. Now, I don't normally do much shell fish - when I went on a cruise with Tommy and Suzanne I had an allergic reaction to lobster and haven't really had much taste for shrimp - at least not as a main meal. Anyway, we got home; watched about 30 minutes of tv; and were in bed by 9:00. Well I woke up at 11:15 tossing and turning because my stomach was cramping up. I got to the bathroom to vomit. It wasn't fun (but when is getting sick fun???). Well, my hands and legs started itching and I thought "oh, no..." I woke Mark up and took some benadryl. I was still feeling awful about 30 minutes later (never left the bathroom) so we decided to go to the hospital just in case. They were wonderful - we went to Milpark Hospital. They gave me a saline drip because I seemed a bit dehydrated, then they gave me a few medications for nausea - one of which gave me a groggy kick this morning. Mark's taking good care of me.

We are having a braai here this afternoon with 2 of our friends, Candice and Jono. Mark is in the process of cooking the potatoes for a potato salad. And he just brought me some banana bread that I cooked earlier this week (from scratch - aren't you proud of me) and a cup of tea. I'll talk to you guys later. Love to all!!

Mom...

Especially this time of year, I cannot look around anywhere in Johannesburg without thinking of my mom. This is the time of year when mom and dad came to visit a couple of years ago - wow has it been that long? Mom noticed the beautiful jacaranda trees - the wonderful purple flowers. Here are a few pics my dad took. They aren't in full bloom yet, but they are definitely starting to peek out! I'll put current pictures once they bloom a bit more.

Well, we're on the countdown to the end of the year. I only see my 10th graders for 17 more lessons before they start their exams. I have 8 more days with my 9th graders before they start their CTAs ( government created standardized tests), then they go straight into exams. My 8th graders still have to put up with me until November 7...so I guess they lose out. They did lots of work today, though. Hopefully we'll finish the syllabus in time to do some exam review! Unfortunately for me, they write their exam on November 27..... That's RIGHT! While all my friends and family are celebrating Thanksgiving and (more importantly) my mom's birthday, I'll be stuck in a classroom grading papers. We'll have to plan something special for that evening to celebrate a little bit.

Fran and Chuck have done an excellent job in updating their blog a bit. For those of you who aren't Fran and Chuck who look at my blog, check theirs out by clicking on the link at the top right.

Well, I guess I've rambled on enough for now. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week. As always, Love to All!!

Back to the grindstone...

Well, the week away from school has come and gone. During the week I did quite a few things. I mainly spent time in our flowerbeds. We have stones to keep Cinnamon from bringing mud into the house when she walks around the flowers. On Monday I started the task of taking the stones out, washing the mud off, cleaning out the leaves, and putting the stones back. I had to stop after a few hours of that. Mark had to rub my back and neck that night. On Tuesday I couldn't move to continue in my task. I went to see Mama Mia! with Mark's parents and Gran. I think it was just as good the 3rd time as it was the first. On Wednesday I almost finished with the stones before I went to Amy's house to spend an afternoon cooking. We cooked a mince pie for starters, a chicken in the crock pot for our entree, carrots, cous cous, and peas to go with the chicken, and chocolate cake and meringue for dessert. Mark and Jason (Amy's boyfriend) came to supper with Amy's parents and their bible study. Thursday was very calm. I finished the rocks before our lawn service came to mow the lawn. That afternoon I cleaned out my closet and changed out my winter clothes for summer ones. I can finally wear some of the clothes that we got in Foley in July. Friday...back to the lawn. There is one area of the lawn that the grass just can't seem to reach. So, I dug a little of the dirt out and got some sod to jump start the growing process. Now, we just have to do something with the extra dirt - I didn't want the area with sod to be higher than the rest of the yard. That was what today entailed. Mark and I are breaking up the clumps of dirt and putting a thin extra layer of top soil on the yard. Tonight we went to our friend, Lauren's, birthday braai. Now we're watching a movie and going to sleep! Hope everyone has a great weekend.