(Try and) Join the Club...

So right now, I'm beach-tired.
You know, when you spend the whole day at the beach...
saltwater, lotion, sand, waves, sun...
The best part is coming home to eat, take a shower to wash everything off but the sun-tan, and sleep - which is welcomed and easy.
That's how I feel.
'Cept there were no waves, no lotion, and no tan because we were in a rainforest.

This is a run-down of our overnight to the sungai with the Sungai-sungai.
For those that didn't read my last post because it had no pictures, this will hopefully make up for that.
So when we (Abang, Kakak, and kids, along with a couple more local families, the Kings, and Us) first got there, it was raining.
Everyone's spirits were a little low because of it...

gosh that picture is funny...I love it...
but we changed campsites and things improved. We were all excited to be camping and were determined to make the most of it, rain or shine.
Like this guy and his 4x4...fun.

How rainforest-y does this picture look? Its really that cool...but better in person because you can hear the river and the jungle creatures.
So within an hour of setting up camp, Adik (the 3 year old) was the first to get a leech.
Leeches...the area was wet and that meant more were out. People say leechs are opportunistic, but as the weekend evolved, I formed a theory that they're actually very discriminatory and must have secret criteria for who's blood they select...
After the rain finally stopped, Justin, Anthony, and I set out to make a fire. By this point, Justin, Daniela, Abang, and Kakak's daughters all found leeches on themselves... maybe their ankles have a certain smell that meets leech criteria...
The sun went down so we didn't take any pictures...but we ate and watched "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" on our sweet Mac computer.
In the morning I woke early (7:30 or so) and made pancakes. After explaining to the locals that its best to eat pancakes with a fork (which I brought for them) because the syrup makes your hands too sticky, we dug in... and I think the local ladies were glad to see the American girl could 'cook.'
After breakfast we all enjoyed the sungai...the kids played in the water all day, the adults did a little. Here's me and Kakak washing dishes. Nothing like sitting in the 'sink' while you wash the dishes...
Abang - like myself and others - caught a nap... (I love this picture too)While I was napping over in our tent, Anthony joined the Leech Club ...lucky for all of you, he got a picture of the 2nd one...the aftermath of the 1st is on the right. (I thought one of the leech club criteria might be the height of the arch of your foot...but since Anthony was wearing boots, thats out.)The afternoon brought more adventures in the river. Isn't that waterfall great? I neglected to take a picture of this very same waterfall back in August on our first trip here. I just knew walking to the waterfall through the jungle or swimming in the river would have resulted in a leech on my leg...but alas, I was leechless. I'm sure the club dues are too expensive and you have to sign in blood (da, da, ch...I know it was a bad joke...but I'm beach tired so it's all I could think of).
It's not that I don't think they're gross. I do. They're disgusting. But there's just something about confronting a fear or an anxiety (not a huge one or anything) that makes me anticipate it until it happens. I left as the only one who was leechless. The anticipation continues.
But to help rid you (and myself as I type this) of the leechless blues, here's a picture of a guy sliding down the waterfall...
Fun huh?
Now we're gonna complete the "beach tired" day and watch an episode of LOST and sleep soundly afterwards.
What a great weekend!

6 months and a week...

So we've been here 6 months now. Anthony got to blogger last Friday before I did, and I didn't want to usurp his post.
It's amazing all that's happened in 6 months.
This might be long...but read if you want.

I'm here to share some of the ways we've changed.
Or maybe just describe our existence now.
As much as you may think of us as our "pre-move" selves,
We're different.
It's inevitable.
Our change was ordained long ago.
For us to walk in...for our good.

I can't go outside to check the mail or get something out of the car
without having my legs covered to the knees.
Our neighbors might see me and think the worst.
"There goes the neighborhood" translates into other languages you know.
So most of the time, I just leave whatever it is I need in the car...
It can wait.
I don't want to go outside because that means putting on pants...
and pants are hot.

But I do wear pants everyday when I go 'out.'
Out for real I mean, not just to the car.
I love these people and their modesty.
Because of their modesty, I had an excuse to buy
super-cute pants at JCrew before I left.
I also bought a couple cute long-sleeve shirts from the likes of
Ann Taylor Loft, Gap, JCrew, and uh...what was the name of that other one?
Not sure...I forget...It's been 6 months.

And 6 months of long sleeves and cute JCrew pants ain't half bad.
Even when the average temperature is 28.
That's right...we're learning CELSIUS temperatures.
Different.
They're shocked to hear that our home state of Florida can reach 40 degrees in the summer.
"40 degrees? Wow...panas lah"-is what they say.
"Yuh...sangat panas di musim panas"- is my confirmation to them.

Not that my language skills are that great.
Anthony is pulling ahead.
He's so smart. I love it when he speaks Bahasa.
He speaks with an American accent...
that's where my "ghetto" genius comes in...I'm smart too...
but with sounding like them, not necessarily using the right words.
The guys in Chinatown here believe me when I declare
"MAHAL NYA!" at their ridiculous price...
That means "EXPENSIVE!"
Then I say a lower price, in Bahasa, and I get it...
usually.

But its incredible to speak another language.
However craptacular I speak it.
Am I really becoming a person that is bi-lingual?
Gosh that's a cool title.
Bi-lingual? Oh yes, Sharon's bi-lingual.
My friend Cara speaks 2 languages, my friend Sarah speaks 3, my Indian neighbor's son speaks 4, and the Senegalese dishwasher at Outback in Louisville speaks 8.
I'm excited about becoming truly bi-lingual...in a couple years or so.
But I'm sure if any of you came here now, you'd notice a difference in us when we relate to our neighbors.
Can't put my finger on that difference, but you'd realize it.

Maybe its a change in how we view those that are 'different.'
Different colors
Different religions
Different languages
Don't get me wrong. My mama didn't raise no fool.
I've always had friends that were 'different' than me.
You can't really not in the US
But now we realize that the precious (That's right, she's precious!)
Mexican woman at Wal-mart with kids around her is totally confused as to what she should buy.
She might stare at someone hoping they help her.
I'll never again hold it against 'her' that she hasn't "picked up" English yet.

The Mexican guys loitering outside the grocery store do it because they like it.
Not to bother me. Not to make me feel afraid.
They're just chillin'- and NO, they don't understand the "No Loitering" sign.
But they'd understand way more in Mexico than I ever could.
They're probably hoping for someone to hire them for a small job of some sort too.
As illegal as it might be, as someone in another country that hopes she can find a job and get a work visa when the time comes...
I feel their desperation.
And the lost feeling at the grocery store.

We've asked for a heart for the nations...
one of the differences is that we realize the heart we can have at home for the nations.
My heart inevitably changed when I was that woman confused as to how to buy vegetables at Tesco. (British version of Walmart)
Here I have to take it to the lady who weighs it and puts the price sticker on it IN the produce department.
That may seem like nothing, but when I took my bananas, tomatoes, and green beans up to the check-out counter and the lady looked at me like I was crazy, I didn't even know how to ask what was wrong.
Then she turned to the bag boy and said something that I didn't understand.
The Chinese people in line behind me could have killed with the "You're stupid" looks.
That really happened.
After recovering from the humiliation and frustration
(Because I'm SO capable of going to the grocery store back home...don't they know that?)
I remember how I was that lady giving the 'UGH!" stares behind the Spanish-speaking lady in front of me that didn't understand what she could use her food stamps for.

Never again.

We're not even gonna get into the food.
Well, maybe a little.
We eat with one hand at our friends' homes.
While sitting on the floor.
Ever peeled a shrimp with one hand? (while you're balancing your plate as your legs go to sleep because you're on the floor?)

I have this "Drink to food" ratio that must be equal for me to enjoy my food.
The cups are abnormally small here.
At a birthday party Tuesday night I went half the meal without a cup even in sight.
I'm not looking for sympathy.
And don't hold it against my hostess.
Be excited for me.
I get to eat shrimp with one hand, mix spicy veges with rice, and bare it all without much to drink.
The cups are half the size I 'need' when they do come.
It's just not 'their' way of doing things.
And its ok. They're so hospitable...and I love shrimp
even if its mangled by the time it gets to my mouth.
Although I have wondered what they'd think about the ginormous tea glasses at Sonny's BBQ.

We think of home.
We wonder if it will ever be 'home' again.
We see how home prepared us for here.
Our friends, family, and experiences were all exactly what we needed before moving here.
Here is great.
When we have kids, they'll think of this as home.
One handed shrimp eating, small glasses, and tile floors will be home.
Not Sonny's BBQ.
Weird.
Hopefully they'll be bi-lingual.
Or even MULTI-LINGUAL...WHOA!

Weird as it is, we're learning to live, accept, and even love it.
So when we come back- hopefully not for another couple years or so,
we may not act the same.
Sorry if you don't feel like you know us as well then.
It's ok.
We'll be altered.
But probably still funny.
My JCrew pants will be SO out of style by then.
But if your heart trusts in the Lord, praise him with us for all that he's doing.
Doing to change us.
To make us different.
To adapt us to here so we're not so weird to those we need to show Love to.
Love that will change them for the better...
just like it's changing us.

Chinatown Treasures

Season One, Episode One

As many of you know, our parents came over to our part of the world this past Christmas. Like any good tour guides, we figured that a trip to our local Chinatown was in order. Chinatown did not disappoint - you couldn't throw a rock without hitting an "genuine copy" of anything you desire... either that or a Lonely Planet guide-toting European backpacker.

As we were perusing the stalls, a little something caught my eye:

For the guitar-impaired, this is a pretty good copy of a Les Paul Studio... in fact, its a replica of the first "real" electric guitar I owned. I spent many hours in my room making Jimi Hendrix and Metallica songs sound absolutely horrible on this guitar.

Oh, but wait my friend. It's so much more than a copy of a Les Paul Studio. What else can this be?

Be amazed and witness the devastation of...



I apologize to those prone to seizures.

Sometimes, when I can't sleep, I reach for my flame-throwing guitar axe to watch it light up the midnight darkness.

This is usually followed by a swift hit from my wife.

Hendrix had his detractors too.

And so I shred on.

Singapore...again...

Thought you all would enjoy a photo or two from our time in Singapore this past weekend. It's almost Chinese new year and Chinatown was buzzing- more so than usual. Mr. Lion up above was one of many decorations lining C-town.
The extras also included a delightful Chinese puppet theater.
And of course a little shopping- here's Sharon at one of the 'rare' Indian shops in Chinatown.
In case your wondering if the rumors are true, they are. Singapore still doesn't sell bubble gum.

We Joined the Revolution

Now there's a flattering picture.

It's finally happened. We've left the world of spreadsheets, minesweeper and spider solitaire behind... because we're the proud parents of a new Apple computer, all because I have the greatest in-laws...

...ever.

Don't even try to argue... I don't care what your mother-in-law bought you last Christmas.

Was it an Apple laptop?

Ok then, I win.

I celebrated by going to Starbucks to try out the internet and post my first "wireless on-location" blog post, which is like a regular post but more pretentious.

Is there any other way to celebrate getting an Apple? No sir...

Actually, we celebrated by first making an iPhoto book of our parents' visit and mailing it to them in lieu of a "Thank You" note, because seriously, a Hoops and Yo-Yo Hallmark card doesn't quite say "Thanks for dropping a boatload of money so that we could have a cool computer."

Since our previous computer was falling apart (physically - actual pieces were falling off, not to mention people have completed the New York Marathon faster than the time it took for our computer to start up), my in-laws surprised Sharon and I with a brand-spankin' new, starts up in like 0.01 seconds, 2GHz, 1G RAM, 120GB hard drive MacBook.

Don't get me wrong - we loved our other computer. It was a workhorse. It was like a McDonald's hamburger - not the best food in the world but it works when you're hungry.

Our Mac is more like a Ruth's Chris steak, but wrapped up in a trendy, California-designed casing with a glowing apple on the back.

So now I'm going to download some obscure singer-songwriter folk songs, put on some man-capris, complain about any coffee which costs less than $4 a cup even though it tastes the same as cheap coffee and feign an interest in politics and first edition books.

Because that's what Apple owners do, right?

And as soon as I figure out all the gadgets on iPhoto, I'm going to erase that double-chin in the picture above.

Goodbye Gates.

Hello Jobs.

"Go Team!"...

or "Go Whities!"??
So last night us and the Kings went to a soccer match. Neither of us had been to one before- like not even a little league soccer game. The Kings explained the basics to us. So it was new and fun. It was our national team against Singapore so there was quite the crowd (picture above is before the half started so everyone was pretty docile). They ended up tying 1-1, so no one left in a bad mood- I guess.
The only scoring happened in the 2nd half. Above is the celebrating after the score. As much as this was a normal sporting event- loud music, big screen, fans wearing colors, national flags waving, chanting, booing, etc- something odd happened when we got there that is worthy of the "we live in a foreign country" blog.

We got there for the 2nd half. Before entering the stadium we all bought bandana's (bright yellow, the team's colors) to show our support. Anthony and Justin tied them in the guy 'kung fu' fashion and Daniela and I wore them like girly headbands. I'm not gonna post the pics of us with the headbands out of vanity...they're really bad pictures. Anyway.
It's pick-your-own seating so as we were making our way down the walkway to some seats things got interesting. (see walkway in top picture for reference). As we 4 white folks with our bright yellow bandana's would walk past a section everyone would start cheering. Since the team was entering the field for the 2nd half we just figured it was for them. But after about 4 sections we all realized they were cheering for us- or at us. The folks with their backs to us in the lower sections were even turning around to cheer us. In the middle of the 5th or 6th section Anthony and Justin responded back to their cheering by holding up their arms and yelling for the team too. That was all it took. When they did that the crowd yelled even louder, stood up, and everyone started sticking their hands out for high-5's. When we finally got to a section with open seats people were shouting at us to come sit by them. Hilarious.

White guys with bandanas haven't heard cheering like that since Ralph Maccio's crane kick in Karate Kid I.

Haiwan...

...means "animals" in Bahasa.
This week we've encountered a few animals.
Animal lovers and members of PETA should stop reading at this point.

So the first animal we saw wasn't really an animal. Looking out our window to our lovely back yard I thought I saw a small dead mouse. No pictures, but it was about 1 inch long with a tail. Anthony agreed. Couple days later we realized it was poo...in the shape of a small dead mouse. Oh well.
The second animal was a monitor lizard on one of the roads near our house. We saw him when our parents were here. This time we think he was injured...again no pictures, but 4 foot monitor lizards are worth the words.

The third animal entered the scene during a language lesson on Friday. Adik, Kakak's almost 3 year old son, walked into the room carrying, well more shaking, a small cage with an adolescent squirrel in it. Poor thing was so scared, particularly when Adik got near the cage- what else can a 3 yr old do but shake a cage? I mean, he couldn't hold the squirrel so shaking was the best interaction he could get. Any animal activists that didn't stop reading when I told you to, yes, of course we tried to stop him.Saturday morning we went with Kakak and family to an aquarium to get fish for their new home aquarium.
All was going well. Seemed like your average fish aquarium.
They had huge dragon fish (common in Asia...I think) mostly just for display purposes.They had coy. Typical.

Then things started getting interesting.
Ever heard of a clown-face fish?We hadn't either. But there it was. It was the neatest thing. A fish that looked like it had pink lipstick. That was enough to make me consider getting my own aquarium, just to have the lipstick fish.
But as we made our way past the rest of the tanks...the lights slowly came on...
I'm guessing that because you've never heard of a Clown-face fish, you've probably never heard of the "Argyle Fish" either...Didn't think so.
If that has dazzled your curiosity then you may not be prepared for the elusive "Chinese Lucky Fish"...
Those of you not well-versed in Chinese Characters don't realize that the scales on this fish are telling you to catch it, and if you do you get 3 wishes.
Kidding, we can't tell what the character actually says because we don't know Chinese- but given the name, I bet it's something to do with "Lucky."

I reconsidered getting the fish. They're tattooed, and I'm not one to welcome such open rebellion into my home. Although if I ever find the tattoo parlor they all went to, or the man whose job is tattooing lipstick on fish, I will surely take pictures and post them.

To round off our week of animals, here's what Bang-Aiman (the 6 yr old son), ate for lunch...
a whole plateful of these, um, well, shells. I guess maybe mini-conchs or something. Anthony tried them and said they were good.

holiday fun...

So here's the post y'all've (try using that in Scrabble) been waiting for. We hope the 'teaser' posts kept you interested enough til we could put these up. Its difficult to describe 2 weeks worth of fun in a post... so here's the rundown using a bunch of pictures taken on 2 different cameras (see several posts below):

We went shopping throughout our parents' visit. You've already seen the mall with the rollercoaster. Here's one shaped like a pyramid with a giant lion outside. Go ahead, sing any "The Lion King" song of your choice.

Here's us in Chinatown (night of the infamous wallet incident) buying, as it were, a wallet- but the one I'm holding is an "original copy" Roxy wallet for my sis-in-law...

We ate a lot of food. We introduced the 'rents to several of the local dishes and had way too many MickeyD's stops along the way as well...

We had Sate one night with Abang and family and the Kings... sate is skewered meat fireroasted to perfection then dipped in peanut sauce... it is SO good!

Anthony, Abang, and Daddy had a contest to see who could eat the most sticks (for our Jax friends, think Monday Night at Gator's Dockside... I do believe 88 will forever stand as the record) Daddy won with 50 sticks, Abang 2nd with 45, and Anthony surrendered at 40...

There was no playin' up for the camera... that's real emotion shown on the face and protruding stomach.

Our Indian neighbors invited us over to their family's "Boxing Day" festivities...we ate there, and it was GOOD Indian food, but I thought y'all would enjoy a shot of our neighbor and her daughter...ADORABLE!

Here we are eating more Indian food- called "Banana Leaf" because, well, you eat off of a banana leaf. Here's Anthony's mom, Mary Lou, eating "roti tisu" a flaky desert with a sweet glaze poured over it... "Sedap!" or "Delicious!"

We drove up North for a few days for a "Vacation within a Vacation" excursion. We stayed on one island for a few days... It was here that the coconut-n-cameras incident occured. This island is also home to a rich British Colonial history.
We visited an old fort. It's no St. Augustine, but it did have lifelike replicas of fort life from the 1800's. Like this one here...


It was a fort so scrumtralescant, the man above could barely move.

Here's us atop a lighthouse. I have better pictures, but blogger has decided to put vertical pictures in a horizontal position... no matter. If you want the best view, you'll just have to come visit us yourself and see!

New Year's Day we woke up early- after ringing in the new year by watching several episodes of "LOST" on DVD- to take a high speed ferry to a neighboring island for the day.

This picture was taken from inside the air-conditioned cabin...it was much brighter outside...

We wanted to ride scooters, but our test-run of the 'motorbikes' proved not to be the smartest of transportation around the island that day- that gem of a story can only be told to you if you visit... as I must act out the entire ordeal to emphasize how funny it was.

But here's MamaLou with her helmet on before our decision to take a car instead... doesn't she look cute?
This island was one of the only places the 2004 Tsunami affected in this country. It has recovered nicely and the only big waves that day were from jet-skis whizzing by...

We returned home from our island adventures and vegetated by watching more LOST episodes and eating out. We think our parents genuinely enjoyed their tropical vacation- Anthony's mom especially because it was her first time out of the USofA.

We enjoyed ourselves and hope more of our family and friends will be able to visit us while we're here... jump on in the water 's nice!

All historical parks should have guns laying around

In our neck of the woods, white people - no matter if they are European, American, Australian or select members of the Jackson Family - are affectionatly refered to as "mad sailors" thanks to the reputation of the salty British sailors during colonialization. But that begs the question, "Why are whities still called mad sailors?" We may never know...

"Put down the coconut and no one will get hurt..."

It was New Year's Eve 2006.
We and our parents were taking a tour in "The Rush" on one of the vacation islands here.
We decided to stop at one of the beaches and take pictures of the cool huge rocks.


We were having a great time.
(See above picture)

Until my (Sharon) dad found a coconut.

Oh the tropics.
Beaches
Sunsets
Cool rocks
Abundant Coconuts

My mom had just finished taking this picture
and she came over so we could see if it was cool or not-
(verdict is still out on that, but it helps give a visual to the story)

She was walking by a huge rock to get to us.

My dad was on the other side of said rock...
and had found himself one of the abundant coconuts.

He couldn't see his wife of 32 years on the other side.

(sigh)

My dad is known for making jokes.
All the time.
He even uses props sometimes.

He thought it'd be funny to chunk the coconut at the rock Anthony was standing on.
And it was funny...
Funny for as long it takes a coconut to leave a man's hand,
fly over a huge rock,
and smack a woman in the hand
(yeah, you thought I was gonna say "head")

Only thing is, she had her camera and ours in her hand.

(sigh)

He must've channeled the Bruce Lee moves again to hit her hand so squarely.
As the cameras flew out of her hand and crashed against the rocks
the "DADDY!" I yelled made no difference.

My mom's camera came out miraculously working.
A couple dings, and once we found the view finder cover,
it worked just fine.

Our camera's lens was out at the coconut's impact.
Either it or the rocks bent the lens to a permanently "out" position.

My dad said the only two things that could have appeased the sadness of the moment...
"I'm sorry"
and
"Don't worry honey, we'll buy y'all another one."

We immediately drove to an electronics store (I love Asia)
and took him up on that promise.

All turned out well and we only missed about 45 minutes of picture taking from our island holiday.

For those of you who made it to the end of this post, here's a sunset picture taken with the new camera.
The west side of the island, with a spectacular view of a valley, river, and the Andaman Sea.

Bruce D. or Bruce Lee?

One of the more dramatic events occurred one evening after a wonderful night of shopping in Chinatown...
So we were on the LRT Train leaving Chinatown.

Like a movie there was a guy standing next to Sharon's dad on the train.
He had a handkerchief over his mouth while riding the train- which many folks do since the SARS scare a few years ago.

Upon exiting the train doors, the guy moved in close to Bruce Durrance
And he had very sinister things planned.

(Can you hear the dramatic music rising in the background?)

But what he didn't know, was that Bruce Lee was named after Bruce Durrance.
Big trouble for mister handkerchief guy.

Just as the guy lifted Bruce's wallet out of his pocket
Bruce D channeled lightning fast moves from the famous Mr. Lee.

He grabbed the thief's arm and said,
"You have my wallet."

Not your lucky day mister handkerchief guy.

Realizing his error in choosing his target
the handkerchief guy threw down the wallet and said,
"No...no...it's right there..." and pointed to the ground.

Bruce released the thief from his kung-fu grip
and picked up the wallet.

Handkerchief guy scurried off with his tail between his legs...
like every other defeated ninja who has tried to mess with Bruce.

No more 3x5's...

...at least for now. Seems an earthquake did something to some underwater cable in a big pond named the Pacific Ocean. Now everyone in Asia has slow internet. Like "turtle-trying-to-run-with-cramps" slow. Hence, no pictures. We have some great stories of our parents visiting during the holidays. Stay tuned.

On the 3rd day of Christmas...

Our parents arrived safely Friday- 5 hours early! They've been here 3 days, so it's like its been Christmas for 3 days.

Day one- We just went to KFC near home and had dinner. Friday, our water stopped working. Just the thing folks who have been traveling for 30 hours want to hear. Not sure what happened, only that its never happened before. Its fixed now and all are clean. Also, Sharon's mom couldn't wait and gave us a big surprise... our Wedding Album! It's been 2 and 1/2 years since May 28, 2004, and after overcoming hurricanes, a 4-state away move, and then another move across the world, we finally have it! And it looks AWESOME!

Day two- We hit the big city- took the train into town like the cool 'city folks' we are and showed them our vast knowledge of the public transportation system. We did some Christmas shopping and went to an amusement park inside one of the malls. Back in October we came here but didn't ride. Of course the first thing Sharon's dad wanted to do was ride the roller coaster. No pics from that, but we got some on another upside down ride.


The earrings' position should prove the upside-downness of the moment.
Us with Sharon's parents in the 10-storey mall that holds the amusement park.

Day Three- a.k.a. Christmas Eve- Sharon and Mama spent most of the morning making the Durrance traditional Spritz Christmas Cookies...made every Christmas Eve since like 1984...
Before heading to our boss's house for a Christmas Eve get-together, Mom made her delicious lasagna for all to enjoy at the party. She's half-Italian, so naturally it tasted amazing despite having to find the ingredients in a foreign grocery store.
At our boss's house we exchanged "Secret Santa" gifts. Several people got very fun things (batik wraps, flashlights for climbing mountains, etc), but by far the best, in Sharon's opinion, was her gift to Justin. If you're a fan of Napoleon Dynamite then you'll laugh at the next picture. If you're not you need to watch it again and recognize the humor in the movie. If you've never seen it, go buy it now...make it a stocking stuffer for yourself.

All he could say between his tears of joy was, "I want that!" Sharon is enjoying her 32 piece set.

More pictures and stories to come. We hope your Christmas Day is great and that you remember the reason we celebrate- the birth of the King of kings!

Merry Christmas!

"Visions of Sugar Plums..."

are dancing in our heads!
Our parents are coming and will be here this Friday!
We're doing last minute preparations- getting beds for them to sleep on, painting, buying towels, grocery shopping, etc...
They'll be here before we know it...
Kaelyn knows how fast they're coming...
Watch...

fresh cool

Our parents will be arriving in a week and a day. Even though this is December, we have ALL the windows open in our house right now, and a ceiling fan is going...I'm still sweating. Right now. As I type this post. I love the tropics.
To help our parents' visit to be a pleasant one we had these installed today. (you should be looking at the white boxes above the windows)
Now after they get out of their hot showers- provided by the handy-dandy electric water heaters we had installed a few weeks ago- they will be able to cool down, "fresh cool" down if you will, before coming downstairs where there is no air-con and where they will begin sweating again.
We do what we can.
In other news, I stepped in cat poo (see post 3 down for details) while taking the picture of the guy on the ladder. Good thing I didn't know it until I had wiped my feet on two of the rugs in our kitchen.